CD Review: The Carter IV

Article by DJ Smiles
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September 13, 2011
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Grade: C+

Lil Wayne: where do we even begin? Coming from nothing, the New Orleans native has been in the national spotlight for nearly seven years now, following the popularity of his third effort, Tha Carter. Keeping true to a good marketing scheme, more installments came and went. Tha Carter II served as a well-received follow-up. We waited so long for Tha Carter III that when it came out, everyone and their mama went and bought a copy. But now we have finally arrived at Weezy's highly anticipated Tha Carter IV. Is it the instant classic that everyone believed it would be? Or will it just end up taking up bytes in your digital library? Well to help you figure it all out, we here at The Black Sheep wanted to let you all know what we thought with a little run-down.

Intro - I don't listen to intros.

MegaMan - After listening to the first ten seconds of the track I came to the conclusion that it is way too similar to Drake's "Ransom" and like Hov I went on to the next one.

Nightmares of the Bottom – This really starts the meat and potatoes of Carter IV. The production comes from Snazzy and Kenoe and it is by far one of the more meaningful tracks off the album. Featuring strings that will make you feel like frolicking through a field of sunflowers and lyrics that do the exact opposite, this track tries to provide us with some sort of insight to what the man has been going through of late. The overall vibe of the track ensures that it will be a frequently feature on my "recently played" playlist.

She Will – C’mon, there’s nothing to even say about this. We all know that anytime you put the powerhouses that are Drake and Wayne on a track together, it is bound to be a single. She Will is all that and more.

How To Hate - It's been a while since I've heard some decent material from Mr. Teddy Bend Her Ass Down and it seems like I'm going to have to wait a bit longer. All of T-Pizzles crooning just blends together, leaving the impression of white noise. This joint just seems like an attempt by the two to reclaim the flame they possessed on their collab, Can’t Believe It.

Interlude - Sans Weezy, this song is actually the hardest on the entire album and is easily one of my favorites. Tech N9ne hits us with that Worldwide Choppers flow and Mr. Andre 3000 slows it down for all you slow people to catch up to. #CertifiedDope

John - Is Polow Da Don trying to swaggajack Lex Luger too?! Now I've seen it all. But, in any case, the second single off of Tha Carter IV serves as the standalone banger on the album and without a shadow of doubt, holds its own.

Abortion - Wow. Weezy hits us with some funkiness, and you know the best thing about it?! It WORKS! But, the lyrics could definitely use some work; the song requires anywhere from 1 to 123,433,242 listens to figure out what he's actually talking about.

So Special - When I found out this song featured none other than John Legend, I was expecting to hear something that I would have on repeat nonstop. Unfortunately, it’s way too soft.

How To Love - Alright, so if you are reading this review right now, I am almost positive that you have heard this song, because it plays at least five times every hour on the radio. Think I'm lying? Turn on the radio right now. The song was definitely meant to be a mainstream hit and for that I applaud Wayne. He had the cojones to go off and do something that I'm pretty sure he knew he was going to get a lot of crap for in the industry. With that being said, as long as he keeps these kind of tracks to a minimum and makes them well, I won't have an issue lending an ear to them.

President Carter - Sooooo Woop! The opening chords are golden and definitely have a classic vibe to them. Weezy does his thing and does it well. This is easily one of my favorites from the album.

It's Good - If you've been living underneath a rock for the past week or so, I'll bring you up to speed. Yes, this is the track in which Wayne allegedly disses Jay-Z and Beyonce. The line goes, "I got your baby money/Kidnap your bitch, get that how much you love your lady money," which served as Weezy's retort to Hov's line off of H.A.M. In any case, Jadakiss and Drake go hard and rightfully so, because this beat demands nothing less. This track is a definite must-listen.

Outro - Bun B and Nas on the same track?! Good Lordy. It's as if I was sitting down at my desk listening to this and then I was suddenly leveled [in slow-mo] by Johnny Knoxville wielding a giant bass as soon as the 15 second mark came and went. Bun B kills. Nas is teetering on the edge of going nasty on us. What was Shyne thinking? Busta adds one more beat to the body count. Enough said.