Lil Wayne's newest album, "I Am Not a Human Being," is appropriately titled.
Wayne, if anything, is larger than life. He boasts a staggering list of accomplishments, including platinum albums, Grammy awards and his position as CEO of Young Money. And could any other inmate sell as many T-shirts demanding his freedom?
"I Am Not a Human Being" was recorded shortly before Wayne's entry to Rikers Island prison, where he served his sentence for weapon and marijuana possession. The tracks off the album were originally intended for the next in the "Tha Carter" series, but Wayne decided to compile them and start from scratch once leaving prison.
Fear not, listeners: The year-long prison sentence has certainly not affected Wayne's out-of-this-world swagger. Wayne's world continues to be one filled with women lining up for his affections and bottles constantly being popped.
This music is the soundtrack to debauchery, made to be blasted out of thousand-dollar limo speakers. The production is outstandingly smooth, and every song builds to get the blood pumping.
"Right Above It" is particularly notable; it takes full advantage of both speakers and produces a freaky, echoed beat sure to raise the listener's heart rate. Wayne's voice itself sounds unlike any other noise produced in nature, though in the best possible way; as Wayne himself boasts, his voice is closer to a Martian's than to a human's.
His voice and musical style are most successful on "I'm Single." The track stands out from others on the album, with its very slow beat and lack of bumping bass. Here, the synth is used masterfully, in a way any Kid Cudi lover will appreciate.
The song's alliterated chorus — "I ain't trippin' on nothin'/I'm sippin' on somethin'" — combined with the synth, will zone you out even if you don't have a drink in your hand. Wayne also manages to stay on topic throughout the whole track, a feat he struggles with through the rest of the album.
Wayne spends the majority of the album free-associating. Couplets dominate, and when Wayne pauses in between them, listeners are left waiting for a good punch line — and are sometimes left hanging.
Wayne occasionally manages to deliver a good line, such as, "I see her when I want/Call that viewer's choice" (from the song "Popular"). But many, like "And they say money talks/Well, it's my spokesperson" (from "Hold Up"), fall short.
With his narrow topic range, it's expected that some of his declarations will be trite and some of his jokes unfunny. The tracks "Gonerrhea" and "That Ain't Me" are full of hackneyed declarations, and, worse still, the couplets just don't link up.
Paired with an uninspired delivery, some tracks are ultimately forgettable. On "That Ain't Me" and "Bill Gates," Wayne simply lacks enthusiasm, as though he's reading the lyrics off a sheet of paper. The rapper brags here about how he's made it, but it seems more like now that he knows he's made it, he no longer cares about convincing us why he deserved it.
Despite this less-than-impressive delivery and thematic incoherence, Wayne's flow is relatively consistent throughout the album. "Hold Up" is filled with wordplay and internal rhymes, and also has the most varied rapping.
Wayne is at his best when mixing up the rhyme scheme in this way, as well as in "What's Wrong With Them." And he definitely deserves credit for rhyming "crazy" with "Martin Scorsese."
Even though Wayne's rapping on this album doesn't quite meet listeners' high expectations, he still knows how to create hits. He chooses the right people to collaborate with and lets them sing the catchy choruses. Nicki Minaj's voice on "What's Wrong With Them" and Lil Twist's on "Popular" will get stuck in your head all day.
Lil Wayne set the bar high with "Tha Carter III" (2008) and does not match its rapping consistency on "I Am Not a Human Being." But his new album is not an exploration of identity or a political commentary; it is a declaration that Wayne has already made it big.
Unfortunately, since he already knows it, Wayne doesn't try very hard to prove to listeners that he is — in his own eyes at least — the best rapper alive. So while some of his new singles might not be memorable, they will still go perfectly with your strut.
