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Album
Review
Lil' Wayne - The Carter III Our LP Cover is Better. by: Malik Sinsear, for Entertainment
So, now that its here, all I have to say is I like it, but I’m hardly floored. Tha Carter III, much like the first two installments of the series shares a certain correlation with Jay-Z’s Life and Times series, ironically enough, also a three and out-er; all solid efforts, pretty damn good at times, but when judged as single bodies of work, are again, just solid. And if I may take the comparison a bit farther, if you were to compare C3 to an album from the Life and Times series, it has to be Vol. 2 with the single Lollipop serving as C3’s Hard Knock Life. After hearing each for the first time, you knew you hadn’t heard anything like it before and everyone was going to absolutely flock to it. Throw in the Just Blaze produced Mr. Carter which might as well be renamed Coming Of Age Pt. III, and I think my Dwayne-Shawn album trilogy comparison is vindicated and I’ll leave it at that. 3 Peat starts the set out and midway through the second verse you’re really believing this guy “is the beast,” by the way he’s feasting on the beat. Aside from maybe Dre 3K, Wayne’s strongest attribute, his flow, might be the best in the game. By now you’ve probably figured out he’s not talking about much half the time, but that flow carries him farther than an over dribbling PG with no J (*listen to A Milli for more on this). But to little Dwayne’s credit he tried some different things on this record, from Lollipop to the creative albeit quickly tiring Dr. Carter. He doesn’t stop there, though. Wayne’s take on Katrina, Tie My Hands featuring a light and perfect dose of Robin Thicke sounds about as honest as one can judge from afar. Shoot Me Down, a Kanye West assisted slow tempo self reflection may not be the instant gratifying banger that many impatient Hip-Hop fans lust for these days, but it’s Weezy’s most apparent show of growth on the album. I dunno if the guy ran out of cough syrup and oversized Styrofoam cups during that session or if he just slept the light dose off, but its like listening to his evolution as an artist trying to escape. Hopefully he continues to embrace this side of artistry and cupless soberness. And while we’re talking about Kanye tracks, I’m baffled he didn’t keep at least two of these tracks for himself (he contributes four). Those being Let the Beat Build, which sets a new standard as a concept driven beat, and the CAN-FUCKING-NOT-MISS-BETTER-BE-THE-NEXT-SINGLE Comfortable featuring Babyface. Not since T.I.’s Why You Wanna have I heard a song so perfectly tailored to be a smooth summer anthem. Though it may sound soft, it’s actually a pretty pro-male anthem (God, that still sounds gay). It’s all about making sure these women know we're aware of the female to decent-male ratio out here. I’m sure they know, but its merely a notice. This shit is going on my most coveted iPod Playlist entitled “Sea-Breeze” for songs so fuckin’ cool they feel like a barber’s Sea Breeze on your neck after a fresh cut. Now, what frustrates me most about Tha Carter III is the fact that some of the tracks that made retail are not in the same league as some that leaked months ago. Namely I Feel Like Dying, I Know The Future (Timbaland), and Diamonds and Girls (featuring Curren$y) should have replaced La La, Playing With Fire and Phone Home among others. He really overdid the auto-tone thing too. That's gonna make this album sound real dated in a few.
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Big Earl: GET OUT THE WAY! |
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“The album, the album--when’s the album dropping?” I’m sure it’s been like Chinese water torture to Wayne, because it sure has worn thinner than a pair of Vans with me. Even MTV, who seemed to take his legend to a whole different level by crowning him “The Hottest MC in the Game” last summer, began the album calling cry in their most annoying Cobra Commander voice recently.