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Lil Wayne Reviews

Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being II album review

Tunechi has never been quiet about what he does, how he does it or how the critics feel about it. Last month the self-proclaimed best rapper alive released his tenth album “I Am Not A Human Being II”. On the album he raps about the usual, sex, drugs and violence. The album consists of 15 tracks and 18 tracks on the deluxe version with the radio hits “No Worries”, “My Homies Still” featuring G.O.O.D Music’s Big Sean and “Love Me” featuring Drake and Future. The Young Money president worked with several known artists on the album; Juicy J (Three 6 Mafia), Soulja Boy, Gunplay, the infamous 2 Chainz and the first lady of Young Money and American Idol judge, Nicki Minaj.

Although “I Am Not A Human Being II” sold more copies than the first, the album was not impressive. On this album he used a mixture of sounds, combining rock and pop with hip hop, even sampling the hook to the classic “Lay It Down” by 8ball & MJG.  Most of the tracks on the album; “Back To You”, “Days & Days”, “No Worries”, “Wowers” and  “Curtains” (featuring Boo) are about nothing but sex in it’s vulgarity — giving blowjobs and popping molly. On “Back To You” he uses samples of the song “Compass” by soul singer Jamie Lidell, Wayne also samples Basket Case by the punk rock group Green Day for “Hot Revolver”. Weezy gives his meaning of being romantic on the track “Romance” (having sex on the job and breakfast after sex). The “How To Love” rapper tells the ladies about his likes and dislikes. You can send him a card but no flowers, unless they are green and smokable.

Other tracks include “God Bless America” where Wayne gives his version on what the stripes and the stars mean; “Rich as F**k” with 2 Chainz; “Trigger Finger’ with Soulja Boy and “Lay It Down” featuring Nicki Minaj. “Beat The S**t” featuring Gunplay talks about how one would “get dealt with” if they step out of line.

Juicy J contributes to “Trippy,” a song about being high from what they call a ‘trippy kit’, consisting of marijuana, meals and alcohol. Despite the numerous deaths from gun violence, especially towards our youth, Wayne continues to promote gun violence in his music. “Gunwalk” is a track about how he walks with a limp to symbolize he’s strapped, similar to the verse in Ace Hood’s “Hustle” remix where he raps about carrying a gun in his boxers.

“I Am Not A Human Being II” may not be as good as his previous albums but it is somewhat satisfactory.

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Lil Wayne Reviews

Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter IV review

With the flick of a lighter and Wayne’s signature pot-head giggle, Tha Carter IV kicks off like the distinctive whistle of an atomic bomb in a high speed plunge toward earth. In less than fifteen seconds, the self-proclaimed “King of Hip-Hop” will have you cowering beneath your kitchen table with your head between your knees in tumultuous anticipation of the lyrical explosion that is undoubtedly on it’s way to fuck up your world…

Unfortunately, the record begins not so much with a bang, but with a whimper.

Tha Carter IV’s hackneyed inaugural track “Intro” is a rigid, mid-tempo washout from the moment Weezy starts into his indolently written verse, until he finally puts the track out of it’s misery. Had he simply scrapped Intro all together and started off with the album’s second track Blunt Blowin’ Tha Carter IV would have had the volatile, momentous launch that is the God-given right of any release from the Young Money war chest. After all, Intro, Blunt Blowin’, and ten more of the record’s other eighteen songs start off with the exact same ‘lighter click, inhale’ combo anyway.

Despite the negative picture I’ve painted thus far, Lil’ Wayne quickly redeems himself, with an album whose track list is not only lyrically substantial but fearsomely catchy and addictive. Creative and original cuts like the chilling, pseudo-political President Carter and evocatively emotional Mirrors add humanity, depth, and dimension. Songs like How to Hate bring humor and edge, while its sister track How to Love provides us with a rare and momentary glimpse of the more sensitive side of the hip-hop powerhouse. If nothing else, Tha Carter IV is unquestionably, an album of layers and refreshing complexity.

So, once again I find myself on the opposite end of the spectrum from my music reviewing peers, who have unexplainably been foaming at the mouth, spitting licentious vitriol all over Tha Carter IV. In this writers humble opinion, Tha Carter IV, as a whole, is a much needed return to form for Weezy, especially after the half-witted rap-rock monstrosity that preceded it, Rebirth. If you can work your way passed its bumbling, snooze-worthy beginnings, and a few irritatingly repetitive and ridiculous production decisions.
Tha Carter IV is a great album.

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Top 5: Hip-Hop Protégés

Snoop Dogg

Snoop D-O-double-G has been around for so long that it’s hard to imagine him being the protégé of anyone. He is, though. Way back in the early nineties, Cordazar Calvin Broadus was fresh out of high school and a couple of convictions of cocaine trafficking. His freestyle over an old En Vogue song somehow made its way to The Dr. Dre’s ears, and after an audition, Snoop Doggy Dogg found a home at Death Row Records. He certainly has a thing for doctors, as he not only caught the attention of Dr. Dre, but also The D.O.C. (from gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A.), who gave him pointers on how to craft some good rap. Random fact: Snoop is a spokesperson for “Chronic Candy,” made in Switzerland and tastes like… you guessed it: marijuana. On second thought, maybe that’s not so random.

Eminem

Probably the most famous protégé in the history of hip-hop, Eminem made a huge name for not only himself when his Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers LPs came out, but also Dr. Dre, the man who seems to be some kind of talent magnet. That or he just knows how to pick those rappers; thanks to Em, his label, Aftermath Records, found its biggest star, and with Dr. Dre producing the bulk of his albums, Eminem became the rapper that you and your mom knew about. In any case, Eminem’s undying obsession with controversy ensured that music listeners will always be likewise obsessed with Slim Shady – and how could we not? It’s not everyday that a non-African-American rapper has the power to shock you like no gangsta rap has ever done.

50 Cent

From one rapper with an eye for talent to another, Eminem must’ve been taught well by Dr. Dre because when he picked up 50 Cent, he got Aftermath Records another multi-platinum superstar rapper. A little know fact about 50 is that he had some help before Eminem and Dre came along; Jam Master Jay was technically his first mentor in the art of writing songs. After 50 Cent got shot in the infamous nine-bullet-wound incident, one of his CDs found its way into Eminem’s hands, he got flown out for an audition… and everyone knows what happened after that. The lesson here? If you want to make it big you’ve got to go straight to the top – that’s where the people with the jets are.

Drake

You might know him as that guy in the wheelchair from that Degrassi show, but apparently, Aubrey “Drake” Graham raps even better than he acts. Actually, it might have something to do with the producers of his show getting rid of the entire cast, but that’s a different story. After working on a bunch of mixtapes in his early career, Drake finally ended up on Lil Wayne’s Young Money label, and was (still is, probably) one of the most hyped Canadian rappers in a long, long time. It remains to be seen if Lil Wayne, his mentor who’s pretty young himself, can pull a Dr. Dre, but given how Drake is doing on the charts, the chances look pretty good.

Danja

Rappers aside, one of the biggest protégés in hip-hop music has to be “Danjahandz,” or simply Danja, who’s been the perfect student for Timbaland. This record producer has worked with Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Lloyd Banks, T.I., and of course, Timbaland himself, picking up a couple of Grammys along the way. Stepping out of his mentor’s shadow though, Danja’s experience with piano and drums sets him apart from other beat-makers who go completely digital and forgo their instruments, and this strategy earns him at least 50k per track at the last count. Not too shabby.