This was by far my most anticipated album of the last three years. After a series of excellent singles, the album finally drops.. Here's what I think:
1. Intro - First off, this damn instrumental is way too slow. I was hoping for something fast paced like "3 Peat." Wayne's flow is pretty weak here. Furthermore, his lyrics are a little lackluster. Not a good start to a "classic album" by bragging about riches and smoking blunts. That Helen Keller line was nice though aha.
2. Blunt Blowin - Well here's a nice turnaround. This was the fan favorite when the album leaked. The first minute is slow paced with Weezy laying down some sentimental rhymes about the rap game. Then suddenly the beat drops and you just wanna jump out of your seat. Develop (the guy who produced Fireman) definitely did a nice job with this one. The voice effects on that last verse really brings you back to C2. If this isn't the "old Weezy" then I don't know what is... Posse cuts with dope punchlines and incredible energy. I fucks with this one. Edit: I just realized that this song sounds a lot like "Bill Gates."
3. Mega Man - The moment I saw this title in the tracklist, I knew it would dope. The bass in this song is crazy. There isn't even a fucking chorus. Just a minute of Wayne going in. I coulda died at that Burger King line. This fool's a comedian aha. My boy Andriy pointed that this beat sounds a lot like "Ransom."
4. 6 Foot 7 Foot (feat. Cory Gunz) - A Milli on steroids? Hell yes! This was the slapper of the first quarter of the year. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing this song. Bangladesh crafts a flawless beat with a nice "Banana Boat" sample. Wayne has countless quotable rhymes. People are still goin' ape shit to that Lasagna line. This album is starting off with some hardcore jams.
5. Nightmares of the Bottom - This next transition is perfect. The beat definitely slows it down a bit. But it's also got that CRAZY bass, which ties it together with the last 4 tracks. This one's got the top 3 best lyrics on the album. His punchlines are really introspective with lines like "Life is a course, and imma shoot for par." The only complaint I have with this track is that I wish Wayne had used the same energy he used when he performed Nightmares at the Unplugged concert.
6. She Will (feat. Drake) - You already know how I feel about this song. Best single in the Carter series hands down. There's so many quotables in this one. My latest favorite is: "some people hang you out like a towel rack, I'm all about I give the rest of the vowels back. The only thing I can say is that I wish they had just given Drizzy a verse rather than repeat his chorus 3 times at the end. This album is starting off HOT (excluding the intro).
7. How To hate (Feat. T-Pain) - ...And just like that I spoke too soon. This ones straight garbage. T-Pains verse is tough to listen to. His chorus is catchy, but has no substance. Then the beat drops and Wayne gets his "I'm Single" flow on (which is good). Unfortunately, he doesn't say anything worthwhile in the first verse. His second was a bit better. But this track was lackluster. The beat was actually really good and this one coulda had potential. But it kinda sucks. I guess it will do well on the radio, but honestly I don't even see that happening. This shoulda been scrapped and replaced with "Mirror"
8. Interlude - Wayne isn't even on this one. But it's got the same beat as the intro. Tech straight kills it. Wayne shoulda gone in like that on his intro. Also, Andre 3000 (of OutKast) makes a surprise appearance. His verse is pretty good, but 3 Stacks can do way better. Dope track though.
9. John (feat. Rick Ross) - This was my favorite single from C4. She Will was the best single, but this track was my favorite. First off, by far the illest instrumental on Carter IV. Initially, I wasn't wild about this song cuz Ross has one (or two) too many verses on the track. But it grew on me a lot. Wayne's second verse was not great. But his first one was ill, and the energy level is so high that I love it. Even though it was lyrically a little lacking, John got you feeling upbeat and crazy. This one's really good. It grows on you.
10. Abortion - No, Wayne doesn't speak his thoughts on Abortion (as interesting as that would have been). Right away I recognized the song. Two years ago, a dope Alchemist song leaked with Wayne on the chorus and Travis McCoy rapping. It was called "Know Your Name." Well guess what, this track is almost the same (no, that's not the bad thing). The chorus was reworked so that the autotune was more on-key, and StreetRunner reworked the beat into a true banger. Oh, and there's no Travis McCoy. His punchlines are crazy on this one: "Double R, I'm a rebel with a reason. Sometimes you gotta fight the devil with a demon." His delivery is also NICE as he puts real emphasis on his dope lyrics. And honestly, it was kinda refreshing to hear him with a little autotune. It's been almost 2 years since I heard a Weezy track with autotune. I forgot that his choruses actually sound good with a little autotune added to them. Oh and it's hands down my Favorite Song!!!
11. So Special (feat. John Legend) - At first this song sounds perfect. The beat is like a love song/trunk banger/club hit. Legend's chorus is gorgeous. He's singing a lot lower than he usually does, but he pulls it off. Wayne's definitely spitting to the ladies. But I feel that his lyrics are a little too sexual. I mean Legend's chorus is a total crooner, but Wayne's lyrics are about eatin' pussy. I just felt that Wayne shoulda try to talk about why his girl was so special, rather than talking about his sex game. But it's whatever.. the track just sounded a little awkward. If you ignore the lyrics and just listen for the punchlines, you're gonna love this one. Cool N Dre really hooked Weezy up with a hot beat.
12. How To Love - Ok, so this was way outta Wayne's lane. And he pulled it off. It's a little out of place on this boomin' album, but it's a good song in itself. In terms of a pop single, it's definitely quality. The lyrics are pretty decent, and it's a real summer song. Not to mention the video was ridiculous. Like for real, it's a tear jerker. I respect him for making this one because he stretched beyond his limits. It's nothin like anything Wayne's ever done.
13. President Carter - Wayne's best lyrics on the album are this track. The beat reminds of that song from '07 called "Outstanding." Weezy speaks on his domineering presence in the rap game. His speech at the end: "Gorillas in suits, the holy war, the spiritual troops, fighting over the mythical truth, drowning in the political soup, they shoot missiles and nukes, taking out such a pivotal group, the body count is the physical proof, and they thought drugs were killing the youth." Damn if he had spat like that the whole album, this shit woulda been ridiculous. Amazing track.
14. It's Good (feat. Jadakiss & Drake) - This one's been gettin buzz all across the internet. Jadakiss is a great rapper but his verse sucks. Drake's is really short and not all that great. But Wayne though.. his verse was mad. The Cool N Dre beat was really hard on this one, and Weezy's energy was perfect. And his diss.. that was crazy. "I think you pussy cat, hello kitty." A lot of classic Wayne punchlines here. He's really in his comfort zone on this one.
15. Outro (feat. Bun B, Nas, Shyne & Busta Rhymes) - Continuing the Intro and Interlude pattern, Bun B starts this one off nice. His flow is mad nice. Then Nas comes in AND TEARS THIS BITCH UP. Lord almighty he murders it. Shyne... was awful. And Busta is in typical fashion. I still can't feel this beat. It's wayy too repetitive.
16. I Like the View - This is the third Cool N Dre beat on the album. It sounds like it was recorded during the No Ceilings era (I'm sure it wasn't). The beat is turned up a little too high so you can't catch all the lyrics. They're pretty good, but there's one too many corny lines. This definitely belonged as a bonus track.
17. Mirror (feat. Bruno Mars) - When I heard that Bruno Mars was on C4 I was pissed. But he actually KILLS the chorus. REO's chorus-filled beat matches perfectly with Mars's heartfelt chorus. Weezy uses his relaxed flow and works just as to plan. His lyrics are probably the second best on the album. This is just about the only song where he stays on topic the whole way through. I can feel that this was written in jail, because he really reminisces about his past life. The whole idea of looking through a mirror to see his past is cliche, but he really delivers. Why this didn't make the album? Idk. It would have been a number one single hands down. Too bad.
18. Two Shots - The beat here is simple (kind of an A Milli concept). His flow is really weird on this one, but I actually liked it. This track had love and hate reactions when it first leaked. The funniest line of the whole album is on this song: "She cross the line like a Mexican." Aahah Wayne is a fuckin' clown. Also, Wayne uses his Spanglish/Jamaican voice at the end for the first time in 4 years. The track sounds like it was recorded during the I Am Not a Human Being sessions, but it's pretty good. Dope punchlines.
19. Up, Up and Away - No, this is not the Cudi song. It's the iTunes exclusive bonus! It features some DOPE Timbaland production (seems like the first good beat Timbo's made in years). The instrumental switches up a whole bunch throughout the song and it's honestly one of the best on the album. Wayne's flow is awesome! There were many songs (such as the Intro) that he used his slow flow, but this one features his fast flow. "Her mouth is like my house, so I guess you could say I'm coming home." There's a shitload of quotables on this one. Why this didn't make the album? I have no idea.
So how did C4 fair? Well first off I'd say buying the deluxe version is necessary. Wayne sent Cortex (Wayne's manager) 30 songs to choose for the album. And it sounds like Tez didn't make the best choices. Making "Mirror" and "Up, Up and Away" was a huge mistake. Also, "How to Hate" should have been scrapped or sent to T-Pain's album. So not only did he pushback the album too much, he also didn't put enough songs on the regular version of the album. It's not that Wayne's fallen off, it's that the people around him have really started to slack. He's just not getting enough push from his label. C4 shoulda been on every billboard in America. It was the most anticipated album of the last 5 years.
But beyond his label issues, the album was good for it what is was. The main issue with the album was the perfection of the previous Carter album. The first issue was the beats. There wasn't anything as catchy as "Lollipop" or as soulful as "Comfortable." A lot of the beats were simple and based around 808's. The beats sound extremely dope while you ride around in the whip, but through headphones they sound simple. Also, there weren't any REALLY deep songs like "Tie My Hands" or "Dr. Carter." I feel that Wayne's gotten too much in his head that he's a punchline rapper. He's convinced that people want that "raw rap" full of punchline after punchline... And who can blame him. That's what his fans asked for after "Rebirth." But honestly, I wish he had made at least one song where he really stayed on a serious topic.
But here's the good parts. There wasn't any pop sell out tracks (C3 had Lollipop, Got Money, Pussy Monster, etc.). They were all exclusively for hip-hop fans. People wanted to hear Wayne RAP when he got out of jail. And that's just what he did. He gave his fans 21 fresh tracks full of crazy bars. Each time you listen through, you find twenty new "quotables." Even though he's entirely become a punchline rapper, he's good at it. No one else can spit one liners like Weezy in the game. No one. He's at the top of his metaphor lane.
This album flowed better than any of the Carter's (and other hip-hop albums of this year). The transitions from track to track. I still can't get over the 6'7 to NOTB to How to Hate movement.. Genius! You really gotta listen to the album as a whole. If you buy a few tracks, you're not gonna like it. The tracks are similar, but not to the point of getting bored of the sound. Although C3 had songs of almost every possible genre and sound, the album had no flow between song.
So what's my final thoughts on the album. Well it's growing on me. It's in a toss between my favorite album this year (competing with Goblin). I actually hadn't listened the full thing in consequential till today. But now that I have, I can safely say that I like this album more. It's been getting described as "disappointing"due to the comparisons to C3... which is understandable. Carter III had more substance and more versatile beats. But try not to compare the two, because they're completely different albums. And Wayne's a different artist at this point. You can just feel that he's trying to play up his most well-known trait; he's excellent with flipping words and phrases. Wayne's gone to his roots and pulled out a HARDCORE album. After giving the world a rock album, Weezy gives his fans what they asked for. A damn hip-hop album. There's really no low points in Carter IV. The high points aren't as good as Wayne can be. But the key word to this album is: consistency. So did Wayne's album live up to the hype? Yes. He put out a great album. His lyrics were better than I expected. Is the album classic? Probably not. There were moments where Wayne flirted with "classic" (such as at the end of President Carter) but I don't think he hit the mark. But then again.. have there really been any classic albums this year? Nahh. As the album grows on me, my faith is further restored in Wayne. I hope his career continues to ensue and may there be many more Carter albums of the year.
And I'm gonna finish with this final question. Was this album the best album of the year? I can't decide yet. I know it's better than Watch the Throne. Compared to Goblin? Well Tyler really spoke from his heart on that album. But it had it's low points (Radicals & Bitch Suck Dick). Whereas Carter IV had one (How to Hate). And How to Hate wasn't even that bad for a radio song. Wayne's second verse was mad nice. So I think that Carter IV actually might be the better album.
Now was it my favorite? Well fuck yes. Carter IV made me so proud to be a Weezy fan. He's back!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tha-carter-iv-deluxe-edition/id459904774
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