chaostamer's Full Review: Tha Carter III [PA] by Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne is, without a doubt, hip-hop's most divisive figure today. It seems like no one group tends toward any particular opinion about the self-proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive". For every mainstream-lovin', Top 40-listenin' radio-head (no Thom Yorke) that gets behind his claims, there's another that rides with 50 Cent and prays every night before bed for Eminem to triumphantly return to the game, shutting down his "fagget ass career" (I'd cite my source, but there's no standard for YouTube comments...yet). The online-bloggin', obscure-as-hell-band listenin' hipster folks either think he's the greatest thing since MC Slized Bredd (here's looking at you, Pitchfork) or...pretty much the opposite and [cite obscure artist here]. Some hip-hop "heads" think he's a clever, refreshing and entertaining artist, some think he's marginally talented, lazy and inconsistent, and some just don't get him (just check out the reviews on this very site). Bottom line: expectations for his 2008 album Tha Carter III were all over the place.
Before my intro becomes pretentious and overblown, I'll cut to the chase: when you strip away the maelstrom of different opinions surrounding it and let the music speak for itself, Tha Carter III is a very good album, even if it falls a few notches short of the greatness it was pushing for. If you want an idea as to the sound of the album, just give track 13, "La La" a listen. Then, go and listen to the other 15 tracks, the album can't be defined by just one song, one style, or one sound, and that's where a lot of its greatness comes from. See, Lil Wayne is one of the most unique and stylistically creative rappers out there today, sporting a weeded-out rasp of a voice, a flow recalling a late-‘90s Jay-Z in versatility, and a knack for spitting bizarre, often nonsensical punchlines in such a way that you can tell he's just messing with his audience. And he's entertaining; in fact, there's not an outright bad song on here, largely due to his quirky charm.
But don't get me wrong; he is a talented emcee. He doesn't always use his talent (the last six months or so have found him delivering a bizarre slew of lazy, Auto-Tuned guest verses amidst somewhat horrifying rumours of an upcoming "rock" album), but when he does, twisting that flow of his around an array of those signature punchlines, he's fairly impressive. Opener "3 Peat" is just three minutes of straight, uninterrupted rhyming showcasing Wayne's style at its scatterbrained best: within six bars, he goes from a fellatio metaphor to recalling his 2001 shooting to...a Viagra pun. But it works. He's better when he gets reflective. "Tie My Hands" is a major standout; over an acoustic guitar and guest Robin Thicke's soulful hooks, he reflects on Hurricane Katrina with some of his most poetic lyrics (my favorite couplet: "I lost everything, but I ain't the only one / First came the hurricane and then the morning sun"). It's one of the sobering moments in an album filled with hot singles and off-center braggadocio.
Of course, a lot of credit needs to go to the producers; Tha Carter III features Lil Wayne's most consistent boardwork to date. Kanye West drops by twice for two of the production highlights, filling "Comfortable" and "Let the Beat Build" with his trademark soul (some Deezle guy contributes the drums to the latter track). "3 Peat," with its frenetic synths courtesy of Maestro perfectly matches Wayne's rapping, while "Mr. Carter" can only be described as anthemic, with an Infamous beat clearly inspired by the work of Just Blaze. Meanwhile, "Shoot Me Down" and "Playing with Fire" feature rock-inspired beats, the former plodding along ominously while the latter builds slowly along a piano melody before exploding during the chorus. Even the weirder beats work: Bangladesh's production on "A Milli" is minimalistic as it comes, consisting of nothing more than drum kicks and a vocal sample of "a milli" looped ad infinitum and David Banner provides a beat that can only be described as nursery rhyme-esque. Hell, even Swizz Beatz is good, imbuing "Dr. Carter" with a building, jazzy brass section that he undoubtedly sampled shamelessly from another song. The other beats work just as well; there's not a production credit wasted.
And let's give Lil Wayne the credit he deserves; he's not half as bad as people like to portray him. Pretty much every track on Tha Carter III is stylistically unique. He plays the lover on the excellent "Comfortable" and the vaguely creepy "Mrs. Officer," the social commentator in "Tie My Hands" and "Don'tGetIt," the introspective emcee in "Playing with Fire" and "Shoot Me Down," and the weird-ass battle-rapper in a few others, his verses in "Mr. Carter" and "You Ain't Got Nuthin" highlights of that phase. He even takes on Auto-Tune and half-sings some lines for major hit single "Lollipop" (the start of mainstream rap's recent infatuation with the tool). And Wayne has some great verses on the album, but even when his lyrics aren't great, his flow and charisma tends to pull his lines together; the end result: there really aren't any outright bad verses from him on the album. At the very least, he's interesting enough to not skip through.
But I mentioned highlights: "Mr. Carter" is the first on the album. Lil Wayne is joined by his fellow Carter Jay-Z, and the two both deliver great verses. Lil Wayne comes right out of the gate proclaiming, "Blind eyes can look at me and see the truth-wonder if Stevie do?" before jumping into a rather clever "I'm being hated by the seasons" section. Jay takes the third verse to proclaim Wayne his "heir," and despite the lazy verses he was responsible for in 2008, more than holds his own against the younger Carter, outshining him with a concise, but still-nimble flow. "Comfortable" owes a lot to Kanye West's production, but Wayne holds it down with his surprisingly sincere lines and emotional voice. The aforementioned "Tie My Hands" is lovely and quite poignant while "Dr. Carter" is downright hilarious, with Wayne taking on the role of a hip-hop physician, losing two patients before saving the third-hip-hop itself. Did I mention that his lyrics were excellent on this one? Even if you don't like Wayne, these four tracks in particular need to be heard; they're great tracks, period.
Of course, the album isn't without its flaws. Jay-Z is the only truly great guest emcee. No-name Brisco has a decent, albeit goofy verse on "La La," but veteran Busta Rhymes is terrible with awful punchlines ("Money fuckin' retarded; call it Down-Syndrome money") and a flow so strained that it's hard to imagine he's the same guy that had tongue-twisters like "Break Ya Neck" back in the day. And Fabolous fares no better. His delivery is downright lethargic and his lines are nothing special; he gets easily outshined by marginal emcee Juelz Santana before Wayne comes through with an especially spirited verse. Wayne himself needs to take some blame. Though he truly shined on "A Milli" and managed to sustain "Lollipop," (though the track's success is largely due to the super-cool, spacey beat and Static Major's hook) the other two singles don't fare as well. "Got Money," despite one gem of a punchline, ("Bitch, I'm the bomb, like *tick...tick*!") is forgettable as club songs come and "Mrs. Officer," lacks the wit of many of Wayne's sex songs. "Playing with Fire" is more frustrating; it would be a clear album highlight if the particularly weak first verse didn't drag down the two great verses that followed. Plus, the five-plus minute rant in the outro loses its charm after a couple listens. The album also just drags on way too long. Cutting weaker tracks like the aforementioned "Got Money" and "Mrs. Officer," as well as the fairly forgettable "Phone Home" would only have improved Tha Carter III. Oh, and while we're at it, let's get rid of the second half of "Don'tGetIt" and Fabolous' verse altogether.
Still, these are more minor qualms than serious detractors. Even though the album is far from perfect, it still holds up throughout its entire 76 minutes. It won't be winning over any anti-Wayne folks out there either, but the openminded listeners should at least find a handful of tracks to enjoy. And consider this: 2008 was probably the worst year in hip-hop's history, at least since it really took off in '86. Lil Wayne managed to deliver an album that, though not mind-bendingly lyrical or creative, still manages to be consistently listenable and thoroughly entertaining. That's got to count for something, right?
Track Listing: 1. 3 Peat (*****) 2. Mr. Carter (*****) 3. A Milli (*****) 4. Got Money (***) 5. Comfortable (*****) 6. Dr. Carter (*****) 7. Phone Home (***) 8. Tie My Hands (*****) 9. Ms. Officer (***) 10. Let the Beat Build (****) 11. Shoot Me Down (****) 12. Lollipop (****) 13. La La (****) 14. Playing With Fire (****) 15. You Ain't Got Nuthin' (****) 16. DontGetIt (****)
Highlights: "Mr. Carter," "Comfortable," "Dr. Carter," "Tie My Hands" Skip-worthy: nothing in particular
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![Tha Carter III [PA] by Lil Wayne](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/56/8f/ab/2046158601-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.