When he does sing about something else, he certainly achieves better results. The angry, philosophical “Blunt Blowin’” comes from Lil Wayne’s heart, not, you know, his package. As he raps such gems as “I stick to the script, I memorize the lines/’Cause life is a movie that I’ve seen too many times,” his furious swearing and scratchy voice seem to contribute to the tone of the song rather than inducing the usual cringe. Unfortunately, this sort of passion is rarely seen in “Tha Carter IV.”
The album deserves props for experimenting with musical styles not usually heard within the genre of rap: “Blunt Blowin’” features heavy classical violin backing, “How to Love” dabbles in acoustic pop, and “Outro” throws in some guitar solos that can only be described as mariachi. However, not all of these genre-benders are entirely successful. While “Blunt Blowin’” and “How to Love” both function reasonably well, “Outro” simply comes off as confused and muddled.
A slew of guest stars, including T-Pain and Drake, are featured on various tracks throughout the album. The concept of featuring another rapper on a rap song is incomprehensible. On the other hand, John Legend puts in an excellent turn in the piano-fueled “So Special,” far outshining the headlining Lil Wayne.
Maybe the concept of “Tha Carter”s is getting old. Maybe after four albums which all shared the same name, Lil Wayne was just bored. Whatever the rationale, “Tha Carter IV” is hardly a masterpiece. A combination of repetitive lyrics, some strange musical choices and an apparent lack of voice lessons work together to make this album easier to hate than to love.
