Lil Wayne Big Mistake
CD name: ‘Rebirth’
Artist: Lil Wayne
Genre: Rock/hip-hop
Sounds like: Heavily Auto-Tuned metal-rap
Soundwaves: 1.5/5
After an album like this, one can only help but wonder what fate awaits Wayne Carter, rapper. Twelve tracks of hip-hop repackaged as bizarre hard rock, ‘Rebirth’ will confound, and perhaps offend, casual and devoted Lil Wayne fans alike. The rapper who has constantly refused to die off now attempts to birth a new style, and totally misses the mark in doing so. What a listener gets on ‘Rebirth’ is a sloppy portrait of a delusional American rock star – one who can’t sing, can’t play guitar and definitely can’t rock.
The sheer fact that Lil Wayne attempted to create a rock album warrants enough criticism. History proves that the genres of rap and rock have failed to agree on a permanent level, save the occasional breakouts and anomalies such as the Beastie Boys, Linkin Park and hit singles like Jay-Z’s ’99 Problems.’ Lil Wayne brings further instability to this marriage, employing hip-hop production tactics to create his rock ‘Rebirth.’ And it just sounds bad. The songs here consistently resemble outtakes from a Gym Class Heroes album, channeled through the Auto-Tuned spirit of Wayne Carter.
‘Rebirth’ starts off on a decent note with ‘American Star,’ which features Carter ranting about his improbable road to riches over a catchy, distorted guitar riff and a programmed drum beat. It’s appealing, and at times sounds like a Kid Rock B-side. In the first verse, Wayne calls himself a ‘dope boy wit a guitar.’ Funny, since the guitar work throughout this album is left in the hands of professional session musicians. The musicians, however capable, cannot compensate for Wayne’s consistently terrible subject matter. On the lead single, ‘Prom Queen,’ the high school dropout ridiculously tries to express feelings of melodramatic heartbreak. The irony within this song is overshadowed only by Wayne’s incessant Auto-Tuned drones.
To say that the Auto-Tune effect is used heavily here would be a gross understatement. Every track features Lil Wayne using the vocal effect to varying degrees, usually producing annoying results. Repeated listens to the drearily structured ballad ‘Paradice’ and the lyrically catastrophic ‘Get a Life’ will leave listeners with enough Auto-Tune to last a lifetime. Sadly, there are 12 tracks here. Maybe if he showed more restraint with Auto-Tune and paid more attention to melody, a la Kanye West on ‘808s and Heartbreak,’ then the album wouldn’t sound so drenched in artificiality.
Wayne does occasionally rap, most notably on the Eminem collaboration ‘Drop the World.’ It’s the closest thing to hip-hop on ‘Rebirth,’ and it’s still mediocre at best. The hook is loud and obnoxious, and even the usually brilliant Eminem begins to dial it in halfway through his verse. Clearly, Lil Wayne isn’t doing much here to challenge himself, much less his peers. His best flows come on the second half of the funky, Prince-inspired ‘Da Da Da.’ Wayne wastes two minutes singing in Auto-Tune, busts out one fun and fresh verse, then similarly wastes the remainder. ‘Runnin” and ‘One Way Trip’ suffer similar fates, beginning with much-needed energetic raps, only to devolve into Auto-Tuned circus acts. This is no rock concert, folks.
Can Lil Wayne really get away with an album like this? In 2010, his image brands pop music and pop culture alike. Lil Wayne’s knack for crossover appeal and huge hits has earned him a staggering amount of money, success and artistic freedom – probably too much. Massive success usually hinders artistic inspiration, and in Lil Wayne’s case, an irresponsible offering such as ‘Rebirth’ is what results from excess. Content to experiment in wild self-indulgence, Lil Wayne shoves hip-hop to the side and kicks his fans in their collective grills. Maybe he means to do this, as hostile reactions to ‘Rebirth’ will only heighten the buzz surrounding the upcoming ‘Carter IV,’ which is destined to earn him more millions. It’s just a shame that he set the bar this low for himself.
Published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm
