Lil Wayne: Rebirth
Lil Wayne: Rebirth
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By Tom Powell. |  |
Monday, 01, Feb 2010 12:41
Island, out now.
What's it all about?
Dwayne Michael Carter isn't resting on his laurels. Following his 2008 release Tha Carter 3 which sold nearly thee million copies and confirmed his status as one of the decade's most intriguingly unique hip-hop MCs, Lil Wayne returns with an album that is certainly experimental. Whether this is a change of artistic direction per se or simply a flirt for fun's sake, remains to be seen. Regardless of an epithet you care to give to the sound of the record, Wayne isn't one to be pigeonholed. Cue 'Renaissance' as a follow up to Tha Carter 4, "a classical album" with Weezy spitting over beats encompassing the baroque and the romantic epochs - I certainly wouldn't fall off my chair in shock were this the plan. And I'd definitely check it out! But the self-proclaimed "hottest rapper in the world", who recently slayed London audiences with three sold-out shows at the Hammersmith Apollo, follows his Grammy winning multi-platinum masterpiece Tha Carter III with the release of rap-rock effort Rebirth, one of the most eagerly anticipated (and most frustratingly delayed) hip-hop records in years.
As an example.
What the others say
"Even in the hands of audacious Lil Wayne, rap-metal still ends up sounding ghastly. No more widdly-woo solos." - Alexis Petridis, Guardian
"The problem is that Wayne has very questionable taste in rock. He splutters and wails over tracks stuffed with aggro stomp and bland riffage; it sounds like he's been holing up with a bunch of Spymob and Incubus records." - Christian Hoard, Rolling Stone
So is it any good?
Wayne has made a career out of a vocal presence which is essentially a three-pronged attack of intelligent- but-borderline-personality-discorder lyrical content, ridiculous, recovering-crack-head-esque flow, and ubiquitously-punctuated pitch correction effects. Wayne is famed for his creative madness, gadfly boldness, usually presenting his latest twist in the savviest possible way: scene-stealing cameos on other artists' records, knocking out free mix tapes to buff up his underground credentials, and an ability to embrace an other-worldliness which would 'normally' sit at odds with commercial appeal.
However, no-one's normal and Lil Wayne could certainly never be confused to be anywhere near. That he seems absolutely off his nut is refreshing and honest because he clearly is and he embraces it. He may well tread Oscar Levant's thin line between genius and insanity.
Rebirth, his seventh studio album, sees the arrival of the dreadlocked rapper with an electric guitar draped across his lap. However, has Lil Wayne actually made a rock album or simply made an album in a similar vein to his previous work, just placing slightly more emphasis on riffs, drums 'n' double bass? The state of the art he seems to be aping is seemingly the rap-rock of Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit - angst-ridden lyrics barked over arena-sized riffs and big and bold "rock 'n' roll" beats...seemingly. Naturally, all is never quite what it seems with Wayne, always putting paid to presumption. Wayne's bullfrog rasp is distorted by Auto-tune but not to mask the fact that he can't sing as some narrow-minded critics often suggest. He's a kindred, rebellious spirit and personifies rock 'n' roll whether he spits or sings over snares or synths- and he just makes the noises he wants to when he wants to; he sings and raps and uses other sounds and effects to produce the sound he desires. However, the general feel of the production is personally just a bit too generic - as though Wayne got a CD of samples from a post-production company entitled TV Jingles: Rock Themed and just sprayed his bars over the top. This doesn't necessarily make for bad music of course, one is just left with the impression that compromises have perhaps been made.
Prom Queen, the most commercially successful tune on the album, is an anthem that is and will long be part of the staple diet of European and American high-schoolers alike. It's catchy, mad, and tackling a topic which every prom queen and king and their wannabe versions will always be able to relate to. A resentful ode to rejection, this is pure Lil Wayne and it finds him at his amusing and entertaining best - over-emotional delivery and content are wrapped up in a contagious, springy little ball of fun. Drop the World plays like a parody of Eminem's venomous nihilism, with Wayne raging against the machine and man with Eminem himself contributing. The call to arms apparently hinges on a conceit about commandeering a spaceship in order to pick up a planet and throw it at the head of an ex-lover. standard stuff then! Elsewhere, the guitars on Da Da Da switch grippingly from hyperactive funk to weird atonal crunching and Weezy references Star Trek and demands "give me that funky monkey" over a relatively if obviously relevantly funky beat. The outrageously sinister Ground Zero ranks with Wayne's best work, in which the paranoid narrator sees demons everywhere, with lyrics referencing drugs, suicide and government conspiracies. On Fire is a bizarre cocktail which reminds you of the unique creative powers of this mad, musical monster of a man.
The album is clearly quite a niche piece of artistry and will appeal to those who like hip-hop music as well as to those who like quite crazy music. It's neither rock nor hip-hop and yet is both simultaneously. It is the next instalment in Wayne's uber-creative world and I think it's wicked. I want to be best man at his wedding to GaGa and be Vito Corleone to their sprogs.
8/10
Alex Sinclair (http://www.myspace.com/flawlessmcmusic)