Tha Carter V canРІР‚в„ўt compare to the first three Carter installments, or his epochal 2005-2007 mixtape run.

His ethos has always been to make music or die trying. (He also discussed his suicide attempt in poetic terms on SolangeРІР‚в„ўs 2016 track РІР‚СљMad.РІР‚Сњ) But the story also reads as a metaphor for Lil WayneРІР‚в„ўs recent legal battles against his РІР‚СљfatherРІР‚Сњ Birdman. РІР‚СљJust got off phone with my son, told him youРІР‚в„ўre a son of a gun/Just got off the phone with my daughter, told her I wonРІР‚в„ўt hesitate to fuck a young nigga up,РІР‚Сњ he rhymes on РІР‚СљOpen Letter.РІР‚Сњ On the final track, the Sampha-augmented РІР‚СљLet It All Work Out,РІР‚Сњ he recalls the moment he shot himself in the chest as a child, explaining it was because his mother tried to prevent him from pursuing a rap career. Throughout, Lil Wayne reminds us that heРІР‚в„ўs a 36-year-old father, not the eternally young horndog who once sung РІР‚СљI just want to fuck every girl in the worldРІР‚Сњ at the height of his fame, or the teenager who chanted РІР‚СљDrop it like itРІР‚в„ўs hotРІР‚Сњ over the Triggerman beat. DreРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљXXXplosive.РІР‚Сњ ThereРІР‚в„ўs a reunion with Mannie Fresh on РІР‚СљStart This Shit Off RightРІР‚Сњ that has the easy, breezy swagger of a soul stepping party. Still, these nods to contemporary rap and pop, which arrive early in Tha Carter IV, canРІР‚в„ўt compare to the albumРІР‚в„ўs later moments, though itРІР‚в„ўs fun to hear him try and rhyme roughshod over the limp electronic pop of РІР‚СљCanРІР‚в„ўt Be Broken.РІР‚Сњ He sounds better alongside Snoop Dogg on РІР‚СљDope Niggaz,РІР‚Сњ which resurrects the РІР‚СљBumpyРІР‚в„ўs LamentРІР‚Сњ sample made famous on Lil KimРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљDrugsРІР‚Сњ and Dr.

At the very least, it gives Wayne a chance to drop one of his goofily great punchlines: РІР‚СљThey started French kissing so he didnРІР‚в„ўt see moi.РІР‚Сњ Travis Scott fades into the background of РІР‚СљLet It Fly.РІР‚Сњ Kendrick Lamar РІР‚вЂњ who once recorded C4, a mixtape homage to WayneРІР‚в„ўs 2008 blockbuster Tha Carter III РІР‚вЂњ joins in РІР‚СљMona Lisa,РІР‚Сњ a bizarre, confusing yet ultimately fascinating lyrical fantasy about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend with the man of the hour.

The late, controversial emo rapper XXXTENTACION adds a pained squall to РІР‚СљDonРІР‚в„ўt Cry,РІР‚Сњ one of the albumРІР‚в„ўs highlights. The other breakout star from his Young Money adventure, Drake, doesnРІР‚в„ўt make an appearance due to reported scheduling issues. РІР‚СљI am not number one, itРІР‚в„ўs true/I am 9-27-82,РІР‚Сњ he says in reference to his birthday on РІР‚СљDonРІР‚в„ўt Cry.РІР‚Сњ When one of his Young Money students, Nicki Minaj, croons alongside him on the yearning РІР‚СљDark Side of the Moon,РІР‚Сњ it sounds bittersweet. He has rarely sounded as vulnerable as he does here. The Lil Wayne who appears here sounds chastened, questioning his current standing in the rap lexicon. Still, the tumult of years passed undoubtedly left its mark.

Lil Wayne is back on center stage, back on top. It doesnРІР‚в„ўt matter that his first retail album since 2013РІР‚в„ўs desultory, depressing I Am Not a Human Being II is haphazardly sequenced, with the best tracks arriving somewhere in the middle and the end, and that its 87 minute running time can barely be consumed in one sitting. His place on rapРІР‚в„ўs postmillennial Mount Rushmore is assured. He is as much of a hero to a certain generation of rap fans as Jay Z and Rakim once were. If the celebratory reception surrounding the long-delayed Tha Carter V proves one thing, it is how much Lil Wayne is truly beloved.

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