Get To Know H.E.R.

Well, here we are. June 10th. The day the most anticipated release hip hop has seen in quite a while finally gets released. Now, in the past and hell, even now, I’ve made no secret of my dislike of Lil Wayne or Weezy or whatever you wanna call him. Is he the worst rapper I’ve heard in my life? By all means, no. I’ve heard far worse and despite all my negative criticisms, I actually think he’s a decent rapper once you get past his voice and he even shines once in a rare while. But that’s where my dislike begins. He’s a decent rapper. Not, as many people would want you to believe, the best rapper alive. He wouldn’t even make a list of the top 100 best rappers to have ever grabbed a mic. Really, I would be fine with the man if he didn’t represent to me what’s wrong with the music industry today. An industry in which sheeps will honestly believe that Lil Wayne is the best rapper around because they’ve never been exposed to anything better. Butttt, I digress. The point I was trying to make was that while I am prejudiced against the man, I listen to his music with no bias and that I am going into this review with the same hope that I go into every review with. That the album won’t suck balls.

1. 3 Peat - No intro, I guess that’s a good start. It’s not too impressive of a song though.

2. Mr. Carter (ft Jay-Z) - This is more like it. If the whole album sounds like this, I’ll be a very happy man. However, Lil Wayne is killed on his own track. To be fair though, Jay-Z’s probably been waiting for an opportunity to like this since Eminem murdered him on Renegade.

3. A Milli - The second single from the album is at least better than Lollipop. The beat gets a bit annoying after a while, which is a shame because I actually like Wayne’s flow on this track. Would’ve been great with a different beat.

4. Got Money (ft T-Pain) - T-Pain holds the distinction of being my second most hated man in the game (first is Souljah Boy). I’ve yet to hear the man on a track that I’ve enjoyed. Ok, that’s not entirely true because Good Life wasn’t bad at all. This track, however, is no Good Life. Lil Wayne even does his own T-Pain interpretation which comes off just as bad.

5. Comfortable (Babyface) - Man, I haven’t heard Babyface in a good minute. The obligatory R&B collabo for the ladies, it’s pretty good for what it is. There’s been worse, but at the same time, there’s been better.

6. Dr. Carter - Hip hop savior tracks have been done before and they’ve all been better than this. That being said, it’s not bad. If the third verse had been left out, the track would’ve fared far better.

7. Phone Home - What the fuck is this? Sounds like a failed track from Dr. Octagonecologyst, which I would rather be listening to right now.

8. Tie My Hands (Robin Thicke) - I actually like this song. The first time I’ve heard Lil Wayne not use lame punchlines in his verses.

9. Mrs. Officer (Bobby Valentino) - Stupidest song I’ve heard in a while. “I asked her what’s her number she said 911″ I’m cringing in pain right now…. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

10. Let The Beat Build - I didn’t realize that the song actually started until about a minute in. His rapping sounds like random phrases in the beginning, but I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and say that it’s part of the concept of the song. At least I hope so, because I really like this one.

11. Shoot Me Down (D. Smith) - 3 Tracks by Kanye and he hasn’t rapped on any of them? Could it be his ego’s gone down a couple of notches? Either way, the beat sounds great. The South could stand to spit on more beats like this. It’s not danceable yeah, but at least it has some musical value.

12. Lollipop - Everyone knows this song. And everyone has their own opinion of this song. As for me, I think it’s the stupidest song since Mrs Officer. Doesn’t help that he pretty much sings the whole damn track. There’s a bunch of rappers that are freaking great singers (Black Thought and Phonte to name two) but little Wayne is not one of them.

13. La la (Brisco and Busta Rhymes) - Kanye should’ve produced the whole damn album because the beat on this song is absolute crap. The hook is absolute crap. Also, Brisco, who I’ve heard for the first time on this track, is absolute crap. At least Busta comes off alright.

14. Playing With Fire (Betty Wright) - eh, skip it.

15. You Ain’t Got Nuthin (Fabolous and Juelz Santana) - Fab and Juelz are two of my favorite cats from the mainstream and Alchemist is a dope producer so I had high expectations for this one. For the most part I’m pleased and I think it’s a great song, although I could’ve done without Wayne’s singing on the hook and his Diddy “take that” line.

16. Don’t Get It - Ok I guess. Lil Wayne goes on a huge long rant near the end and you don’t really need to here any of it.

Final Score: 6.5
So does the most anticipated album of the year live up to its hype. Hell fucking no. It’s not bad but out of 16 tracks, only 8 of them are any good. I would’ve given it a 7.0, possibly even 7.5 if it weren’t for Phone Home, Mrs. Officer, Lollipop, and La la, all of which are songs that should never ever have seen the light of day. Also, despite being “the best rapper alive,” Wayne could still use a lot of improvement. His flow is for the most part all over the place, he tries to sing way too much, and his punchlines/metaphors are garbage. Still, Mr Carter, Let the Beat Build, and You Ain’t Got Nuthin are pretty hot. Do they warrant a full price purchase of this album? No way, but let’s be real here. That ain’t gonna stop you. This album will probably go platinum by the time I finish writing this sentence. Sigh. At least I still have Little Brother and N.E.R.D. to look forward to.