Review: Tha Carter III

Can you go twenty minutes without hearing something Lil’ Wayne related these days? It’s kind of scary that he has become the face of rap music in every association of the genre and it is certainly an image that we should hope is only temporary. Tha Carter III had so much hype surrounding it, it was seemingly the best album no one has ever heard. On the contrary, there is much to analyze and emphasize on the underwhelming “C3” including off topic and off tangent emceeing, tacky gimmicks, and meaningless banter.

The once rising star of Cash Money now carries the label on his shoulders and he stays true to his money flashing on the Bangladesh banger, “A Millie.” Sure, its pure braggadocio and dollar signs for 4 minutes, but it is something Wayne does well and the beat is infectious (Vampire Mix of “El Segundo” sample). His hunger and flow are both on cue for most of the track, but after the numerous remixes, it seems evident that any rapper sounds good over such a beat. The ego continues to leak on “You Ain’t Got Nothin’,” which offers guest spots from Fabolous and Juelz Santana, but nothing significant is contributed to all 3 rappers over the hypnotic Alchemist beat.

Kanye West should get a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his contributions on the album. “Comfortable and “Let the Beat Build” are both contenders for top song honours, with the former being very radio friendly and so easy to digest (with a great feature from Babyface) and the latter being a soulful joint with plenty of bounce to it, perfectly using the Eddie Kendricks sample. Andrea Correa and DJ Infamous lends a soulful hand as well with the addictive “Mr. Carter,” which features the rather unimpressive Jay-Z and Lil’ Wayne underachieving over the glorious beat.

One thing the album has got going for it is its ability to draw in repetitive listens, even if the lyricism and delivery is complete garbage at times. Much kudos goes to production for developing catchy and addictive choruses as heard throughout the album, but many props also go to Lil’ Wayne for showing growth as he gives insight to a rather disturbing childhood memory on “Shoot Me Down.” He shows further maturity on “Tie My Hands” featuring Robin Thicke (also on Thicke’s new album), an in depth commentary on the limitations put on citizen inside and outside of New Orleans, his home town, during Hurricane Katrina.
Weezy randomly puts non-sensible sentences together and moves from primary topics of a song to something completely irrelevant. “Mrs. Officer” is the biggest laugh on the album with its content being a huge punch in the face to the legal system. While the wit on my part is clever (ha!), Wayne isn’t exactly on the same page. To put it simply, he wants to have sex with female police officers. “Phone Home” and “La La” provide for more unintended comedy, as they are silly and unnecessary additions to an already long album.

The proclaimed “Greatest Rapper Alive,” a claim he isn’t shy to make numerous times here on the album, seems to be a master of inconsistency on the album. He can go outside of his element at times and pull off a great performance, but we have reason to believe that it is a fluke. “DontGetIt” is his final attempt to leave on an introspective note, and it blunders and shows us that Weezy is certainly not a very good conversationalist.

Tha Carter III is an entertaining album, but a compilation of 8 tracks would’ve been better, as opposed to a mixtape assortment type of songs that have no connections, yet, lasts over 80 minutes. Essentially, “C3” is an album that has plenty of popcorn flick material for you to just sit back and enjoy with particular tracks that might make a playlist in the future. And if you’ve already had your fair share of Weezy in the last few months, hope that an instrumental album drops.

Overall Score: 64/100

Standout Tracks:

“Comfortable”

“Let The Beat Build”

“Dr. Carter”