Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

Two weeks ago Lil Wayne aka Weezey released "Tha Carter III" which went on to sell over 1 million copies nationwide in its first week. This is an extraordinary feat in the modern day music world as even the biggest releases seem to have trouble breaking the 500k mark these days. Lil Wayne is a heavily hyped rapper and its not uncommon to hear the comparison to Tupac and Biggie when talking about him. The singles "Lollipop", "A Milli", and "Got Money" were all great tunes and really showed off Wayne's lyrical prowess and ability. The beats were heavyily synthesized along with some of his vocals which seems to be the trend in modern day hip hop (i.e. T-Pain, Akon) and the music was perfect for the summer club atmosphere.

Getting deeper into "Tha Carter III", I must say that I was not extremely impressed. Is it a good rap album? Yes. Is Lil Wayne the second coming of Tupac/Biggie and deserving of being called the "Greatest Rapper Alive?" Probably not. There are some stand out tracks on here including a song with Jay Z, but I would say I only was feeling about 50% of the album while the other half just couldn't keep up with the pace of the hot singles I mentioned above. When listening to a Kanye or Jay Z album you are listening to a musical experience from beginning to end. Almost like the telling of a story. On this album there wasn't that same feel and a little too many filler tracks. I really dont think this record warrants the type of reviews it was getting like 4 1/2 stars in Rolling Stone. Weezy is very consistent and his "A Milli" remix was even very good (see below) but if this was supposed to be his "Illmatic" or "Ready to Die" then he has still has a little ways to go. I know this may come across a little negative because of the massive hype around him, but I do urge you to check out this album if you are a rap fan you will NOT be disapointed. Just please dont throw around the legends of hip hop with Wayne just yet.

7/10

This is a remix of "A Milli" he did after his first weeks sales were announced:



This is a freestyle Jay Z did on the radio, reaffirming my review that maybe Lil Wayne shouldn't get the big head just yet...its fitting that this is called "A Billie"