The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
BMP_concert-top-banner-fixed

Lil Wayne

Tha Carter III | Young Money/Cash Money/Universal
By BEN WESTHOFF  |  June 17, 2008
3.5 3.5 Stars
lilwayneINSIDE.jpg
Since 2005’s Tha Carter II, rap’s boy king Lil Wayne has released a flurry of inspired mixtapes, and that’s made the long-delayed Tha Carter III the most eagerly awaited rap album of the year. It does not disappoint, combining the free-association marijuana musings Wayne perfected on Da Drought 3 with the disciplined structure a studio album requires. It helps that nearly every track has an in-demand guest (Jay-Z, Babyface, T-Pain), a hot producer (Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, StreetRunner), or both. It’s also fun to hear about Wayne’s trips to outer space (“Phone Home”) and his blunted reveries (“Misunderstood”). But what holds the album together is Weezy’s particular brand of self-awareness, which channels his braggadocio into a sense of hip-hop responsibility. “Gotta work every day/Gotta not be cliché,” he tells us on “Dr. Carter,” and he adds, in the ode to Katrina victims “Tie My Hands”: “Take away the football team and the basketball team/And all we got is me to represent New Orleans.” All rappers ride on the claim that they’re the best, but on III Wayne makes his case.
  Topics: CD Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Music Stars,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

--> -->
ARTICLES BY BEN WESTHOFF
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   SAY WHAT?!  |  September 02, 2008
    East Coast Avengers wrong the right with ‘Kill Bill O’Reilly’
  •   THE CALL OF THE WILD  |  July 28, 2008
    Wolf Parade get instinctual
  •   THE SILENT RAPPER  |  July 21, 2008
    What the hell has Rakim been up to?
  •   GREEN INITIATIVE  |  July 21, 2008
    Hip-hop’s heads go on Wale watch
  •   WOLF PARADE  |  June 24, 2008
    At Mount Zoomer | Sub Pop

 See all articles by: BEN WESTHOFF

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group