Lil Wayne “Tha Carter III” Review

With ruminations of a platinum-selling first week Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III may very well be the album that gives credence to his ongoing allegations that he is the best out there. His growl hasn’t softened, his rhymes are as dense as ever and Wayne may now be ready to accept the celebrity status that he has been reaching for his entire career. Here are four reactions, four impressions, four takes on Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III.

Lil’ Wayne’s continued success has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I know that I am in the minority in this respect, so I am willing to believe that the quality is there, even if I don’t quite see it. While I find certain aspects of Tha Carter III appealing (interesting beats, clever rhymes, bizarreness), there are only so many club jamz I can listen to before turning the channel. More than anything I am confounded by the contradictions throughout the album. On one hand you have the evocative political lyrics of “Don’t Get It (Misunderstood)” or the topical poetry of “Tie My Hands.” On the other you have “Got Money,” a song whose themes don’t get far beyond fucking, making money, and being in the club. Likewise the same Lil’ Wayne who In “Mr. Carter” states “I suck a pussy fuck a pussy leave it there/Long hair don’t even care” only one song later pleas with us that “the only thing that can save us now/Is sensitivity and compassion.” While I can chalk up this duality to Wayne’s complex and nuanced persona, as far as the album is concerned, it takes away from the overall cohesive flow. How does the tight confident rapping of “Dr. Carter” fit in with the paranoid death-obsessed unraveling of “Playin’ with Fire?” To me, it doesn’t. Perhaps it is this dichotomy though that is exactly what makes Lil Wayne great to so many of his fans. I just wish that I could see it too. [Jon Behm]

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. Like any other emcee, Wayne’s got strengths and weaknesses; Tha Carter III 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. And 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. 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, it could never live up to the hype surrounding Weezy. [Kyle "Guante" Myhre]

I know I could get a duh response out of this, but Tha Carter III is a perfect album to listen to with headphones on—every layer just jumps out at you as a reminder of how great it is (mostly). “3 Peat” is pretty tight and a fine track to start with, but “Mr. Carter” is one hundred percent more satisfying—that radio-honed jam should have been the featured single instead of that dumbly veiled candy-cock track “Lollipop.” But the truth is, this shit kills—the record is a blizzard of manufactured space-orchestra sounds and great drum machine transitions that make my old school preferences stand up in recognition. Nestled in there however are moments I am not akin to enjoying, like the chorus-singing of Babyface on “Comfortable.” It really is a great R&B song however, and when combined with Weezy’s rhymes it makes him sound like he’s about eighty years old as supposed to the twenty-five years he’s got carved into his belt. Collaborating with Robin Thicke might seem a bit out of place on “Tie My Hands,” but it is a well-produced Rap-meets-Soul groove that is almost too good. It might not be one of the best Rap albums ever made, but it’s current aural entertainment. Various lyrics might sound like an impromptu moment in the studio after the club at times, but mix in that slick production and that detail is forgotten. Definitely one for the car stereo when you need a good reason to throw your hands around and just have a good time. [Review by guest contributor Jen Paulson]

Granted, some of the bangers on Tha Carter III have been out there for a while; “A Milli” dropped on Da Drought is Over 5, “Lollipop” has for weeks been on heavy rotation on just about every pop-based radio station, “Mr. Carter” leaked a few weeks back, etc. – but there is still an unequivocal essence of freshness when finally hearing these songs as a whole. That being said, Tha Carter III doesn’t necessarily serve as fulfilling cohesive unit, it acts as more of a collection of moments…which is really what Lil’ Wayne is all about when you think about it. With a continually shifting focus Weezy has taken his self-proclamation as the Greatest Rapper Alive and at least made a solid attempt as going down as one of the most prolific. With that however there is a continual shift between styles, patterns and themes. Something that works given the context of a twenty-something song mixtape, but it becomes less effective given a formal, polished release. Or maybe Wayne is just trying to reflect the nature of the environment which he is a product of – a society riddled with various revolving doors continually making it harder to focus on a single idea for more than an instant. If that is the case, it is there where Tha Carter III succeeds. Wayne’s one-liner’s are second to none, they hold little weight at times, but show enough linguistic ingenuity to make you believe that there is a Wayne we still haven’t seen. With the exception of “Phone Home” (which still has some sense of quality in its utmost absurdity) the first half of the record is proof that Wayne is doing his part to live up to the massive weight on his shoulders, “And next time you mention Pac, Biggie and Jay-Z don’t forget Weezy, baby.” Time will tell, but with Tha Carter III, Wayne is honestly attempting to prove that he might be right. [Chris DeLine]