Album Review: Lil Wayne’s ‘Tha Carter V’
A whole seven years after Tha Carter IV and four years after its intended release date, we now have Tha Carter V. Lil Wayne released two studio albums and a gazillion mixtapes since IV, but they all felt like placeholders for V, which has been delayed as a result of years of legal battle between Weezy and Birdman. Now that the legal stuff has been settled and hatchets have been buried — not to mention, Wayne now owns all of Young Money — nothing was in the way of the much-anticipated album.
Tha Carter V starts with “I Love You Dwayne,” a two-minute intro that features Lil Wayne’s mother, Jacida Carter, giving a teary speech — in the thickest Nawleans accent you’ve ever heard — about how much she loves him and how much she can’t wait till his album drops. It’s very touching.
The warm feelings from the intro are quickly dashed by “Don’t Cry,” which features XXXTentacion singing the chorus. I try not to speak ill of the dead, so I’m just going to keep it simple and say that the track is average at best.
The next track is “Dedicate,” which is essentially Lil Wayne talking about all the ways he changed the game. This includes normalizing face tattoos, which is one of the more disgusting trends of the last decade. The song samples 2 Chainz’s “Dedication,” which is an ode to Lil Wayne, and the production sounds like vintage Weezy. The song ends with audio of Obama name-checking Lil Wayne in a 2009 speech.
“Uproar” samples G. Dep’s “Special Delivery” (featuring Diddy and Black Rob). Weezy ain’t saying nothing on this track (which technically isn’t a bad thing) and Swizz Beatz doesn’t help matters by yelling “ladies and gentlemen” and his other signature ad libs throughout the song. This track is terrible.
“Let It Fly” features Travis Scott, and for a second, it will feel like you’re listening to Astroworld. The beat is not bad, but it just sounds too much like a Travis song. Also, if it sounds a little dated, it’s because the song was recorded in 2014.
“Can’t Be Broken” has that trap bass line that every song on the radio has, so I’m going to have to subtract 1,000 points on GP. The song also has a piano line that sounds like something off an Eminem album, so I’m going to shave a few more points off. Whoever’s singing the hook sounds good (autotuned, but good), and overall, the song gets better with each listen. As the title indicates, Wayne is rapping about all of what he has been through and his continued resilience.
Drake isn’t featured on this album, but through “Dark Side of the Moon,” the spirit of the 6 God is present. The track is the first love/sex song on the album and features a singing Nicki Minaj, who oscillates between sounding surprisingly good to sounding like her regular self. Lil Wayne also does a bit of singing on the track and actually sounds better than Nicki. The track is the best on the album so far, but please note that “intergalactical” is not a word. You’ll understand when you listen.
Kendrick Lamar is featured on “Mona Lisa.” Lil Wayne’s verses are decent, but I think K.Dot really shined on this track — and this is coming from someone who isn’t a fan. The song is at least a minute too long, but it has a few lines that I’m sure will be quoted on social media for months to come.
Wayne goes back to singing on “What About Me,” which features Taylor Gang artist Sosamann. The chorus sections switch to a beat that is consistent with the verse but somehow feels drastically different — I was caught off guard on the first listen. Sosamann’s verse is unremarkable (and sounds like a poor man’s Travis Scott), but this is another solid track.
“Open Letter” is a stream of consciousness. For four-and-a-half minutes, Lil Wayne bares his soul about everything from his love for his kids to his relationships to feelings of self-doubt and even self-hatred. There is no chorus on this song — it’s one long verse. The track ends with Jacida Carter talking about when Wayne told her that his then-girlfriend, Toya Wright, was pregnant and how she told him to be the best father he could be (even though he was only 16).
Fittingly, “Open Letter” is followed by “Famous,” which features Lil Wayne’s child with Toya, Reginae Carter, on the chorus. Reginae has a great voice, but if I heard this on the radio, I would’ve thought this was Skylar Grey or someone like that. She has that I’m-a-white-girl-with-a-white-voice-but-I-sing-hooks-on-rap-songs voice. There’s no other way to describe it. Another shining moment on the album.
“Problems” is a Zaytoven production that has Wayne rapping about rich nigga problems. The track sounds like any ol’ beat on the radio and begins with Wayne lighting up like old times, so it all feels very familiar. Lil Wayne also uses the term “whodi” in the refrain. What it in the year 2000?
“Dope N****z” features Snoop Dogg on the chorus and interpolates the beat to Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life.” Wayne thanks God that he isn’t a broke nigga and raps about growing up around dope niggas. Snoop says you are what you smoke. The lyrics are decent, but the beat will keep you coming back.
On “Hittas,” Lil Wayne is RAPPING. Look out for “money in the air, who says white men can’t jump” in Instagram and Snapchat captions — because that’s a bomb-ass caption if I ever saw one. Wayne is also back to using the word “whodi,” so I’m sensing a real commitment to bringing it back. I approve.
“Hittas” ends with Weezy’s mom saying he was a very smart child — a genius, in fact. The track is followed by “Took His Time,” where Wayne says that God took his time when he made him. On the chorus, he appears to be referencing the time a then-12-year-old shot Wayne himself, which he recently revealed was a suicide attempt.
DJ Mustard provides the production on “Open Safe.” It’s standard Mustard; you could rap the lyrics to “Rack City” over this beat and it would almost fit perfectly. From a lyrical standpoint, Wayne is snapping.
“Start This S**t Off Right” features Ashanti and Mack Maine — I had to check my calendar to be sure we weren’t in the 2000s. And if that wasn’t enough for nostalgia, the track was produced by Mannie Fresh. If you like a groovy beat, this is your song.
“Demon” is primarily about sex, but more broadly, it’s about Lil Wayne’s demons. There are tons of quotables on this track: “Found a halo in her trash but she don’t talk about her past” will be popular on social media — I am willing to bet on it. The track samples “Lord Hold Me in Your Arms” by the Crowns of Glory.
In terms of subject matter, “Mess” feels like a continuation of “Demon.” Lil Wayne is rapping about his vices, particularly his sex obsession — his words, not mine. The track samples “Midsummer Madness” by 88rising.
Lil Wayne’s ex-fiancé and unsung talent, Nivea, is featured on “Dope New Gospel,” and dope, it is. Nivea sounds GREAT as she sings, “It’s been way too long.” In a recent interview, she mentioned that she and Lil Wayne had recorded a song that featured Drake and was expected to be a single. Drake is nowhere to be found on this track, but I can totally hear him on it. Also, this song is definitely single-worthy.
On “Perfect Strangers,” Lil Wayne raps about relationships — with a lover and with himself — weakened by his promiscuity. The production — which includes a keyboard and finger snaps — has a familiar sound, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that it was a Mannie Fresh creation.
“Used 2” is about a whole lot of gang shit. Pistol this, pistol that, shoot him in the head and give him a third eye — it’s all very graphic but entertaining. If you enjoy all that gun talk, this is your song. The track ends with Lil Wayne’s mom explaining that she still doesn’t know how he ended up shooting himself at 12 years old — she’s never asked.
The album ends with “Let It All Work Out,” which features an uncredited Sampha — the song samples vocals from “Indecision,” a track from his 2013 EP, Dual. The beat is great and the lyrics are even better. On the track’s final verse, he directly addresses his suicide attempt and how — despite making a bad and potentially fatal decision — it all worked. The track, and the album, ends with Jacida Carter: “I love you, Dwayne,” she says.
Highly anticipated releases tend to disappoint because we always expect them to be worth the wait, so I tried to keep my expectations relatively low for this album, especially because Weezy hasn’t wowed me in years. However, Lil Wayne more than delivered. There are a few duds here and there, and in some instances, the album feels a little dated (due to the fact that a lot of it was recorded more than four years ago). But overall, it is a solid body of work that can definitely lay claim to being one of the year’s best.
Album rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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