There comes a time in every rapper’s life when his stans become ex-fans, friends become enemies & critics become the inner-voice advising retirement. And that time for Dwayne M. Carter—greatest rapper to ever slither into jeggings—officially arrived in the form of Tha Carter IV—a criminally-complacent mishmash of Dollar Menu ‘Hip-Hop’ made for REAL Gs who move silently like…lasagna gnomes & aspiring Basketball wives.
At some point during our lifetime (Dedication mixtape era), Lil’ Wayne was an elite MC who routinely spit jewelry cleaner-scented murder. But that was 5 years & 4 random impregnations ago, when his lyrical brilliance was tied to the contents of his Styrofoam cup (or Gillie Da Kid’s pen). Now, he’s only a slightly better rapper than Kreayshawn Big Sean with none of the verbal dexterity that made him a Pop phenomenon.
From Carter IV‘s lyrically-nauseating Intro to Ratchetville, USA’s “I Believe I Can Fly” (“How To Love”) to “BMF” remix #937494b (“John”), Weezy spit nothing but struggle & failure (“my sh*t won’t never stop, suck my green light“) with the utmost bravado over dope production. There’s no substance or replay-value. Just a 30-year-old millionaire rapping like a ‘swagged-out’ 17-year-old who votes for 106 & Park videos.
Without his sizzurp-spiked jungle juice, Weezy is worthless to Hip-Hop, and reached his ceiling months ago. Tracks like “Blunt Blowin” & “President Carter” are two of several tracks that showcase the ink-stained inseminator’s artistic decline. As an MC, Weezy took 354864 MORE steps back than Kanye on Watch The Throne. (Exhibit A: “All about the riches, my name should be Richard.”)
After 8-months in prison, it seemed obvious that Weezy would pour his life in between the paper’s lines and reflect on his self-discovery & sobriety, but he decided, instead, to spit scribbled-out punchlines from Drake’s rhyme book. Conceptually, nothing makes any sense. When Dr. Carter’s not teaching you how to hate b*tches on track #7, he’s teaching you how to love your b*tch queen on track #12 aka Irony at its absolute finest.
However, there’s no denying the “Interlude” (Feat. the underrated Tech N9ne & Andre 3K, who effortlessly enhanced his ‘legend’), “Outro” (Feat. Early ’90s, Esco denims & wheat timbs, Nas) & shockingly-dope Pastor Legend-collab “So Special,” along with “She Will” & “Megaman,” that make Carter IV well worth the MediaFire click.
Overall, Tha Carter IV is everything snapback-obsessed middle schoolers hoped & dreamed it would be. It’s Forever 21 fitting room music. The official Citi Trends soundtrack. Your favorite skripper will slow-twurk upside down on the pole to “She Will” & your favorite hoodrat will get “How To Love” lyrics tatted over her heart. The Hip-Hop elitists will continue watching the throne and casual music heads will burn their favorite hoodrat’s copy. 1.9/4 Stars. Download it.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Def Pen Radio.
2 comments
Are you legitly kidding? Lil’ Wayne retire? You gotta be kidding me… He may not be high off syrup, but he still can rap like a beast. Every song on ‘Tha Carter IV’ is worth every cent for this album. Weezy F. Baby, and the F isn’t for F*CKING RETIRE..
i guess i’m not the only person who thinks weezy needs to retire. i saw this coming a year ago. i’m not here to be a hater but to be honest lil wayne was never a lyrical rapper, he speaks of nothing, recycles 70%(if not more) of his lines, mumbles 99.8% of the time, have the dumbest life metaphors.(which all means the same) I dont know how people can possibly be a fan of this guys music and sit there calling him the best rapper alive.(you must have hearing problems).This isnt even worth downloading , i will save that spot for another artist.for now i will keep listening to my watch the throne till J.Cole’s album drop on 9/27/11(heard it’s a great album from close sources).