Note: This is Herald writer Kaitlin Ring’s musings on the new Lil Wayne album, "Rebirth."
I don’t claim to be a fan of rap music, but the squawkings about the release of Lil Wayne’s new "rock" album, "Rebirth" have dominated conversations, my Facebook page, and my mailbox (showing off his tattoo-covered upper body on the cover of Rolling Stone’s latest issue). I can ignore it no longer. I remember in an interview last year, after he announced his plans to release a rock album, Lil Wayne said he was taking on the genre of rock because he didn’t want to just be the best rapper, he wanted to be the best, period.
But from what I’ve heard of his latest album (which isn’t a lot) and from fans of Lil Wayne, the whole "rock" thing isn’t going over very well for him. Singles you may have come across from the album that were leaked last year are "Prom Queen" and "Hot Revolver." To my untrained ear for rap music, the songs from "Rebirth" sound suspiciously like Lil Wayne is trying to have Auto-tune carry his lacking vocals through the album over the heavy metal-sounding guitar riffs.
After "Rebirth’s" release earlier this month, Rolling Stone’s review of the album stated, "Rebirth sounds like the first album that didn’t come easily for Lil Wayne: He started working on it two years ago — an eternity for a guy who tosses off tracks in his hotel room between shows." His fans seem to agree. His previous album, "Tha Carter III," featured four singles, three of which shot to the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
But what makes this story different from a typical story of a rapper who tries to go rock or an actress who tries her hand at singing and fails miserably is the fact that after his painstaking work on "Rebirth," Lil Wayne has also put out a free, unofficial mixtape called "No Ceilings." Unofficial reviews online and by fans seem to favor this afterthought mixtape to "Rebirth."
"No Ceilings" features mostly Lil Wayne rapping over the background music from preexisting top 40 songs, like the Black-Eyed Peas’ "I Gotta Feeling" and Lady Gaga’s "Poker Face." (If this makes you groan, you’re not the only one. But apparently it has a following.) There are also a few original tracks. Although I’m not personally a fan of rap, I respect that Lil Wayne is very good at what he does. However, I think he should probably stay within his own genre and not try to pass his work off as rock.
"No Ceilings" can hopefully hold Lil Wayne fans over until the release of his highly anticipated next rap album, "Tha Carter IV," which is set to be released later this year. Besides, after the year Lil Wayne spends in jail for charges of illegal gun possession, he’ll probably have written four new rap albums’ worth of music. Who knows what he’ll come up with next.
