While rap sensation Lil Wayne might be on top of the rap world, “Tha Carter IV” may be his final album — at least for a while. The rapper revealed in an interview with XXL his plans — be they legitimate or not — to retire after this album’s release.
“I’m bowing out still on top,” he said. “I’ma make y’all want me when I retire. Carter IV might be my last one.”
According to hiphopdx.com, Lil Wayne wants to leave the music business in order to focus on fatherhood.
“I honestly think it’s unfair to my kids,” said Wayne. “I’m super dedicated to what I do. You can put out a hit, but to do it the way I want to do it, you’ve got to work like no other. Like I said, it’s unfair to my kids.”
While “Tha Carter IV” will not disappoint Lil Wayne fans or radio stations across America, it also doesn’t offer anything particularly innovative or different as far as the music is concerned.
What is different about this album is that the producers are relatively unknown. Lil Wayne partnered with Willy Will, T-Minus, Street Runners, Snizzy, MegaMan and a few others to create the beats that have become so recognizable to fans.
Lyrically, Lil Wayne delivers like he always does. Popcrush.com notes a few particularly impressive songs, including “Nightmares of the Bottom,” “She Will,” “Mirror,” and “President Carter.” The album boasts 15 new songs total, all toting that signature flow Wayne is known for.
The album is also loaded with notable cameos. T-Pain, Tech N9ne, Rick Ross, Andre 3000, John Legend, Drake and Jadakiss all lend their talents to the album. “Outro” alone features Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes together on the track. Talk about going out in style.
“It’s Good,” featuring Drake and Jadakiss, is already stirring up controversy because of Wayne’s lyrical shot at Beyoncé and Jay-Z. On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s track “H.A.M,” Jay-Z took a mild jab at Wayne saying, “You got baby money.” Wayne fired back, dissing both Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Outside of the jab, “It’s Good,” is a great song and hopefully won’t be overshadowed by the negative buzz surrounding it.
Peaking at no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the toned down “How to Love” is probably the best-known song off of the new album. Wayne recently released a surprisingly touching new music video for the song.
“She Will” is one of the best tracks on the album, featuring some help from fellow Young Money rapper Drake. In typical Lil Wayne fashion, the bass beats hard and the lyrics are phenomenal.
“Outro” featuring Bun, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes is the biggest, best, and of course, the last track on the album. The song delivers some of the best one liners heard from any rapper in a long time and is definitely a track that you’ll want to listen to over and over again.
As a whole, the album is good, but it’s no better than “Tha Carter III.” While fans may or may not be getting another album from Lil Wayne anytime soon, this most likely will not be the last time we hear from him. The Young Money producer will likely pop up on tracks put out by members of his crew, including Drake and Nicki Minaj, so be on the lookout for tracks featuring “Lil Weezy” in the future.
Reach the reporter at cemurph2@asu.edu
