Review Summary: "Woke up this morning with my dick to the ceiling, fell asleep with anotha chick from my building, kick her ass out and have breakfast like a mufucka."
Lil Wayne just might be the greatest thing that has ever happened to rap. His latest effort,
Rebirth, a stunning rehash of his trademark style in a new direction- the rock genre- is a nearly flawless effort that carries the tradition of great rapping and sh
itty autotuning. Rockers everywhere will be headbanging to the smoothly flowing, meditative anthems of Mr. Wayne.
Before I begin, I would like to share some history with you about Mr. Wayne. Debuting his career at the young age of 15 with
Hot Boys in 1997, and then beginning his solo career only 2 years later, Wayne has collaborated with several other rap gods over the years such as Juvenile, Birdman, and Eminem, to name a few. MTV has called him 'Man of the Year' and 'Hottest MC in the Game', titles he truly lives up to. He has even been nominated for a Grammy Award numerous times. It is no wonder how he has come to perfect his art: pure dedication. Now, onto the best songs of the album.
The very first track,
American Star, showcases his talent quickly with the screamo-influenced “Woo!” only 12 seconds in. I must say I'm impressed; I was unaware Dwayne had such taste for hardcore music. You just know it's about to get f
ucking amazing from here on out. Continuing on into the song we come across one of the several gems this album possesses:
"Uh alright... yeah, born and raised in the USA, where the government is watching what you do and say, ayy well alright... yeah." Political. Thought-provoking. Ingenious. Unbelievable. In the chorus we find a guest appearance by the lovely Shanell AKA some-bitch-nobody-has-ever-heard-of-or-gives-two-flying-monkey-buttf
ucks-about. She should just be grateful Mr. Wayne allowed her appear in four songs. The next song,
Prom Queen, is the first single and has a decidedly
System of a Down-esque (Soldier Side) introduction. I have a slight problem with this song because it clearly is about stalking an underage girl in part from the title and also with graphic lines like
“I loved her fancy underwear, I sit behind her every year” hinting vividly that he snuck into her bedroom and stole her panties, retreating to the space behind her bed's headboard to spy on her while she sleeps. Very sick... but beautiful and clever. In the end she “f
ucks around” (typical of women in general, of course) and leaves our hero panty raider heartbroken. Skipping a few songs, we come to
On Fire. It is the second single and it is about arson and sex with ni
ggers. Here is an excerpt:
“Sho' shorty let a nigga rub his stick cause get some matchbox, and she's on fire, She's steaming, she's screaming, she she's screaming, she's steaming” (It sounds like he is saying “She's creamin'”, which would make more sense, because I sure am.) Sure, the lyrics come off like a naughty, promiscuous pres-school-er but as black Ken says, he “don't give a f
uck, [he] don't have to prove [himself] to no one.” He sure doesn't. The last song I'm going to write about is
Knockout, which consists of the ol' “One, two, buckle your shoe” rhyming style of “Baby 1, 2, 3, tell 'em get the referee” by guest Nicki Minaj and ends with Wayne begging to be knocked out, which is a coincidentally familiar feeling the listener should be feeling, if not slightly more drastic (suicide-murder rampages).
This album has its moments but perhaps the best is during the middle of the song
Knockout when Nicki Minaj yells the lines
“Ah fuck it, give me that damn bucket, wh-when I throw this pussy, you better not start duckin'” Ok, what the hell was that?! If your vagina is big enough that I am threatened with having to duck out of its pathway of destruction to preserve my consciousness then may I suggest a gynecologist?
Rebirth is an album any fan of rap, no... any fan of music should pick up. It's classic. Essential. F
uck tha po-lice!
