Ann 2
Alain
JennYLil' Wayne - Tha Carter 3 Album Review
July 14th 2008 23:45
Genre: Rap
Length: 76:31
Label: Cash Money, Universal, Young Money
Writer: Alain
Weezy F. Baby attacks the charts once again with his latest album – one of the most anticipated records of the year: Tha Carter 3, the last of Tha Carter trilogy. It sold 1,005,545 copies in its first week in the U.S. even though the entire album leaked before its release. Some people say that Tha Carter 1 and 2 were much more better than this one, we'll see how this allegation holds up with a track-by-track review.
The album starts off with the song 3 Peats in which Lil' Wayne says that he is back and three times better, he is on another level that no other rapper can reach. There is no chorus on this song, which is a good thing if you're looking for lyricism. The track was produced by Maestro and lasts 3:19.
Mr. Carter featuring Jay-Z follows 3 Peats. The song was probably named this way because Jay-Z's name is Carter too. It starts with Lil' Wayne explaining how he feels, and it's followed by the chorus where he tells how we've been waiting for his new stuff. The first verse has some great lyrics, better then the second. Lil' Wayne did a great choice by picking Jay-Z for the last verse, he is like a surprise for the listener who wonders how he's going to spit. As usual, Jay-Z did his thing. What's great about this collaboration is that you can hear the difference between Lil' Wayne and Jay-Z's rapping style. Then, the beat calms down as Lil' Wayne spits his last verse. But it's not over yet. The song finishes with a crowd saying the chorus and a last-minute short verse from Weezy.
A Milli is the second single and third track of the album. Multiple versions of this song have come out; the most known being the one is with Cory Gunz. But then again, almost 75% of other rappers took
the beat to make a freestyle on it.The beat has the words “a milli” repeated throughout the whole song with some bass, then a switch to claps. There is no chorus. You could listen to that beat over and over without getting tired thanks to Bangladesh who produced it. If you don't like Lil' Wayne's style, search for your favorite rapper's freestyle on it, I'm sure there's one.
A Milli music video
The fourth song is called Got Money and features T-Pain on the chorus. The third single of the album, the song went to number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. A video has been made but hasn't aired yet. I don't know how this song became #13 because it's nothing compared to Lollipop and A Milli. The album was flowing really nicely for me until this song, a big disappointment compared to the first three.
Comfortable is up next and features Babyface on the chorus. In this song Lil' Wayne says that girls are too comfortable in relationships, thinking they control it. Well, Wayne disapproves by saying “If you wanna leave, leave. You ain't the only one that want me.” The beat is a 'happy' drum beat courtesy of Kanye West, and Babyface makes it even better. If you're feeling sad, listen to this beat and you'll be up and ready to go.
The next song is called Dr. Carter. It starts with Wayne acting as a doctor talking to his nurse, and his verse is the way to save the patients. The concept of this track is really great. In it, he says that every rapper is some sort of a doctor, and gives some examples – Kanye, Jeezy, etc. Each verse relates the story of a certain number of patients with each patient having a different problem. I really like the last verse's final line and what happens after. I can't tell you. Go listen to the song. Swizz Beats created a good beat that is really different from the other beats.
Phone Home follows Dr. Carter. Cool and Dre come back with an outstanding beat in this song. Weezy talks about the difference between him and the humans as he says that he is a martian. The chorus makes you hype and jumpy, and Weezy shows his creativity in the last verse with words that rhyme with air, dropping a dope line at the start.
Tie My Hand is another collaboration between Lil' Wayne and Robin Thicke. I guess Weezy really liked his work on The Carter 2. The beat is produced by Thicke - a slow guitar beat with small drums. You can feel Weezy's pain in this song by the sound of his voice. It sounds exactly the same but keeps getting you to think about his life.
Mrs. Officer is the album's ninth track and features Bobby Valentino.The song starts with the chorus. In my opinion, the hook is too cheesy if you listen to the lyrics. He talks about love with a Mrs. Officer, how would that be?
On Let the Beat Build, I thought the beat would be raw but at the same time hyphy – with a name like that, who wouldn't? - but no, the title is completely misleading. Produced by Kanye West, the beat simply consists of women singing gospel, then some snare appears – nothing more. I really didn't like Lil' Wayne's rapping style in this song because he was much more talking than actually rapping. The song got me tired, it was like somebody telling us a story.
Shoot Me Down's dark beat doesn't really match Lil' Wayne's style. Don't get me wrong, the dude has the lyrics, but not the voice. Weezy's voice isn't mean enough for this beat but he still tries. What I don't understand in this song his Wayne saying that he's hard in his verse, but in the chorus, he pleads to not shoot him down. The song features D. Smith and there's a little guitar riff at the end.
We now get to the first single – Lollipop - featuring Static Major (who died two weeks before the release of this track). In this song, Lil' Wayne talk about how girls think of him as a lollipop, his dates/girl, and also about his skills. Most people who love this song only care about the beat. His lyrics are not that important. Lil' Wayne uses the auto-tune effect to great success in this song. Indeed, the track has been at the top of the Billboard's hot 100 for five weeks straight and was the most popular song downloaded on iTunes before the album dropped. The video became #1 on TRL and received more than 30 million views on YouTube.
Lollipop music video
The thirteenth track is called La La and features Brisco and Busta Rhymes. It is the first time I hear Weezy mentioning his daughter in a song. The beat has the same style as A Mili, but instead of “a milli,” you hear children saying “la la” repeatedly. This song didn't really catch my attention, it was produced by David Banner – not one of his best work, in my opinion.
Next is Playing With Fire featuring Betty Wright. The chorus is simple "BUT YOU CANT BLAME ME IF I SET DIS STAGE ON FIRE." By the song's title, I thought Wayne would step his game up, but it was just another Weezy song as he talks about being Martin Luther King and wanting to die.
You Ain't Got Nuthin follows Playing With Fire and features Fabolous and Juelz Santana. The Alchemist kills it with a great thug, street type beat. The song starts with Fab on the mic, then Lil' Wayne on the chorus, once again with the auto-tune which is pretty useless in my opinion. Lyrically, I don't think Fab and Juelz are better than Weezy but they were better on this track since the beat was better for them than for Weezy.
DontGetIt's title surprised me with its name all stuck together. This is another slow from Wayne. Weezy is more of a player/gangster rapper not a slow, thinking rapper. It's like he's thinking he's a big philosopher when he raps slow, but it doesn't work. He's not a philosopher and can't make good songs when he tries to be one. The beginning and the chorus of the song was sampled from "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone. I don't know why but Weezy really likes to talk in his songs. He did a whole verse without any rhymes as though he was simply talking; some people might say that it's because he wants to express what he's feeling, seeing, and hearing. That's the whole point of rapping – EXPRESSION, but you still gotta rap. Rap isn't about drugs, money, guns, and bitches; it's the only way for minorities to express themselves, but not simply by talking – by rapping. I understand it's the last song and it runs for nine minutes, but Weezy could've at least rap during those last five, six minutes. I don't see how people can stay and listen to nine straight minutes of Lil' Wayne talking but I had to, because that's what I do.
Of all the songs, here are the ones I would recommend: Mr. Carter, A Milli, Dr. Carter, and You Ain't Got Nuthin. People will ask “What about Lollipop?” Here's what I say. If you like the song (not in my top choices), then go buy the album, you will definitely like it. If you're a Weezy fan, buy it. If you're unsure about buying it, trust me, don't go for four songs only. Download them, buy them online so Weezy still gets money for his work. Because there were only four songs that I really enjoyed, I will give this album a 3.5/5. Out of sixteen tracks, four are good, that's ¼. One thing I wonder is why wasn't rapper The Game on this album since Wayne and Game are mixtape blood brothers; that really surprised me. One last thing, make sure you listen to the right Carter 3 because some songs got leaked and were put on the album The Leak. Lil' Wayne says “C3” at the beginning of those songs so it can be confusing for someone looking for the right tracks.
Thank you for reading. Stay tune for next week where I'll review Nas latest album, UNTITLED.
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