April 25, 2009

Reader Review: Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III (August 18, 2008)


(Yeah, so here's the deal: I didn't listen to Tha Carter III, and I have no immediate plans to do so. But Archibald, late of his recommendation of Common's Universal Mind Control, has, so in the interest of fairness for all facets of the hip hop diamond, I'm letting him have the floor, nearly italic-free, because he has a lot to say and I want him to get started already, and also, what part of "I haven't listened to it" can't be understood?. Leave your comments in the usual place, and who knows: if enough people start leaving messages, I may actually try to find this at my local library someday.)

Okay, so I have a confession to make: Tha Carter III is NOT my favorite rap album. By far, that honor would be held by Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by the Wu-Tang Clan, a group so amazingly great that any time another rapper tries to rip them off they usually hit paydirt (See Carter, Shawn and Reasonable Doubt. Dude should have just cut Raekwon a check for wholesale biting the style of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...).

However, do we really need to talk about the Wu-Tang any more? The answer to that question is “Probably. But not today.”

I knew that I wanted to write a review for the site, and I racked my brain for other hip hop albums I knew front to back, and discovered that those albums were either all Wu-centric affairs, or this other little-loved indie album that’s only like ten tracks long, I’m pretty sure it’s called Illmatic or some crazy shit. And then I thought back to somewhat of a lost weekend that I had in the months of June and July last year (clearly he was bumping a bootleg, since the disc wasn't released until August of 2008), where all I listened to was one very, very popular rap album made by America’s favorite codeine enthusiast. Guess what we’re I’m referring to. I dare you.

Yep.

Today we shall discuss the curious case of DeWayne Carter Jr., a young man both loved and reviled in hip hop circles for rapping about unimaginative topics in the most imaginative way possible, a young man who has taken to calling himself the “Best Rapper Alive,” a move that, last time I checked, wasn’t controversial at all.

I’ll get back to Wayne, but first I want to spend a couple minutes with Jay-Z. Who has two thumbs and hates the last person who called himself the “Best Rapper Alive?” This guy (this is the part where I’m point both of my thumbs at myself, but you can’t really see me doing that as you’re reading this on the internet as opposed to hearing me drunkenly ramble about this at some keg party). Point is, fuck that guy. He made it big ripping off Biggie, Nas, and the Wu and then threw both Nas and Jaz-O (his mentor and the guy who gave him his name) under a bus once he made it big. The guy has never had an original thought in his life, and literally all of his songs depend on the production for success like those fucking vampires in the Twilight books depend on blood (or abstinence) to remain alive. And he holds himself up like he’s this paragon of unmatched lyricism, and then he releases song after song about how fucking rich he is.

The point of the preceding paragraph is that I’m not exactly bummed that Weezy took that title away from the Jiggaman; however, if there were any justice in this world the best rapper alive crown would be worn by somebody like Wale or Blu, two rappers who are roughly the same age as Weezy F. Baby but miles out of his league lyrically and way more sober. However, you’ve got to hand it to Wayne: Tha Carter III was a monster in the sales department, having sold three million copies in a year where an album made by a super-group featuring Sly Stone, Michael Jackson, a fresh-out-of-hiding-in-the-Bahamas Tupac, and featuring not one but two guest verses by Bigfoot (who I’ve heard has a pretty good flow) probably would have struggled to go gold. So regardless of how much Max and the rest of the internet would like to plug their ears and pretend it didn’t happen, Tha Carter III demands to be discussed. So without further adieu:

1. 3 PEAT
You’ve got to hand it to Wayne, he’s actually legitimately dedicated to lyricism, at least in the sense that he’s not just going to let the production do the work for him. This songs clocks in at over three minutes, and for the majority of the track, it’s just Wayne spitting his shit, sans hook. The instrumental functions mainly as background for Wayne to rap over, but the strings towards are a nice surprise and give the song a classical lean (pun intended). I guess the strings shouldn’t really be that big of a surprise, seeing as the track was produced by some dude named Maestro.

2. MR. CARTER (FEAT JAY-Z)
When this track first burst on the scene, everybody tried to place the dusty soul sample that functions as the track’s hook. Turns out said sample is non-existent; it was sung by one of the track’s producers and then manipulated to sound old and sped-up. With the exception of the sample, the instrumental is pretty organic, which is gigantically fucking jarring when compared to “3 Peat,” which sounds like it was composed on a Macbook in like fifteen minutes. Weezy gets bonus points for poop jokes, but he loses points for laughing at said jokes, which is a habit of his that gets annoying. Jay-Z doesn’t do the track any favors by talking about how he’s a martyr, and then talking about how rich he is. Again, fuck that guy. I still like this song though.

3. A MILLI
So yeah, Bangladesh (the idiot who produced this track) stole a sample of Phife Dawg saying the phrase “A milli” from the intro Tribe’s reggae-tinged (and Fatboy Slim-produced) remix to “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo.” That was a stupid move. But Wayne, for the second time in three songs, does that trick where he just raps for three minutes and keeps your attention for most of it. He compares himself to Andre 3000, which is actually a valid comparison I think. Weezy kind of actually raps like Andre 3000, assuming he were on more (or, depending on where you get your information from, different) drugs.

4. GOT MONEY (FEAT T-PAIN)
I’m pretty sure that they’re going to take my right to use the internet away from me as punishment for liking this song. But I have a confession to make: I LOVE willfully shitty hip hop. It’s almost like Lil Wayne had a checklist of things he had to write about for the song that was obviously to meant to be a hit single: having lots money, how much girls love him, vague threats to those who associate with the police, having lots of expensive jewelry, referencing a bunch of old hits, referencing all of his nicknames, autotune. All are accomplished in short order. And Jesus Fucking Christ, I fucking love this song so much. Also, kudos to the video, which for some bizarre reason tries to pretend the song is about robbing a bank because of Hurricane Katrina.

5. COMFORTABLE (FEAT BABYFACE)
Okay so if I haven’t already lost you, please bear with me because I’m about to tie hip hop and country together. So in the fifties, there was this trend in Honky Tonk called “the response song” where a female would respond to the lyrics of a male singer’s song. As in, Hank Williams would record a song called “Cold Cold Heart” and then a girl would record a response song called “My Cold Cold Heart is Melted Now.” Well, “Comfortable” borrows this trend and functions as a response to Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable.” The basic thesis of “Irreplaceable” was, “You will never find another girl like me. I am irreplaceable.” “Comfortable” responds by saying, “You are incorrect. I will find another girl like you. Fuck off.” It’s pretty clear that this is Kanye-produced track is a leftover that was collecting dust on his hard drive, because it doesn’t really mesh with the production styles of his Graduation prog-rap or the beep-centric emo bullshit that was 808’s & Heartbreak.

6. DR. CARTER
Lil Wayne pretends to be a doctor, which is a pretty funny thing to think about seeing as I’m pretty sure the dude didn’t finish high school. (To be fair, he was attending college classes in Houston right up until he became really huge.) I swear to God this song wouldn’t sound out of place on a Tribe album. Also, in the song Dr. Carter lets two out of his three patients die, which by any calculation makes him a pretty shitty doctor.

7. PHONE HOME
Cool & Dre should not be allowed to produce any more music. That is all.

8. TIE MY HANDS (FEAT. ROBIN THICKE)
When I first saw this song’s title and heard that it was produced by Robin Thicke, I KNEW that this song was about fucking. And then I listened to it, and it’s actually an honest, poignant representation of the frustrations held by a lot of New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina. On the other hand, he talks about shooting somebody’s grandmother in the face on the album’s first song, so I guess that kind of discounts what he says here.

9. MRS. OFFICER (FEAT. BOBBY VALENTINO)
The first time I heard this song, I thought it was fucking hilarious. It’s about having sex with a police officer. And then I realized that this song is stupid. Moving on.

10. LET THE BEAT BUILD
Wayne just kind of babbles about random bullshit here, so I guess that now is a good point in the write-up to address why I think that people hate Lil Wayne so much. His writing process basically just involves him taking a bunch of drugs and rapping about the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s most often interesting. This is not a man who puts a lot of thought into his raps. But then again, does Kool Keith really make that much sense?

11. SHOOT ME DOWN (FEAT D. SMITH)
This song is about Lil Wayne talking tough to a mirror and then shooting himself in the chest on accident. But it comes off like a shitty Linkin Park song, which is pretty funny because Busta Rhymes actually did a song with Linkin Park that sounds WAY worse than this song, that isn’t all that great to begin with. So at least Weezy probably got his shitty track for way cheaper than Busta did.

12. LOLLIPOP (FEAT STATIC MAJOR)
Remember that time about a year ago when you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hearing this song? Yeah, me too. Ironically, Wayne sings a lot like said dead cat, only ran through Autotune.

13. LA LA (FEAT BRISCO AND BUSTA RHYMES)
Speaking of Busta, he pops up here and provides a bizarre verse about how diseased his money is. Brisco is just wallpaper here, but he drops a good line about how he’s higher than gas prices. However, the less said about this beat, the better. Those looking for an actual good song should go for the unreleased track “La La La” which is a different song that probably didn’t see the light of day because of sample bullshit.

14. PLAYING WITH FIRE (FEAT BETTY WRIGHT)
This song steals wholesale from the Rolling Stones song of the same name, and the Stones got pissed off about it and sued Lil Wayne for tarnishing their image (yeah, because the Rolling Stones didn’t do lots of drugs and have lots of sex with random women) and successfully got the song removed from all future pressings of Tha Carter III, which is a shame, because this is a pretty good song.

15. YOU AIN’T GOT NUTHIN (FEAT FABOLOUS AND JUELZ SANTANA)
Alchemist and Deezle cook up an ominous instrumental over which Fab, Juelz Santana and Wayne make threats to an unknown entity, presumably for the offense of “hating.” Weezy bats cleanup here, and wins the “C. Montgomery Burns Best Verse Award,” partially for the correct use of the word “asinine,” but mainly because he manages to sound like a complete and total crazy person.

16. DONTGETIT
I’ll admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for Nina Simone (what, you thought I only listened to hip hop?), so I love it when she’s sampled in hip hop songs. Anywho, the two verses on here are actually pretty great. It’s stuff like this that makes Lil Wayne actually pretty good. If you listen to this song, he manages to sound intelligent, threatening, stupid, and funny, sometimes all at the same time. After dropping his verses, DeWayne smokes a blunt in the booth and launches into a rant about drug laws and Al Sharpton. And like that, the album ends.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Lil Wayne is not the best rapper alive. He is also not the worst. However, he is probably the most popular rapper today, which kind of makes people hate him. The songs on here are pretty neatly put into three categories: hardcore songs with hyper-violent lyrics, songs that are meant to be “conscious” or at least show a modicum of intelligence, and finally the songs that are overtly poppy and meant to be released as singles. Overall, Tha Carter III isn’t really all that different from other hip hop albums. Now I know that Saigon or some other internet indie bullshit is probably “better” than Lil Wayne, but honestly, do we always need better? Can’t we just settle for entertaining? In closing, this is my third-favorite rap album. Oh yeah, and blah blah blah Joe Budden Royce da 5’9, when is Wale’s album coming out, whatever.
BUY OR BURN? Let’s be real here. If you don’t already own this album, you aren’t going to buy it. If you are old, you will ignore Tha Carter III’s existence and listen to O.C.’s first album again, and if you are young, you will probably illegally download it. So there.

BEST TRACKS: “Mr. Carter,” “Got Money,” “Dr. Carter,” “Playing With Fire,” “DontGetIt”

-Archibald

(That was an awful lot of words for an album that a lot of hip hop heads automatically dismiss. so you may want to double back and read the damn thing, if for nothing else but the entertainment value. Comments can be left below, as always.)

49 comments:

  1. this album was really good. mainly for the productions. but its kinda sad that this guy is thought of as the greatest

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  2. did you just compare lil wayne to kool keith? *takes away credentials*

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  3. your the man for reviewing deis- a bit too much to read now..

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  4. after reading this I tried to listen to the album... Well I couldn't

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  5. what kind of hip hop head checks out a lil wayne album???? somebody should of told u not to post a review on this, obviously its fucking garbage

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  6. I know I got trashed when I posted my midnight marauders review, but that was for the way I wrote it not how good I actually deemed the songs. With THIS review, I can confidently say that he called all the alright songs bad and the horrible songs good.

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  7. just like the album. i passed on this review. kinda surprised to see this here.

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  8. it seems like you have a causeless sympathy for wayne and his album and you're trying to justify it somehow. any other rapper you mentioned at the end is lightyears above lil wayne.

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  9. Nice review, and I totally agree. This album was a big hit in europe too, although on my copy the last track is called "misunderstood" instead of "dontgetit".
    And I think calling yourself "best rapper alive" automatically makes you the target and main argument for the not-lovers of the genre, which is actually a smart move since there's no such thing as bad press.

    Greetings from the Netherlands!

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  10. You should look at the title of your blog. This is what is trying to kill hip hop.

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  11. Umm, Tha Carter III came out on June 10 of last year, Max. He wasn't bumping a bootleg. I have no idea where you got August from. Sources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tha_Carter_III
    http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11608-tha-carter-iii/
    http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/reviews-album/tha-carter-iii-1003816210.story

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  12. I nearly totally agree with this view.

    I know that loads of people on this site dont really give new rappers a chance but this Album is up there with the great. Although I dont really agree with ur take on Get Money or Comfortable (that song is amazng) I totally agree with the idea of giving this album a chance. Wayne sounds like a croaky toad for most of it but that doesnt mean he cant spit.

    Good review

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  13. Busta Rhymes has the best verse on this album. Fabolous is dope 2

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  14. The whole point of the blog is to see if classic albums hold up and if the newer efforts are helping or hurting the cause. For everyone that is actually surprised that there was a Lil' Wayne review posted, you have to understand that, for every one person (like myself, granted) that hates the guy and his music, there are at least one million people out that love the guy, which has been proven over and over again. Which makes him, unfortunately, a part of hip hop, rendering him a subject that would eventually have to be addressed on the blog. I'm not really swayed by Archibald's write-up, and I have no plans on picking this up in the future, but music is subjective in nature, and not everyone is going to agree with your point of view all of the time, which has been proven time and again with some of your comments to my reviews.

    That said, I'm thankful that someone submitted a review for this album, so that I didn't have to write one.

    And to the anonymous commenter (one of many) that mentioned that not many readers of the blog give new rappers a chance, I'd like to point out that Lil' Wayne has actually been in the game for at least a fucking decade, so he hardly qualifies as "new".

    Thanks for reading, all of you, and keep the comments coming!

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  15. "Carter III," even though it was the best thing Wayne has ever done, was also mediocre at best.

    Is Wayne's lyricism slightly over that of, say, Flo Rida? Yes. Is he the best rapper alive? Fuck no.

    Let me repeat that: "fuck no".

    In fact, if you look at any of his albums since "Carter," the Wayne formula is simple: take everything popular from the past year then repeat it all in one package. If Nate Dogg was still the hook man du jour, guess what, Wayne woulda had him on. If doing shout outs to "The Wiggles" or "Teletubbies" gets hot next year, you better believe Lil Wayne will be on that. From tight pants and lip rings to Akon and T-Pain, Wayne's entire life is just ripping off of whatever was hot in the year before his album drops.

    To make it more concise: Lil Wayne has never done anything original. Ever. If he wasn't copying Juvenile and B.G., he was copying whatever was on Billboard's hot ring tones.

    So, it confused me as to why Archibald would call out Jay-Z on something like that, but not recognize that Lil' Wayne has made his career out of the dying shells of today's artists (I use the term lightly) that will soon return to obscurity.

    But, I will agree that Wayne needs to be discussed, but I think it's more in the same way that Lex Luthor and company discuss killing Superman... not to say that Wayne is like Superman... obviously the kid can't stop a speeding bullet.

    I'll reiterate Max's point that Wayne isn't new. One of his first verses on any song that got noticed, if I am remembering correctly, was from that Juvenile song "Back That Azz Up" back in 98 or 99, and he's been in the game a few years longer than that.

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  16. The reader reviews started off pretty good (with an album that I'd never heard of and may check out some time)but is ruined with this review on a cd that Im pretty sure everyone already has a strong opinion of and wont be swayed by anothers views on it, rendering this review useless.

    Well... Im probably just annoyed that people choose to contribute to a hip hop site by reviewing a Lil Wayne cd, espicially when theres not one FUCKING Public Enemy review.

    Also a Bizare Ride II Pharcyde Review would be a cool read.

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  17. "Cool & Dre should not be allowed to produce any more music. That is all."

    you outta kill yourself for that dumb remark... -_-

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  18. Waynes been around since 95 when him and B.G. dropped an album under the name The B.G.'z titled True Story

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  19. "Now I know that Saigon or some other internet indie bullshit is probably “better” than Lil Wayne, but honestly, do we always need better? Can’t we just settle for entertaining?"

    In other words: "Now that bullshit is saturating the radio and dominating sales, can't we just dumb ourselves down & deal with it?"

    No. That's a dumb ass question to ask.

    "In closing, this is my third-favorite rap album."

    Your credibility is no longer valid.
    Get the FUCK outta here, and take your lengthy
    opinions with you.
    Oh and shut the door, asshole!

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  20. Max, I am happy to announce that it appears that Cool and/or Dre are readers of your blog. Now to deal with the rest of you people:

    Did you even read my review? I never said Weezy was great, but I did say that his album was entertaining, and he was a much better MC than you internet cockroaches will ever give him credit for. Let's pull a GZA and ask, "Does Homie got fuckin' lyrics?" The answer is indubitably yes. Songs like "Dr. Carter" that are have a creative, cohesive concept and then jam in jokes like "fly hard like geese erection" are definitely lyrical.

    Would you guys rather have somebody who can spit as the best-selling rapper in the game or some idiot like Dolla? The actual "best" rapper will never be the best-selling rapper, just like the "best" rock bands like Spoon and Dinosaur Jr. will never sell as well as stupid bands like Nickelback who appeal to the lowest-common-denominator. Wayne also appeals to that lowest-common-denominator crowd, but that doesn't mean he's also not worth listening to.

    To conclude my retort: I’m a younger dude (20 to be exact), and I feel like a lot of readers of this blog are a lot older than I am and dislike Wayne for his ascension to the top of the game when, I’ll be the first to admit, there are a ton of better rappers out there. Just to level with you of the internets, I’d say that my favorite rapper is probably either Method Man or Phonte, but let’s be honest with ourselves those guys sell a million in a week around the same time that the universe collapses upon itself and is replaced with a gigantic Target Superstore – that is to say, it’s not happening. So let’s all just be happy that Lil Wayne is the face of rap instead of somebody really terrible.

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  21. Lil' Wayne is someone lyrically really really average, his voice is annoying as fuck and he makes songs appealing to teenage boys and girls...nothing wrong with that, until you start proclaiming to be the best rapper alive...I didn't mind the Notorious B.I.G, NaS and Jay-z "King of New York" claims because they actually had mad skill and the beefs were hella entertaining and they spawned some great songs and lines(see "takeover", "ether", "the message", "kick in the door" etc.)...
    I have listened to Lil' Wayne songs(Fireman, Lollipo, Tha Mobb come to mind) so I can be objective to say he sucks...and he really does, because he just doesn't make good hip hop music...
    I really can't be happy that Curtis fucking Jackson and Lil' Wayne are the faces of hip-hop...

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  22. "I’m a younger dude (20 to be exact), and I feel like a lot of readers of this blog are a lot older than I am and dislike Wayne for his ascension to the top of the game when, I’ll be the first to admit, there are a ton of better rappers out there."

    In my opinion, it has nothing to do with a generational gap. You can be 15 and come to the conclusion that the quality of mainstream hip-hop has been declining since about 2000 if you compare today's output with that of the past. I qualified my statement with the phrase "mainstream hip-hop" because whether those who cannot stand Lil Wayne (like myself) want to admit, the greats that they look back on (such as B.I.G., NaS, Rakim, KRS-One etc.) achieved mainstream success within the context of hip-hop. They were mainstream because that's all there was and it was good! Now, however, the quality has gone down so much. Hip-hop is NOT dead (as the title of this blog would suggest), but more appropriately, mainstream hip-hop, as opposed to the output from the underground, is dying very rappidly, and in my opinion, Lil-Wayne is killing mainstream hip-hop.

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    1. Yep, and now fucking Drake has taken the reins from him

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  23. I think I understand the reason why so many young guys are attrackted by bullshit artists... It's because they never heard and never listened of rappers from back in the days...

    This blog would be more precious, if you Max would preview real worthy albums and post download links, so every one would get a chance to listen to them immediately...

    No offence to you, Archibald!

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  24. AnonymousMay 06, 2009

    Good Review!!! Lil Wayne is one of the most talented rappers alive 2day but he is not the best! There are so many better(Jay-Z,Nas,Lupe,Ice Cube etc). But its still a good album!

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  25. AnonymousJune 04, 2009

    I like the album, hip hop doesnt always have to have a meaning or conscious lyrics

    tha carter III has some great beats and its a good album to have on if you dont want to have to think too hard

    the wordplay is pretty hilarious aswell even if some of it doesnt make sense

    overall i give it 7/10

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  26. AnonymousJune 17, 2009

    y'all better quit that shit talk on lil weezy, lots of cats from the era we all adore had spit the same non-sense bullshit. is it become good just cause of age?

    i bet lots of peeps who shit on wayne think (used to think) that Ol'Dirty Bastard is kinda great lyricist, lol, open your mind and ears, it's 2009.

    kormega

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  27. AnonymousJune 21, 2009

    OK, im 16 and i opened my ears to the radio, then i heard lil wayne and i was forced to turn on some real rap. lil wayne is prolly the worst rapper in this time cause he doesn't spit anything worth listening to. He could be a good lyricist but all the young ppl like him cause they dont take the time to pick up a 2pac, nas, biggie, or mobb deep ablum from the 90s.

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  28. shoot me down is the best song on there. also jay-z ripping off raekwon? really? what about raekwon ripping off g rap then?

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    1. And G Rap ripping off Geto Boys (come on, On The Run is just like something Scarface would've done)

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  29. AnonymousJuly 29, 2009

    Seems no one has anything good to say about Lil Wayne. But im'a stick to the fact that millions still love his music, and "feel his shit." Love that - "Tha Carter III" managed to sell a million+ it's first week EVEN after being leeked weeks before. Deal with that.

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  30. good point, after all if something is commercially successful then it MUST be good!

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  31. Matatan809August 16, 2009

    I tried to be open minded, read the review and figured maybe I missed something...

    *Goes back and hears some Lil' Wayne in youtube*

    Nope...I did not miss something.

    Weezy does not SPIT he DROOLS.

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  32. 'Wayne took the title from the Jiggaman'.
    Jay-Z isn't/wasn't the best fucking rapper alive EITHER and while I admit he's one of the most over rated MC's EVER (what with the fact that even "real" heads seem to like the guy)but he's still a few hundred leagues ahead of Lil Wayne (but then again aside from 50 Cent who isn't). I can understand that a Lil Wayne album MUST end up posted eventually, but the fact that the reviewer actually considers this in his top 3 (while most fans of Hip Hop wouldn't have it near a top 300) fucking sickens me. I seldom ever flame a review but seriously, Tha Carter III? Is in your top 3 albums? Oh fuck.

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  33. why does everybody gives props to Lil Wayne he suck he is NO MC and he is not even close to it you can say that im hating but i dont give a fuck about that AND HE IS NOT THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE i hate it when people say that so you guys think that he can rap better then Big Daddy Kane or Sean Price or Kool G Rap or Big L Well I Dont think so men

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  34. Once again, I feel the need to repeat that this was a 'Reader Review' and that I have never actually listened to The Carter III. This post was solely the opinion of its author, the above-mentioned Archibald.

    Full disclosure is important.

    Thanks for reading!

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  35. i actually agreed with most of the review until you said this album was your 3rd favourite

    its alright but this is no classic

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  36. Fine Tha Carter II obviously sucked but thats not why people love Weez. People love Weezy becuase of his mixtapes. Dedication, Tha Drought 3, Dedication 2, The Suffix. He MURDERED alot of beats with good lyricism whether you like it or not. You can say what you what but people are willing to give up the tendency of hip hop to preach for some clever stupid shit. Then again thats not all Weezy does. If you listen to Trouble you see that he definately has ability, and who can forget the Sweetest girl verse.

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  37. A lot of the shit he says is, shit. However, when I listen to this album without a drop of bias, I must say, he has some nice wordplay. Average album, underrated by hiphop heads, overrated by mainstream fans. 2 and 1/2 stars.

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  38. Lil' Wayne is one of the personnel who can be credited with killing rap as we know it. It's not dead yet, thanks to effort by some underground artists I could name, but it's on life support thanks to auto-tuned hip-pop.

    Show me Lil' Wayne song that has Chuck D-esque political commentary? Or the Lil' Wayne song that has Eminem (or Aesop Rock)-like wordplay? Or Nas like poetry (of sorts)? Or the kind of 'painting the street image' that Tupac was brilliant in? It does not even have the entertainment value of the Fresh Prince & J.J (that's right, Will Smith is million leagues above Lil' Wayne in both talent AND status).

    Lil' Wayne can do NOTHING. He is utter shit. He cant spit, he doesn't know shit about the world or the problems that good rappers comment on ('Changes', anyone? How about 'Lil Ghetto Boy'?). But then again, what can you expect from a crackhead.

    Lil' Wayne makes name and sells records using the same tricks 50 Cent used: Say words that 13-year olds often mistake for 'cool' like drugs, guns, violence, drugs, women, drugs and drugs. Use 'gangsta' beats and cool effects like auto-tune. Rinse and repeat. He has no love for the game. He doesn't concern himself with other people's problems. He doesn't make a good role model (I could bring Will Smith up again [big kudos to him for building a career without swearing]).

    Let me repeat myself once more: Lil' Wayne is SHIT. SHIT SHIT SHIT. Music usually is a very subjective matter, but this can't even be discussed. I mean for fuck's sakes, if you're going to do seemingly hardcore gangsta rap then at least do it as well as some of the pioneers of this specific sub-genre (DMX).

    Lil' Wayne doesn't hold a candle to some of the real rappers still active (Sicknature, Celph Titled, Ill Bill, Promoe, Nas), and he sure as hell is not good enough to even lick the boots of the legends (Dre, Rakim, Nas, Az...).

    Flavor Flav could probably kick the shit out of Wayne in a battle...

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    1. Flavor Flav could probably kick the shit out of Wayne in a battle... I'd pay money to see that shit. Oh yeah, and fuck Lil' Wayne

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  39. AnonymousMay 03, 2010

    La La La didn't get released because it stole the beat from Rhymefest's "Tell a Story." I'm serious. Go to YouTube and listen to both tracks. "La La La" is "Tell a Story," but slightly sped up.

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  40. AnonymousJune 24, 2010

    people don't hate him because he's popular, people hate him because he has no fucking talent

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  41. howcome i find lil wayne but no Lord finesse? laggin

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  42. Meh. It's not the worst album I've heard, and I daresay it's not even close. But it doesn't (and won't ever) crack my top 214.
    So THERE.

    Max, you should review this though. I'm sure the other reader and I would enjoy it.

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  43. AnonymousMay 09, 2011

    "and if you are young, you will probably illegally download it."

    Read most of this review but skipped to the end halfway thru. Then I read what I quoted above; I lolled as I just deleted an illegal copy from my hard drive.

    Shitty album in my opinion. The intro was probably the best thing.

    -Anon

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  44. Reading this now the Wale comment has become so invalid - and to think it wasnt when the review was written!

    The album was alright, definitely not as good as reviewer makes it out to be though. I can't believe you condoned "Got Money" - Rack City and BMF are catchy "willfully shitty" hip-hop songs, Got Money is just shit

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  45. "He compares himself to Andre 3000, which is actually a valid comparison I think. Weezy kind of actually raps like Andre 3000, assuming he were on more (or, depending on where you get your information from, different) drugs."

    I read this entry for shits and giggles, and aside from how much you praised a fucking terrible artist, it was decent. Until I got to the line quoted above.

    Lil' Wayne is a joke that makes music directly for the radio, and just takes advantage of the fact that he (a terribly mediocre rapper, with no real lyrical ability) became popular, while Andre 3000 has some of the best rhymes of all time. Dre's flow is amazing, his wordplay is incredible, and he holds some fucking classic records. Andre's in my top 5 DOA, while Wayne is outclassed by nearly any emcee to pick up the mic.

    This comparison pissed me the fuck off, if you couldn't tell.

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  46. Lil Wayne is one of the weackest & wackest rapper,s ever plus he say,s 2 of the same word,s behind eachother that,s not even rhyming that,s just putting 2 of the same word,s behind eachother hahaXD.

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