Dwayne Carter has had some of the hardest times since he started his fight with his mother Record label (Cash Money Records). This affected his business because his album that was supposed to be released in 2014 remained in the shelf for another four years. Listening to the songs in this Carter V Album for first time was cool but I did not find myself nodding my head to all the songs. This album is obviously not going to live up to the hype because the beats are not really original Lil Wayne sounds. The beats has too much influence from beats made in recent times and that in my opinion diluted the acidified sound Lil has always dished out. I found myself ghosting out in more than six songs which is not good for a comeback album. I am a huge respecter of the craft of Dwayne but this album is not just there with his previous greats especially when it comes to the sound.
One positive to draw from the album is the mature set of lyrics that Lil Wayne dished out in this Album. Lil is thirty-six and is obviously becoming more mature hence he upgraded his lyrics. This also became the Achilles heel of this album because the poetry of the album was affected. This is because he became too mechanical in the construction of his lyrics which is not actually Lil Wayne’s Identity. Lil Wayne is a musician who makes music look like a simple piece of cookie with the way he flows his rhymes. But with this album he went too mechanical which in my opinion conflicts his identity. This album for me is okay but not on fire. It is nowhere in same level with his previous works because it lacks some very real fire punch lines which is only synonymous with Liltunechi.
THE THEME
As stated in the beginning of this article, Carter has grown up as a man and it has reflected in the type of the songs he makes. I am so happy that Lil made an album that he did not say “Pus*y” more than five to ten times. Lil made this album to talk people who are below him in the rap and life food chain. He sang about some real issues. He kept the messages one hundred percent mature. In the song “Can’t be Broken”; Lil takes the place of a motivator. He talks about people staying strong and not being broken by the problem and tasking times that life throws at them. “Don’t Cry” is a song which talks on the issue of vanity and the validity of death. Teaming up with xxxtantection of blessed memory, he brought fire vocals addressing issues such as fame, death, hustle and death. He reveals that everything humans are privileged to have is not about the amount of work. He uses the song to advice young ones to work hard and stay away from trouble and tread carefully. He also uses this song to pay tribute to the Young xxxtantection who died some months back.
“Dedicate” has Lil go after Rappers who have been copying his rap style for over the past five to six years. Lil Wayne used this song to address people claiming the rap style as theirs, forgetting that he brought the mumble rap game into the rap world. Listening to all the so called new school Rappers of today, you will agree with me that there is an element of Lil Wayne in all their songs. “Let it fly” which features Travis Scott has Lil talking about achievements after struggles and affirms his notion of being the best rapper alive. “Mona Lisa” is a song written and composed by Kendrick Lamar and Dwayne Carter which illustrates in lyrics the story of a mystery lady who Lil Wayne claims to have planted on a foe to blackmail him. Lil and Kendrick brought this song home by painting some of the realest picture in words with some of the best flows in the album.
“What about me” has Lil going emotional taking his singing voice which he famously used in the song “how to love”. He talks about being neglected by a lady he has always trusted and loved but got betrayed. He continues in his emotional state in the song titled “Open Letter”. He talks about the issues that made the love that existed between him and a lady die off. He also talks about parting ways with his friends discussing life and how you lose people in life due to actions caused by you and them. In the song “Famous” which he features his 19year old daughter Reginae Carter; Lil talks about the things, events, spoken words and philosophies pressed into his mind by his mother and environment which made him work hard to be famous.
In summary, Lil just wanted to make music that reflected his age and the position he is right now. He made music which has honesty and did not give any ears to anybody or producers when it comes to the messages sent in his songs. For once Lil made music for himself and not for the public or the fans alone. Lil made a music for him and his fans to enjoy and have a good sober reflection on.
POSSIBLE HITS AND FLOPS
“Don’t cry”, “Can’t be Broken”, “Mona Lisa”, “Open letter”, “Open Safe”, “Mess” and “Famous” are songs that will be loved by anybody who cares to sit down and listen to them. This is because of the content and beat selection for these songs. They have beats and messages that appeals to this age musical appetite; they will be hits.
Songs like “Let it Fly” and “Dark Side of the Moon” are flop songs for me but also have the potentials of becoming a hit because of the Travis Scott and Nicki Minaj that were featured in it. These songs lack that magnetic effects in the beat and the messages hence can render the songs usless if not promoted well by Young Money Records.
“Dope Niggaz” and all the other songs on these albums are all average songs that would only mean something to Original Lil Wayne fans. This songs lack one of the basic element of hit songs which is a good flowing vibe. They lack the ability to captivate the crowd or person listening to the songs because they have this dryness in the flows of the rhymes and the beats. In summary, this album lacks the ability to last a life time like “Rebirth”
