Tha Carter IV

I just got the album, so maybe it needs to grow on me or something. Most of this album though is just Wayne coasting, from what I gather. Some of Wayne's best rapping has been on tracks we've already heard ("6'7") and some of the other brightest spots on the album come from guests (Tech N9ne, Nas, Drake, etc.) That's kind of depressing. How many times is Wayne gonna use the same flows, the same similes and metaphors ("life is a ...") and the same scatter-brain subject matter??? None of his songs are ABOUT anything in particular and it sounds like he's just doing one big freestyle for almost the entire album. I miss the songs that were ABOUT SOMETHING... Even if the song just had a loose concept or something to work around. The beats have been better and Wayne has been better. It's not BAD, it's just not GOOD like that. It's an inconsistent effort. I actually found Tha Carter III more engaging than this one... actually, Tha Carter I, II, and III were better than this. Damn... Again, not bad, just not that good either.

After Rebirth (which was an entirely different animal), I Am Not a Human Being and Tha Carter IV, I'm beginning to give up on Lil Wayne. 3 weak and mediocre albums from this dude? I don't think he has it anymore. Wayne can make a reggae album, a Spanish album and the Carter V if he wants to because at this point, I'm not interested in picking up another album anyway. I don't hate the album; I'm just tired of being disappointed.

Updated: 11/22/11 I haven't bumped this album much since the first week or two it was out... Just saying... 'Nuff said.

Rapper Lil Wayne's 2005-08 run of seemingly endless freestyles, mixtapes, and guest spots was an exciting era for hip-hop. It all culminated in "Tha Carter III," a drug-fueled album so perverse and absurd I'd wager Wayne doesn't remember making any of it. It was easily the best project of its year and a seminal college album. You know the kind I'm talking about, perfect for falling in love with "real music" after moving out of Mom and Dad's--full of profanity and attitude and pretention, but also genuinely unique. In it, Wayne ignored all voices of restraint and reason.

These days, despite a healthy number of guest spots on radio and digital singles, Wayne's releases--like last year's full-length "I Am Not a Human Being," this summer's "Sorry 4 the Wait," or even new full-length "Tha Carter IV"--are more concise, less absurd. It seems the drug-fueled, speedy rants of Wayne's signature recordings have given way to a more confident artist, one with less to prove. Despite Wayne's insistence to the contrary, he's finally starting to sound human.

Nothing in "Tha Carter IV" comes off with that same immediacy and--yes--inanity. Instead, "IV" feels like a restrained effort, as if Wayne is finally comfortable sitting in the pocket of his beats, knocking off punch lines and having a drink. He's not exactly phoning it in, but he's got our number on speed dial just in case. At one turn, it's disconcerting, even disappointing. At another, it's refreshing. Every LP since "Tha Carter II" has been filled to the breaking point with Wayne's ambition and drive. With "III" it worked in spades, but it was destined to fail eventually. "IV" ignores almost every hallmark of those sprawling projects (mixtapes included) and gives us Wayne stripped down.

The goofy punch lines are all here, and that at least is familiar. Wayne doesn't even pretend to know what half of these jokes mean, and most take a couple listens before they sink in with an "Ah-HA! Wait... the hell?"

The biggest question about any of this hair splitting will be, Does Wayne deliver the goods? Is this album as good or better than "Tha Carter III"?

Absolutely not. In fact, it pales in comparison.

So does the majority of Wayne's work, except perhaps "Tha Carter II," another stack of Wayne's lyrical gems. "Tha Carter IV" is Wayne as hashtag-rapper-in-full, less interested in lyrical complexity or even the musicality of his beats, more interested in jokes and gags. He sounds playful, though the thin line between silliness and sobriety is completely crossed. At times, Wayne becomes a 12-year-old boy telling his favorite poop joke for the 30th time, though this go around, he doesn't seem as aware of his knack for self-parody.

For a few years, Wayne was the greatest rapper alive. His output of tracks, singles, mixtapes and hit albums is now legendary. But now, with talks of retirement and a rock dud under his belt, Wayne seems tamer, the kind of guy who will probably never leave radio entirely, but who has seen better days and is completely aware of it. What's nice is how pleasant most of this album is, how it manages to be an "event" project despite having very little eventfulness. Something tells me it will always be this way for most Wayne fans. His cult of celebrity is almost self-sustaining and has seen him through creative droughts and some of the worst rock music ever recorded.

It's not a complete success, but with expectations at a reasonable level (that is to say, lowered), "Tha Carter IV" is just fine. Welcome back, Weezy.

UPDATE: September 8, 2011 -- This article appeared without the permission of its author on the website, Hip Hop Galaxy. At the time it was discovered, Hip Hop Galaxy had not credited the author with its content, nor linked back to Amazon.com. Amazon has been contacted, and has replied amiably in helping me clear this up.

i must be getting old....this is GARBAGE. worthless...pointless....terrible. if you give this 5 stars you're on something, or getting off it.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 169 reviews  3.3 out of 5 stars