MUSIC REVIEWS

unWIRED Rating:

Lil Wayne

Last year around April I recall waiting in line at a local Blockbuster, looking around to pass the time, and was absolutely struck stupid when I saw a Rolling Stone cover of Lil Wayne with the headline “Lil Wayne Goes to Rock.” Just seconds before I was annoyed of waiting in line, and suddenly I began praying for a declined credit card so I could delve into Rolling Stone’s pages of wisdom. Before the cashier’s vocal cords droned “next” I was able to catch a glimpse of him saying “I just got — I’m not going to say ’so good’ at what I was doing, but it became such a regularity for me that I got tired of it.”

The artist has been heard all over the radio with featured slots among vocals like Eminem, Drake, DJ Khaled, T-Pain, and Akon just to name a minute few. He is the one artist that never disappears from the music scene with a machine gun of mixed tapes, singles, and appearances all over the media. He is his own media engine doing what he wants, when he wants, however the hell he wants! Rebirth is what he wanted.

The last piece of hip- hop that I heard coming from “The Best” was his FREE mixed- tape No Ceilings full of verses overlaying the top hits of 2009. It was filled with satire, comical word play and verses that just made me laugh and say “Oh Weezy!” No Ceilings is a genius compilation of lyrics like “I poke her face off and now she faceless, I poke her so much I deserve a bracelet” in his rendition of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face. With lyrics to twist the mind, I expected the same type of comical spirit in his take of rock, but found quite the opposite!

Lil Wayne’s new album Rebirth was delayed countless times and is finally open to public onslaught. This album is far different from its nemesis The Carter III, which was a top seller when it released in 2008. The Carter III was packed with big name producers like Kanye West, will.i.am, and Swizz Beatz alongside featured artists like Jay- Z, Busta Rhymes, and T-Pain. The album Rebirth in contrast features producers like Travis Barker from Blink- 182, and artists like Kevin Rudolf (most known for his song “Let it Rock”), Nicki Minaj, and Shanell. Instead of the comedian Weezy I expected in his verses, I found an array of pop inspired songs (maybe he was trying to go punk) like Prom Queen and Knockout, while others were filled with lyrics of hurt and resentment of fame and fortune. I also noticed that most of the album is characterized with heavy use of auto- tune, which is disappointing coming from one of the most unique voices in the music world. In the end, I felt this album was pretty dark in terms of lyrical content and melodies. With everything that’s surrounding him in the media (gun charges, jail time, etc) this album Rebirth may be a direct light into an artist breaking down and wanting to start new- a Rebirth.

The first song of the album is American Star featuring Shanell and a classic rock, Gun’s n Roses- esque guitar intro. The song lacked metaphor and world play and instead stuck to simple lyrics as an anthem to being born in the U.S.A (sounds like Bruce Springsteen to me)! The second song Prom Queen, also featuring Shanell, is literally a song about a prom queen who rejected him when he asked her out to the dance and then came crying to his door (this one sounds like Taylor Swift to me, minus the explicit language). The next song Ground Zero is a song I thought was pretty well made featuring 90’s grunge metal guitar riffs and a Limp Bizkit type of a rap singing. The use of auto- tune is most evident in this song but I was pleased with his better usage of lyrics and hints of metaphor like “let’s jump off a building” and hit “ground zero” (obviously about getting high). Da Da Da lacked any kind of cleverness with lyrics like “funkey monkey” (really?) and “you so fine your body need a body guard” which sounds like a really cheesy pick- up line! Paradice is a slower song and features a Stone Temple Pilots kind of guitar intro to compliment the lyrics that talk about fame and fortune being no paradise. I felt this song pretty much established why he made this album with “I’m tired of playin the same song, who told the DJ bring it back” and “It’s like I have it all, but what’s it all worth, I’m probably better in my afterlife.” Get a Life is a song with ska influence and Sublime type quirk, almost sounding a bit like the band Rancid. On Fire features an 80’s style synth with a Scarface intro while Drop The World is by far the best song of the album!

Drop the World was sung by Lil Wayne and Eminem at the 2010 Grammy’s and is another song that definitely gets to the heart of Rebirth. Lil Wayne has said he’s become the best in the hip hop world but wants to be the best period. Being stuck in the hip hop genre he “serves to survive” and “I work and forever try, but I’m cursed so never mind.” Eminem’s feature verses and rap are also must hear in this song!

Runnin, featuring Shanell, has good world play like “and in hell, you need justification, but, but for me it was just a vacation.” Too bad the world play is shut down with Shanell’s mediocre singing and a Miley Cyrus type of wailing! One Way Trip features Kevin Rudolf and is produced by Travis Barker, featuring a sound of the likes of Shiny Toy Guns. I felt that Kevin Rudolf overshadows Lil Wayne in this song, and could probably be a hit song if Weezy’s rap was deleted out! Knockout, I hope to the heavens, was a song written in a drug induced coma because Lil Wayne talking about Barbie and being her black Ken couldn’t have possibly been done sober!!! When it comes to the song The Price is Wrong, I’d have to go with Adam Sandler when he says “the price is wrong, bitch.”

Having an affinity for art, I respect Lil Wayne’s experimentation of rap into rock because true art creates criticism and rightfully so, Rebirth has done that. But because he’s built his name on the stage of hip- hop and rap, the constricted music world can’t seem to honor his boon to music. Some may even say he should take Jay- Z’s D.O.A advice with “rappers singin too much, get back to rappin, you T- Pain’in too much!” In the end, we live in a society where true art and craft struggle to survive and only the fittest survive!

So the question remains: Why did Lil Wayne do it?

The answer: Because he can!

Stay fit Lil Wayne

Written by Cristina Szewczyk