Lil Wayne can Rock

So in my thirst for something new to listen to I decided to stomach my pride and download preorder a copy of Lil Wayne's Rebirth from Amazon. Since Amazon clearly doesn't....give a shit, I got the album and gave it a couple of listens.

Those who know me know that I am against Lil Wayne's raps. I like Lil Wayne the rapper, and I do think he could be a great rapper, but his subject matter ranges from girls, eating out girls, and being very high, having a decent amount of money, and being an alien. Thats cool until every song is about that. So to be completely honest I went into this album with every intention of hating it, like I usually dislike everything Lil Wayne releases (Exception is the Drought 3. I liked that), but I will be the first and maybe the only person to say: Rebirth is pretty good. And by pretty good I mean...it's really nice.

Lil Wayne makes a much better rocker than he does a rapper without a doubt. Rapper Lil Wayne has nothing to say, but Lil Wayne's flow and end rhyme style works perfectly with his rock instrumentals. I guess I should just make this a review and go track by track

"American Star"- This is the first track and it starts off with some guitar riffs most likely not played by Lil Wayne, and the basic rock beat comes in, and it feels really nice. It has a great groove to it and Lil Wayne's sing rapping style and tone...it just works really perfectly. It's all really cohesive. You can feel the energy and the pulse. Lil Wayne's lyrics aren't anything magical, but the stuff he's saying and his flow works perfectly with the rock feel. "Born and raised in the U.S.A/ Where the government watches what you do and say". It all fits nicely. I like Shannel's work on the hook too...she fits the song perfectly. Good work all around.

"Prom Queen"- Starts off all rocky again, I'm glad Lil Wayne took this seriously and actually attempted to make it feel like...rock, which it kinda does. Lil Wayne rap-sings over this pretty nicely and it fits the music pretty nicely. Lyrics till a nice story but the the beat kinda drowns out his voice...I dunno it could be balanced better. Wayne's lyrics are nothing special, but once again it fits the music perfectly. Another cohesive track.

"Ground Zero"- This track I kinda don't like. I'm not sure of the direction this was trying to go in...I remember when this first got leaked and it was unfinished and it sounded like complete garbage. This version isn't too far from that. It's just bleh, nothing catching about the song and it just feels too grungy sounding. Maybe it's me.

"Da Da Da"- This is more like...some kind of Rock-Dance thing. It's weird. It starts off horribly but it kinda grows into this...synth like trance like jingle. It's pretty cool. I'm liking the musical aspect this whole album is seeming to have. Lyrics in this track are just Lil Wayne jargon, which is a surprising rarity in this album, despite Wayne's track record. So far this is the worst track to me though.

"Paradice"- Not much to this song. It's alright, feels like album filler, but I guess in an experimental album, every song is important. Lil Wayne's voice usually kinda annoys me sometimes but his singing flows effortlessly into all these songs, it's really cool. Paradice is a pretty clever name for a song too. Lyrics are great too. This Rebirth project is really looking good. Honestly this is the most I've ever liked Lil Wayne.

"Get A Life"- I like how Lil Wayne is not playing this rock thing safe. This song is really jumpy and fun, but not in a stupid way...like...it just feels fun. Lil Wayne's chanting "Fuck yoou (Fuck you) Get a Lifeee" actually made me chuckle. It all works. This is really nice.

"On Fire"- This is the one that feels the most inorganic of the others. While the others seem to have more of a rock feel, this is the most rap one. To follow suit, Lil Wayne raps about a clever extended metaphor about a woman on fire, but really the women is (WAIT FOR IT) MARIJUANA!! HOW CLEVER LIL WAYNE!! I kinda like this song. By the way, this song is not about him worshiping the devil, its pretty clear he's talking about weed.

"Drop The World"- Is another rap sounding track, aside from the screaming hook. Lil Wayne's lyrics are deep (by deep I mean that puddle you avoid on the way to your car that will get your socks wet), and Eminem reminds us that Lil Wayne is not a great rapper. Eminem is actually a great partner for Lil Wayne. We have the guy claiming to be the best rapper alive, and then the white guy reminding us what rap is supposed to be like, like in Drake's "Forever". It warms my heart to see Em destroy songs. He should rap with Wayne more regularly.

"Runnin" - This track brings things back to the rock feel (noice). Musically this track feels really cool. Lil Wayne's lyrics are nice (did I say this is the most I liked Wayne?). I mean nothing lyrically incredible, but the lyrics are nice. Shannell does good on these hooks. I don't listen to Avril Lavigne but her chorus's remind me of her...or that chick from Paramore...So in other words she sounds really white. Nice track, although it kinda feels like filler.

"One Way Trip" - Eh. Regular Lil Wayne over a rock sounding beat with some lame on the hook. Skip this track.

"Knockout" - Sounds like some cheesy pop-rock with Lil Wayne singing over it. Another lame track. It tries to have the same fun feel that "Get A Life" had, but not as cool. Lil Wayne has fun on this one. I'm liking the "Once you go black, you never go back" chant. I wish it worked on all my white classmates. Jungle fever is weak where I live...relatively...

"The Price Is Wrong"- Lame. Jusy some yelling about some girl. Cool.

"I'll Die For You" - Would've been the perfect album closing. My friend described it as stereotypical 80s rock journey sounding music. With like a guy driving a red convertible down a highway scene, his best friend next to him, two girls in the backseat, sunglasses on...that kinda stuff. It's pretty cheesy, but musically its not too bad.

"I'm So Over You" - I like to pretend that the album ended at the last song. This song isn't too bad. It could be worse, but its not worth being the last song on the album.

OVERALL:

I wanted to hate this album so bad that I'm actually sad that I like it. Every time I tell my friends that this album is legit, they laugh at me. They're like "Wow just yesterday this guy was talking about how Return to Forever was the greatest band to ever exist (truth), and now he's talking about how Lil Wayne's rock album is actually good. Are my musical tastes screwed? Maybe, and maybe I'm in no position to talk about rock, but this album is good. I appreciate what Lil Wayne did here, and if he would actually learn the guitar and get a real band together and start adding a real rock styling, he could be onto something gold here. This is a step in the RIGHT direction. We need a black rocker, and while he is not akin to Vernon Reid and Cult of Personality, I think Lil Wayne could get there. I like this album, but its not perfect, and the lows are REALLY low. As such I give it...

4/5

~Remian

I really hope this is what Lil Wayne does from now on. Either that or he should only rap with Eminem.

Apparently Mack Maine says that this Amazon accidental ship version will be different from the truly released version. Okay fine, thats 2 Lil Wayne Rock albums then. They're already thinking at Young Money! CHANGE! CHANGE! YES WE CAN!