Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV
After multiple delays and plenty of build up, Lil Wayne drops Tha Carter IV, an album packed with head-nodding beats and bars full of creativity and wit…
-
GOLD POST98 Comments
Post A Comment
Three years. That’s how long it’s been since Lil Wayne first mentioned plans to release Tha Carter IV, the follow-up to 2008’s best-selling Tha Carter III. But a name-drop didn’t mean an album drop, and so IV bookends a slew of specialized releases: 2009’s clique showcase We Are Young Money, 2010’s experimental-rock release Rebirth and EP-style I Am Not a Human Being. Sprinkle in a few mixtapes (Dedication 3, No Ceilings and Sorry 4 the Wait), and there have been plenty of raps but, until now, nothing to properly follow up the album that launched Lil Tunechi into superstar status.
The “Intro” is an indication of what’s to come, a stream-of-consciousness flow over a cartoonish-sounding production. Birdman Jr. follows with “Blunt Blowin,” a dynamic lyrical labor where, backed by an update of 1980s dance-pop synths, he spits innovative lines: “Times have changed, but fuck it, get a new watch/I still got the vision like a line between two dots.” The project doesn’t deviate from Mixtape Weezy until the fifth track, “Nightmares of the Bottom,” a melodic change in energy. This flows seamlessly into Tha Carter IV’s fourth and highest-charting single, the ominous, Drake-assisted standout “She Will,” marked by drawn-out, accentuated strings.
An “Interlude,” featuring Tech N9ne and Andre 3000, comes halfway through, and the unexpected Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes–helmed “Outro” eventually brings the curtains to a close. Weezy appears on neither of these, but, with the same beat as “Intro,” they’re like one set—when the three cuts are merged together, they form one of the strongest posse cuts in years; when taken separately, as they appear, the songs inventively stage the album.
When Wayne and T-Pain pair up for “How to Hate,” the first of a trio of female-focused records (along with “How to Love” and “So Special”), the conceptual approach is welcome, if predictable. And herein lies the main misfortune of Tha Carter IV: Pussy, money, weed is a story that’s been told and retold, and at this moment in the superstar’s post-jail existence, the narrative is begging to expand. Lines like “I like my girl thick, not just kinda fine/Eat her ’til she cry, call that whine and dine,” which he kicks on “She Will,” are the sort of witty abstractions that persist throughout IV; they’re its strongest point, but they also hold it back. He’s saying almost nothing, but there’s almost nothing he’s not saying creatively. Maybe, as he spits on “Abortion,” it’s time to move on: “Smoking on a hallelujah, thank you, Jesus/Help me focus on the future, and not the previous.”
Even with some lack of vulnerability and risk, Tha Carter IV displays the nonsensical approach that fans have grown to love. Future and previous aside, Weezy’s present is bright. —Adam Fleischer
lol wut
what the fuck? yall pointed out how unoriginal he was and STILL gave him an xl in that category? THAT is some dumb shit.
I don’t think XXL is independent, they have people to please. Hip hop is political now.
Should get an L at the most.
A handful of the beats are tight, nothing new.
Lyrics are boring as fuck,
you listen and think…what was all the fuss about?
Needs to stop wearing leggings, and kissing his daddy.
UNDERSTAND! Lil Wayne will outsell everyone except Eminem. It’s inevitable.
Eminem = Huge White fan base
Lil Wayne = Huge teenage fan base
Nicki Minaj = Huge teen female fan base
Lil wayne will lead hip hop for the next 5yrs, till ppl realize he’s a 33yr old grown ass man who looks like whoopee goldburg.
Nicki will rule female hip hop until her plastic surgery swells.
Unfortunately Carter 4 is the new status of hip hop.
i guarantee u did no research for your case bro…all assumptions..thats lame..you’re a hater..die slow
Dude they’re fucking assumptions.
I’m being extreme how the fuk can u take those comments seriously?
RED deserves an XL THIS DESERVES AN L or M AT BEST! He isnt even featured on the best 2 tracks
aye thinker, being original is deeper than you know my dude
If there were an area between L and XL, this album would be there. Not as great as some will say, but definitely not as bad as other will say.
XXL is sponsored by Young Money I assume.
this makes me want to unsubscribe
god prepare form the bitching from people whoaint even heard the album, fuck if u dnt like this site get to fuck!! and no xxl is sponsored by fucking shady actually.
jimmy u be talkin mad shit about album review made by xxl, so dont even talk, u be bitchin about how madd rappers get ratings they dont deserve
points sytem is fucke as hell man, three xl equals an xl overall, wen other review can have two ls and get an overall xl.
The Lyrics Should Be Rated “L”. The album wasn’t as good as I thought it would be but I’m hopeful about his next work but what I’m sure about is that Lil Wayne is slowly but strategically changing his core audience.
In all honesty, I think this isn’t too bad of an album. Don’t get me wrong, im not gonna go out and buy it, but there are a couple songs I will bump again. I found that even though Wayne isn’t that great, he had some dope verses. A couple songs I didn’t feel til I heard the last verse. Im not a Wayne fan, but I can give respect to him on this.
All in all, this is how I would rate his album if I were part of the staff.
Beats – XL
Lyrics – L
Originality – M
Overall – L
Although he had some dope verses, you have to look at the project as a whole, not just pick and choose. The beats were great, his lyrics were strong at certain points and weak in others, and his originality, well, I don’t think his subject matter ever really changes much. Pussy this and Pussy that. Time to step outside the box wayne!!!
and yet verde terrace gets an L
Seriously???
You give RED album a L
And Carter IV a XL?
I’ve lost faith in XXL….
Goodbye
Games Red Album is tighter than tha carter 4 XXL is hatin hard
the only thing tighter are the beats, game sucks at rapping, all he does is name drop, talk about his obsession waith jay and dre, the movie boyz in the hood and jack peoples styles.
HEY JIMMYJAM U LIKE TO PLAY WITH UR SELF THE MAN!!! Why you always Hating on the Game?? u one of them fake thugs that get all emotional right?? LIL B!TCH A$S NUCCA!!!
look whos getting all emotional. lay off the caps lock, aint nobody scared of ur big letters BIG BITCH IZ BAK