Lil Wayne, Music Writers and Trend-Hopping
It’s impossible to talk about Lil Wayne the rapper without talking about Lil Wayne the phenomenon. A bit of history:
Right before the turn of the century, something interesting happened in the hip hop world. Hip hop was well into the period where it was realizing its potential as a money-making force and certain entities within the culture were rising to superstar status (I’m thinking of the period well after Hammer and Vanilla Ice, even after the deaths of 2pac and Biggie, mid-late nineties or thereabouts… the shiny suit/Hype Williams/No Limit hypercapitalism age).
Around the same time, you had the rise of what we today generically call “the underground,” coalescing around Rawkus, Def Jux, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Quannum (or Solesides), Skribble Jam, a whole bunch of labels and artists and events. These were often independents, either consciously rebelling against the Puffy juggernaut or lumped in unwittingly. Though independent labels were (and are) making hip hop of all styles, the group of artists who came to represent “underground hip hop” as an archetype were largely revivalists of some stripe, heavily influenced by early nineties east coast styles, the Native Tongues movement and Public Enemy.
As time passed the split between “mainstream” and “underground,” a split which wasn’t always there, by the way, became more pronounced. While there were real aesthetic differences, it’s more interesting to look at demographics. I think sometimes we focus way too much on the artists, who all have different motivations and opinions on this whole phenomenon, instead of the fans and the media, who really, I think, drove the split. Some artists were explicit about being indie/underground (BlackStar, Company Flow, Anticon), but many were just caught up in the shifting tides.
Consequently, this style of hip hop became very cool in critical circles. It contrasted refreshingly with mainstream radio’s increasingly consolidated, homogenized playlist, and critics and fans held up people like Jurassic Five, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, the Roots, the Quannum Camp, Common and others as “real hip hop.”
But as a couple of years passed, the underground heads got too caught up in their own movement, too self-righteous, hating not just on the crazy materialistic and sexist stuff on the radio, but on everything popular, cultivating a nerdy, elitist, increasingly white image: “Duuude you listen to Gay-Z? That shit is wack duuuude. Check out this new Sage Francis!”
Coupled with the rise of hipster/irony culture (which frowns upon earnestness and political content, two hallmarks of indie hip hop), the dominance of blogs and online media and music writers’ fanatical desire to stay one step ahead and prove how down they are, these factors led to critics’ abandoning that particular subgenre of hip hop and embracing its polar opposite: violent, misogynistic coke-rap. Acts like Clipse, Ghostface, Dipset and others became critical darlings damn near overnight. It’s complex too, since those acts are indeed talented and put out some good music that deserves attention. But the motivations behind bigging them up never seemed to quite match up with their actual talent. Weezy is probably the culmination of this whole trend.
Like Clipse, Ghostface and others currently dominating the blogosphere, Lil Wayne is indeed making some interesting music. He’s not abysmally bad by any stretch of the imagination. He’s just the perfect storm of critical factors: a weirdo rapper with an interesting personal story riding the crest of anti-backpacker sentiment, calling himself the best rapper alive, dropping the occasional political/controversial punchline, and putting out a million mixtapes, as if by sheer force of will he could overwhelm all of us.
And the plan pretty much worked.
Wayne calling himself the best rapper alive is like the neo-cons insisting that Iraq was behind 9/11. It’s obviously not true, but if you repeat it enough times, you can bludgeon people into believing it. But while he’s certainly not the best rapper alive, he’s not exactly a slouch. Like any other emcee, Wayne’s got strengths and weaknesses; Tha Carter 3 showcases both.
On the positive side, he’s at least fun to listen to. His voice, undoubtedly an acquired taste, is one of the most recognizable in hip hop, a breathless, raggedy croak that is, if nothing else, unique. Similarly, his style is unpredictable—not always brilliant—but in an era where every other emcee sounds like he’s auditioning to be in the Lox, Wayne is a welcome change.
His ear for beats is pretty great as well. While the album never really comes together as a cohesive whole, the individual songs feature some tremendous production: Swizz Beats (of all people) on “Dr. Carter,” Kanye on “Tie My Hands,” David Banner on “La La” and others. For those who listen to hip hop solely for its sonic qualities rather than lyrics (which is pretty much everyone these days), Tha Carter 3 should be a satisfying experience.
But lyrically, I’m not seeing the hype. While he definitely has his fair share of hot lines, Wayne also has more than his fair share of ridiculously awful lines. But he delivers them with the unflappable confidence of a stoner kid talking to you about The Matrix, which I think has fooled a lot of people into thinking that even his worst punchlines are somehow meaningful. Too much of the album, and his work in general, sounds like an above-average freestyle session (as much of it is, apparently). Then, of course, there’s the sexism, homophobia and faux-deep politics; par for the course.
The bottom line is that while the album has its redeeming qualities, Wayne came up in the right place at the right time and is put on a pedestal for reasons that have little to do with those qualities. When the high point on your album is Fabolous’ guest appearance, you can’t really claim a spot in the pantheon… not yet anyway. And that’s what people are forgetting—Wayne, as long as he’s been around and as many albums/mixtapes as he’s put out, is still a young rapper. He’s got the creativity and personality to be one of the greats, but he’s not there yet. Unfortunately, he’ll probably put out his best material after the bloggers and music critics and hip hop journalists have moved on to the next trend. Like locusts, they (or should I say “we”) will descend on electro-dance-rap or house-hop or whatever the next “movement” is and Lil Wayne will be left in the dust.
This whole situation is symptomatic of music writers’ generally not being too invested in (or knowledgeable about) hip hop culture, instead using it to prove how cool they are or engage in trend-hopping to up their readerships. Wayne is as much a victim of this mentality as he is a beneficiary of it, and only time will tell whether or not he’s able to transcend it.
Nice Review. I enjoy reading your writing.
Wow, this is a great article. I was trying to rap my head around this album and the hype surrounding it, but I think you nailed everything I was trying to say plus 10 times more. Love the term “trend hopping”, pretty much sums it up.
Excellent review Kyle – ditto what Josh said
best rapper alive? nah, but entertaining as fuck,lol.
word
lil wayne is on point…esp on da he does with Jigga (Mr.Carter)….Oh My Gosh
Yo, great article. If more young rappers and spoken word artists engaged in the kind critical dialogs you are inspiring with this piece, the music industry would take note. Unfortunately, as usual, the music industry directly mirrors that the current social and political reality in this fascist country. The focus is not, nor has it been for the better part of forty years, on talent. Instead, what gets airplay, backing, and press (in the mainstream anyway) is the music that best survives the tyranny of the bottom line. That said, your point about folks being closed off to the commercial artists – even when they actually are great – is salient brother. Throughout history there are have been massively talented, driven, and deserved artists who have garnered all the attention they need, in all styles. Miles Davis, Led Zepplin, Mos Def, Public Enemy, the Police, the list goes on and on and on. The question is, when are “the people” gonna say fuck it, “I ain’t buyin’ this shit anymore!” There needs to be a general boycott of misogynist, brutally capitalistic, shallow music, whether it be hip-hop or some other form of musical expression! It needs to be a grassroots movement, led by the artists themselves, dig? Eventually, the “industry” will loose profit as a result of musical consumers demanding quality over quantity, image, and “bling.”
Nice.
I enjoyed this writing a lot. I’ve never given Lil’ Wayne any credit, and I probably never will. However, I think my opinion of him is mainly based on the popular “hype” (take that as you will) surrounding him. I have never heard of the songs that you’ve referenced, but I sure as hell have heard of the mind-eroding “Lollipop.” Is credit due? Not until he puts out consistently decent stuff (i.e. Kanye, Jay-Z consistency).
Again, nice read, keep up the good work!
most music critics are scared of holding divergent opinions cos they’ll afraid someone will make them articulate those “opinions,” and they haven’t thought critically enough about the music (and, just as important, the context in which it was made and released)– that’s my only explanation for the perversive bandwagon-ism that we find in most music writing, which are neither critical nor celebratory, but rather jaded and overly clever. What we need is more honesty and a willingness to question rather than pronounce, in an effort to open up some real dialogue. who’s culture is this after all? who owns hip hop, the part of it that can’t be shrinkwrapped? I hope it’s still us and not the money makers in suits. Thanks Kyle!
Good article, Kyle. It’s refreshing to read an article about the Carter with this type of analysis. I think you’re spot on in terming it ‘trend-hopping.’ Although, that’s exactly what Pop writers are supposed to be doing, as unfortunate as that may be. It seems difficult to pin down an artist as strictly from one camp or the other. It’s complicated to talk about cultural movements in definitive terms when we are always negotiating the space between those terms like ‘underground’ and ‘mainstream’, ‘critical circles’ and ‘the masses’ as its unclear who occupies these positions and places today since culture is always in flux. However, aesthetic ‘battle lines’ clearly have been drawn over the years. I just wonder when hip hop’s NEO will make an appearance? Duuude.
Peace
thanks for all the comments everyone! appreciate your opinions.
Wow, this is the most in-depth review of this record I’ve seen yet.
fuck you all weezy is the best rapper alive
hey lil weezy this jasmine representin the indiana you look so good. halla
Love all your music nd fuck what dey talkin about…
Ju$$ dew you Weezy,I`m prolly your #1 fan of RedLake,mn
yo i agree wiff stephanie, u is da best rappa alive. yo lyrics is vicious as shyt. dey aint neva made em like u b4. n u is fine as hell mmmmm
To be a good writer, journalist, reporter, etc. you need to be unbaist. Able to look at a subject from every angle and consider it. Not just state your own opinions. You should consider that when writing a piece such as this.
And for those of you that leave comments like: caite, amberosa, and stephanie, you should consider the fact that your only giving further evidence of the stupidity of most Lil’ Wayne fans and that they only listen to him because he’s hot, has good beats, etc. I’m actually a huge Weezy fan, but I will admit that his lyrics AREN’T amazingly deep or meaningful. i.e.: “Call me, so I can make it juicy for ya…” -Lollipop Whne leaving comments, couldn’t you try to make them less… steryotypical? o.0
LIL WAYNE IS THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE FUCKERS!
I really enjoyed reading this article it is going to help me with my presentation haha.
And I really agree with Bella Ivory on those stereotypical comments earlier.
I’m sure many people get annoyed with them for they are really pointless..
But anywho great article thanks a lot!
hiphop beat…
What does it mean to “blog about hip hop”? Are you referring to deep, criticism and analysis of hip hop music and culture or general “I like…” or “I hate…” type of posts because I seem to see the latter frequently, at least with the younger b…
hey wats cracking ,lil wizzy i love your swaggs
tha review waz perfect on everything i love wezzy
[...] we being sold a Lil’ Wayne? (A product with some redeemable content — just enough for us to defend it — that is [...]
Lil wayne did some big things in the past few years dropped his first single at 15 dats amazing man but i new ni99a coming come straight at you from grand rapids coming out with a single soon, Stay up weezy
anyone trying to justify that lil wayne is the best rapper alive… even if he is there’s no way to measure this or make it fact. he’s good yeah but you’ve probably just listened to his music alllll the time. THE world is not YOUR world. The media has given you a fake Weezy World. (sounds like a theme park.) To the dude who said it’s time for a grass roots movement. Hell yeah man it’s happening, you gotta search for it. Slightly Stoopid, Tribal Seeds, Rebolution. Not hip hop but… california’s got its own reggae band scene going on. They start their own label, make good music, and share it with everyone. then sell. It’s working! Huge demand from them medicinal marijuana smokers with them nasty headaches. Michael Franti and Spearhead’s sick too. If anyone else knows of some good underground music scene’s going on. please share!