A Review of Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V"

WEEZY F BABY and the F is for finally! After five years and many court dates, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne finally drops the long awaited "Tha Carter V!" To talk about the case in short, Lil Wayne sued Universal Music Group, Cash Money Records and Birdman (founder of Cash Money Records and therefore the boss of Young Money Records) for $51 Million in 2014 because Lil Wayne had not been fully compensated for his work at Cash Money and Young Money. With Lil Wayne settling this lawsuit for more than $10 million in June of 2018, Lil Wayne is now free to release his first official album since he released "I Am Not A Human Being II" in 2013. With this settlement Lil Wayne is now the sole owner of Young Money Records and is free to sign artists to the label. Back to the music, in case you forgot Lil Wayne's "IANAHB2" is responsible for the hits "Rich as Fuck" ft. 2 Chainz, "No Worries" and "Love Me" ft. Drake and Future. Lil Wayne's discography over his career is one of the most impressive music catalogs of all time and he looks to add to that with the release of "Tha Carter V." Now let's get to the track list! Lil Wayne produces 23 tracks on "Tha Carter V with ten featured artists over nine songs on the album. XXXTENTACION (R.I.P.), Swizz Beatz, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, Sosamann, Reginae Carter, Snoop Dogg, Ashanti, Mack Maine, and Nivea are all featured on this track list. Lots of big names on this album, so without further ado, let's get to the review! 👂🏾

Review! 👂🏾

Scale

Per song
+.5 for beat selection
+.5 for flow
+.5 for content/impact
+.5 for hit value

Points will be taken off for:
Fatigue in listening
Lack of diversity in beats

Raw Score: The amount of good songs on a project versus the overall amount. Songs must have a +1 or above to be counted.

Quality Score: The total amount of points accumulated over the total amount of songs.

Playback value: The resonance an album is perceived to have if played again in full. Scale out of 5.

I Love You Dwayne
On this intro track we get Lil Wayne's mother wishing him well and reflecting on everything he has been through.
+.5

Don't Cry (ft. XXXTENTACION)
On this album we are hit with XXXTENTACION vocals on the hook before we get into the first Wayne verse. A line that stands out is towards the end of this verse where Weezy raps,
"I want a triple extension on my motherfuckin' afterlife
Rest in paradise"
These lines are a tribute to XXXTENTACION (R.I.P.) a rapper who was tragically murdered in June 2018. The line "triple extension" references initial confusion on how to pronounce XXXTENTACION's name when XXX first became known to the general public. Overall, I like the song it's slow lagging bass with the slow-paced aspects of the beat with Wayne's flow and XXX'S slow paced vocals mesh well together.
+1

Dedicate
On this song we have Wayne rapping about the trends that he made popular that have become aspects of the new generation of hip-hop. Wayne starts his second and third verse with the lines "I started this shit" and the 2 Chainz vocals on the hook saying "You tatted your face and changed the culture," are two ways Wayne uses to point out how he changed the culture of hip-hop. This is also a slow beat filled with piano and a bass guitar. The song ends with a snippet of Barack Obama, speaking on how children shouldn't all inspire to be LeBron James or Lil Wayne. This is a solid song that once again comes together well.
+1

Uproar (ft. Swizz Beatz)
1st off, the transition from "Dedicate" to "Uproar" is a seamless one. The audience had been clapping after Obama's words and the clapping continues into the start of this song where Swizz Beatz is hyping a crowd for Lil Wayne. We have an upbeat with a "no music" tempo on the claps mixed with a bass that comes at you at waves. There are times during the song where the beat stops, and Wayne is rapping acapella for a moment which is still impressive because he stays on beat. Another good song, this time more upbeat for moments you may want to turn up a bit.
+1

Let It Fly (ft. Travis Scott)
This second verse of this song is what makes Lil Wayne one of the best rhymers in hip- hop.
"You not fuck with me and mine
And keep in mind that we don't mind losing our minds
Free your mind, read your mind, read your mind
Body take a week to find, the cops gon' be like "never mind"
What's on your mind, put the pistol to your mind and blow your mind
Control your mind, mindfreak, no sober mind, I'm so behind"
The word play Wayne uses with "mind" is a skill few artists have. Travis Scott's hook and verse don't particularly add to the song but don't take away from the song either.
+1

Can't Be Broken
The piano heavy beat and the autotuned chorus works to set a somber mood over this song. Lil Wayne's verses with the heavy bass and fast paced high hats give us a clue to pay attention because Wayne has something to say. On this song Weezy addresses his haters with the line
"They can do all they can do but they can't break unbreakable"
With this line Wayne is talking about all the moments throughout his career where someone has been an obstacle, most recently, Birdman and Cash Money Records.
+1

Dark Side of The Moon (ft. Nicki Minaj)
This is one of the slowest songs on the album, which says a lot. The presence of the beat is felt but not as prominent as Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj's voices. Since this is a song where both of them are singing the beat works.
+1

Mona Lisa (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
The main idea of this song is women can be plotting on you. In the first verse Wayne tells the story of a girl who slept with a random man just so she can let her niggas in to rob the man's house.
"Mona Lisa, long hair, don't care
She handle the business and don't ever tell
She bite the bullet and cough up the shells
She tell 'em, "Ooh, daddy, let's go to your place!"
And if he say yeah, then we meet him there
She feed him lies with his silverware
She don't want love, she just want her share"
Here Wayne, describes how "Mona Lisa" sets up men to get robbed by her crew. Wayne then tells another story of a girl named Liz who set up another guy to get robbed.
"You know what it is, put your fuckin' hands up
Liz, that's enough, you can put your hands down
And then he looked dead at her and he shook his head at her"
In these lines, Wayne describes the sense of betrayal this man feels as he realizes the girl he took home just wanted to rob him. Kendrick Lamar's verse talks about this from the point of view of the man getting robbed.
"Fucking on another nigga, that's a negative alone
But you sucked this dick, that's just nasty
Matter of fact, bitch, gimme your phone! (No)
You fuckin' with Wayne's? (No)
Bitch, gimme your phone!
No, let me, let me take this call real quick
(…lick me like a lollipop) He on your fuckin' ringtone?
Is that the shit that you do?"
Here Kendrick raps about the moment he realizes this girl wants Wayne more than him. This could also be the prior events before Kendrick's character gets robbed.
The storytelling in this song is great, and while the beat is a simple piano beat with occasional bass, it gives the two rappers freedom to change their flow at will.
+1.5

What About Me (ft. Sosamann)
Like "Dark Side of The Moon," we get another slow Lil Wayne song, however the bass in this beat is more prominent. Again, Lil Wayne is singing about a girl who he put his heart into but, she didn't appreciate it as Wayne sings,
"I gave you everything you needed
Now you gone, gone, gone
Tell me, how you do that to me? Yeah."
Sosamann continues the theme in the second verse as he talks about a girl who took everything from him as well.
+1

Open Letter
On this song we have Weezy reflecting on some problems in his life. He talks about not feeling appreciated in the lines,
"Sometimes I feel like I ain't shit
Sometimes a nigga feel like shit
Talkin' 'bout some real life shit
Goodbye letter, "Dear Life" shit
So if a nigga kill me, hope he mean it
I just hope I die for a reason
They probably won't miss me 'til they need me"
These lines Wayne starts his verse with are interesting as he talks about doubting himself, feeling down, goodbye letters and people not missing him after he's gone. The beat is once again in the backseat, so the listener can pay attention to Lil Wayne's lyrics. At the end of the song, we get an outro from Lil Wayne's mother who talks about when she found out Lil Wayne was going to be a father. This fits together because the next song features Reginae Carter who is Lil Wayne's daughter.
+1

Famous (ft. Reginae Carter)
On this song, accompanied by his daughter who sings the hook, Wayne raps about his life in the spotlight. The beat has a fast-paced high hat with a soft bass and piano, keeping the calm vibe throughout the album. Overall a solid song.
+1

Problems
"Zaytoven," Lil Wayne goes for a more Atlanta style on this song. This beat has a more prominent but still a soft bass that never really goes away, with a mix of high hats. Wayne shows off his versatility by flowing on this beat well.
+1

Dope Niggaz (ft. Snoop Dogg)
The prominence of an electric guitar and bass is an interesting mix of a beat that works for this song. Snoop Dogg's role on this song is minimal as he appears on the hooks on this song. Lil Wayne is essentially praising the lord that he isn't broke as he raps during the hook,
"I thank the Lord I ain't a broke nigga
I thank the Lord I ain't a broke nigga."
+1

Hittas
Diversity in beats is clearly not a theme on this album. Once again, we get a slow-paced bass and high-hat mix. Nothing sticks out about this song except for the outro where we hear Weezy's mother talk about how smart he is. Following the trend of the album thus far, this should be setting up the next song.
+.5

Took His Time
As predicted, in the chorus Lil Wayne raps,
"Momma said God took his time when he made me"
This continues the idea from the outro of "Hittas" as Wayne talks about how special he is. However, this is about the only thing that continues this idea.
+.5

Open Safe
On this first verse, Lil Wayne is using the ayy flow where most lines end with the word "ayy." Instead of "ayy" however, he uses the word "nigga."
"Everybody know my face, nigga
All eyes on me, get the mace, nigga
Uh, bad bitch with the face glitter
Snoop Dogg, murder was the case, nigga
Yeah, my homie got a open case, nigga" Tunechi executes this flow well over this D.J. Mustard beat which brings some diversity to the album with the snapping, bass, high hat heavy melody.
+1

Start This Shit Off Right (ft. Mack Maine and Ashanti)
This song is an early 2000's reminiscent song. Ashanti vocals with Mack Maine and two Wayne verses. The beat with the drum set, bass, and sounds reminiscent of the Wii song is something that takes the listener back to the early 2000's as well.
+1

Demon
he song structure on this song is not a typical one. Wayne structures this song as a verse #1, bridge, chorus, bridge, chorus, verse #1, bridge, chorus, outro. There are many spots in the song where the beat just rocks so the listener can appreciate the harmonizing, organ, high hat filled beat.
+1

Mess
On this song Tunechi sings about how messy his life is. Wayne sings,
"My life is a mess of happiness
Lust, sex, obsession, desire with no love
But fuck it, more one's, my bae is a mess
My side bitch a mess, my wifey a mess,"
There's no consistency described in this chorus which explains how Weezy's life is a mess. All of this over a classic guitar, bass, high hat filled beat.
+1

Dope New Gospel (ft. Nivea)
First off, Nivea sounds great on the chorus of this song. The beat is another calm beat, with the same intensity of bass as many other songs on this album. Wayne shows off his rapping ability again, however the content is lacking.
+.5

Perfect Strangers
Tunechi melodies about a failing relationship. Another calm beat made with a slow-paced bass, high hat and piano.
+.5

Used 2
The first verse on this track puts me on the edge of my seat as the anticipation of the beat drop builds, however it gets tiring as the beat doesn't drop until the last four bars of the verse. The song gets better after we get some bass and high hats added to the beat after the first verse.
The content once again is lacking until, the outro with Lil Wayne's mother talking about Lil Wayne's suicide attempt when he was 12.
+1

Let It All Work Out
This is a good way to close out the album. On this song Wayne raps about some more trails in his life and how they worked out in the end, over a slow-paced beat with harmonizing and once again slow high hats and bass. As a continuing trend on the album, what Wayne's mom talks about in the outro of the previous song, Weezy, raps about on the next song. On the previous song "Used 2," Wayne's mom references the time he shot himself when he was 12 years old and on the third verse Wayne addresses it when he raps,
"I found my momma's pistol where she always hide it
I cry, put it to my head and thought about it
Nobody was home to stop me, so I called my auntie
Hung up, then put the gun up to my heart and pondered
Too much was on my conscience to be smart about it
Too torn apart about it, I aim where my heart was pounding
I shot it, and I woke up with blood all around me
It's mine, I didn't die, but as I was dying
God came to my side and we talked about it
He sold me another life and he made a prophet"
This gives Wayne fans answers about what happened during this moment in Wayne's life. This provides great content to close out the album as the track ends with Lil Wayne's mom telling him that she loves him.
+1.5

Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V"

Raw Score: 18/22
Quality Score: 21.5/22
Replay Value: 2/5

Overall, this project is average, not by the high standards that Lil Wayne has set, but average amongst the mere mortals of rap Weezy is a god to. The lack of hits and content on this album, combined with its length of 23 songs, makes this album a tiring listen. The flow and beat selection were executed well, however the lack of content gives this album no playback value. Also, most of the beats sounded similar to one another, which doesn't make the listener excited to hear the next song. My standout songs are "Mona Lisa" (ft. Kendrick Lamar), "Open Safe," and "Let It All Work Out." This album wasn't a bad album, but it wasn't necessarily a good album either. Overall, it doesn't impact the illustrious career Lil Wayne has put on display. Lil Wayne is still one of the greatest rappers ever and this album doesn't take that title away from him. Go stream Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V" today on your favorite streaming platform. Also, don't forget to follow OLDMLK.com on Instagram @OLDMLK!