Title: Tha Carter V
Artist: Lil Wayne
Record Label: Young Money Entertainment
Release Date: September 28, 2018
Rating: 4
They say good things come to those who wait. This phrase rings true when it comes to Lil Wayne’s release of his highly anticipated twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V. The album touches on a variety of subjects from fame, love and even suicide. The stories of these subjects are told through an extensive list of tracks (the album is 23 songs) and include features from rap music’s heavy hitters like Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar and the late XXXTENTACION.
The album begins with “I Love You Wayne,” an emotional message from Wayne’s mom, Jacida. In the message, she tearfully claims how proud she is of her son and how everyone keeps asking her when the album is coming out – something anxious Weezy fans can relate to. She sets the stage and solidifies the album as a classic by saying “I know it’s gonna be a beautiful album, love you, Dwayne”.
Wayne acknowledges the impact he has made in the rap game in the song “Dedicate”, where he raps “I started this s**t, you just part of this s**t / I’m the heart of this s**t and the heart doesn’t skip”. He further proves his point at the end of the song with an excerpt from a speech given by President Barack Obama where he says, “They might think they’ve got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow. But our kids can’t all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne!”
On the song “Mona Lisa”, Wayne teams up with Lamar to tell a wild story about a woman who tricks a man and sets him up for a robbery. This is arguably one of the best songs on the album because it is five minutes of straight rapid fire from both Wayne and Kendrick. The menacing beat and the voice changes in Lamar’s verse make this song enticing from start to finish.
There are upbeat party anthems such as “Uproar”, which inspired a dance challenge, and “Start This S**t Off Right”, which has a late ‘90s/early ‘00s vibe to it. Conversely, Wayne proves he can do more than just rap about his extravagant lifestyle with songs like “Open Letter”. In this song, he details his internal struggles saying, “The object in the mirror is more near than it appears, oh s**t / And sometimes I fear who in the mirror, that n***a weird / What is my meaning? My reason?”
Wayne gets even deeper in the final song, “Let It All Work Out”, where he talks about his suicide attempt at age 12. He explains the incident, saying, “Too much was on my conscience to be smart about it / Too torn apart about it, I aim where my heart was pounding.” The song ends on an optimistic note with Sampha crooning “Let it all work out” repeatedly. The album comes full circle at the end with Jacida once again saying “Love you Dwayne”.
Wayne’s Tha Carter V proves that he is still one of the best rappers in the game and has undeniably changed it. After all these years, he is still able to surprise listeners with his versatility and vulnerability. If this is indeed Wayne’s last album, he certainly went out with a bang with this masterpiece.