Tha Carter III [Explicit]

This album had the most hype of 2008 but has no real substance. All of the 100 mix tapes sound better than this album. Lil Wayne raps like he is in a syrup coma (his lyrics are lazy and non creative) "like the number after one imma get me two" -Lil Wayne, this type of lyricism is unacceptable. With all the talented producers on this album this should be this best album of the year. This album should have been a maxi single with just a milli, misunderstood, nothing on me, and Dr Carter, on all the other songs Wayne raps lazy and sounds drunk. It's like that album "Encore" from Eminem when you think you're the best rapper and get too arrogant it shows. Wayne has to prove his skills every time best rapper or not, Jay Z has never rapped that lazy in his life, so it a nut shell this is a big disappointment this album although successful is only based on lil Wayne's popularity and mix tape flow but he only has a few commercial hits the rest of the album the lyrics just are not up to par.

i dont understand how he's over 2 million already.this album is mediocre at best.i'll admit he's got a couple of bangers but most of it is trash.honestly,i'd advise you not to waste your money.

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Excellent album. I play the whole thing almost everyday and i'm still not tired of it.

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III (Cash Money, 2008)

Mainstream hip-hop fans vs. underground hip-hop fans: can't we all just get along? I mean, is it cool to dig both Lil Wayne AND Little Brother? (Incidentially, Wayne did make a guest appearance on Little Brother's last album, suggesting that his appeal stretches beyond the Billboard charts.) Well, although I'm more of a fan of underground, indie hip-hop, I'll give credit to where it's due. Lil Wayne is a pretty nice rapper and he was even nice in 1998 when he was on Big Tymers' "Millionaire Dream". And although he hit a dry spell (namely during 2001-2003 when the Cash Money trend was dying and people were leaving the label), he reengerized and came with Tha Carter. That album wasn't all that great except for the song, "Ain't That a B***h", which was lyrically sharp. That set the stage for Tha Carter II, which found Weezy F. Baby finding his niche. Then came all the mixtapes and guest appearances on every song, occasionally making songs by nobodies sound better (i.e., Playaz Circle's "Duffle Bag Boy" and Shop Boyz' "Party Like a Rockstar" remix). With so much critical acclaim, of course there would be so much hype for the much-delayed Carter III.

There are a couple of hot tracks on here like "3 Peat", the inspired "Tie My Hands" and the David Banner-produced "La La". But the best song is the innovative "Dr. Carter", where Wayne plays a surgeon operating on wack MC's. Swizz Beatz (with a beat that is very uncharacteristic of him) takes a David Axelrod sample ("The Smile") and when the music intensifies, Wayne follows suit with his rhymes. The nurse then tells him of each patient's condition. If only all of Wayne's songs were this clever.

In fact, if Wayne could spend his time making actual songs, the album would be better. A lot of times, we find him just spitting off the dome, saying nonsensical stuff and lazily getting through a song, making tracks like Kanye West's "Let the Beat Build" good only because of the beat itself. Other times, he makes songs that scream, "My next single", like the subpar "Mrs. Officer" and the ringtone-friendly "Lollipop" (which was a single). Also, the last track, "Dontgetit", finds Wayne talking out his you-know-what about society today and why he hates Al Sharpton. Leave that conscious rap for Talib Kweli.

There are many times last year when Lil Wayne spit a rewindable lyric and you'll have no choice but to compare the songs on this album to those moments. Has he used up his best material already? It's hard to say. But Tha Carter III is still one of the better mainstream hip-hop albums of the year. [Earlier editions of this album also came with a bonus disc of his best mixtape songs, the highlight being "Kush".] -EJR