How
Tha Carter III
came to be "the most anticipated rap album of 2008" is a story that involves the usual delays and promises of a masterpiece, plus a whole lot of bullet points that could only exist in the absurd world of
Lil Wayne
. There's his complete annihilation of the mixtape game, the ridiculous amount of guest shots he granted since
Tha Carter II
made him a hip-hop superstar, that photograph of him kissing his mentor,
Birdman
, rumors of addiction to the sizzurp, plus the gargantuan ego and aggravating aloofness (
Wayne
will ignore all incoming beefs and infuriate challengers even further by offering the lethal "I don't listen to your records"). His "best rapper alive" quote is discussed to death, but if that claim includes creating perfectly crafted full-lengths in a
2Pac
style, the evidence won't be found here.
is instead a surprisingly casual album that takes numerous listens to sort out, and only part of a puzzle that is scattered across mixtapes, guest shots, and Internet leaks. Had he included another easy-access single like
"Rider"
from
The Drought Is Over, Pt. 4
-- just one of his mixtape series that made it to a
Pt. 5
-- the "classic" argument could be considered, but figuring out what to sacrifice from this high-grade jumble is difficult. It wouldn't be the electro-bumpin'
"Lollipop,"
an infectious track that contains the wonderfully
line "I told her to back it up/Like burp, burp." You certainly wouldn't want to lose key cut
"Phone Home,"
where the maverick adopts an alien voice and drops "I could get your brains for a bargain/Like I bought it from Target." Another
Weezy
special from way outside the hip-hop universe comes in the striking
"Dr. Carter,"
when the football reference "And you ain't
Vince Young
/So don't clash with the Titan" dances on a
David Axelrod
sample and an unexpected jazzy production from
Swizz Beatz
. Giant meets giant when
Jay-Z
stops by for the velvet-smooth hangout session
"Mr. Carter,"
and with
Babyface
laying the stylish swagger all over
"Comfortable,"
gets the opportunity to convincingly vibe in the land of true class. Just like on
,
Robin Thicke
ends up the most complementary guest, coating
's post-Katrina tale
"Tie My Hands"
in warm buttery soul. As the track flows from political commentary ("My whole city's underwater, some people still floatin'/And they wonderin' why black people still votin'/Cuz your President's still chokin'") to despair and onto some moving "keep your head up"-styled verse, it proves
can go deep and connect with his audience if he chooses. You can fault him for not connecting enough on the album and further complicating his unmanageable body of work with this disjointed effort, but
's true masterpiece is the bigger picture and how he's flipped the script since the first
Carter
rolled out. Filled with bold, entertaining wordplay and plenty of well-executed, left-field ideas,
should be considered as a wild, somewhat difficult child of
's magnum opus in motion, one that allows the listener an exhilarating and unapologetic taste of artistic freedom. [
Cash Money
issued a revised track listing edition in 2008.] ~ David Jeffries