Rebirth of Wack

Lil Wayne is a man who goes by quite a few monikers, but apparently being both the self-proclaimed best rapper alive and Birdman Jr. just wasn’t enough. Arguably the most prolific rapper of the past few years has set his sights on taking over the rock game. On the title track of Rebirth, Wayne has attempted to reinvent himself as a “dope boy with a guitar,” an inclination he hinted at in the video for 2008’s smash single “Lollipop” off the Grammy-winning The Carter III, his best selling album to date. The video found him struggling with some rather simple riffs while riding around Las Vegas on top of a stretch Hummer limousine, and the image seems to have had so much appeal for Weezy F. Baby that he decided to record a whole record of “rock” tracks. His talent as a hip-hop artist is undeniable, but his chops as a rock musician instead of a recording artist are rather questionable.

The most obvious lesson that can be learned from repeated listens to Rebirth is that guitar, bass, and real drums do not a rock song make. This record is as heavily produced and full of synthesizers, drum machines, and vocal distortions as any hip-hop record put out in the past few years. Although Wayne “sings” on most of these tracks (assisted by a heavy amount of auto-tune, of course), there is also a heavy amount of rapping, one of the only saving graces on this record. The rock songs range from slow ballads like “Paradice”(sic) to harder tracks like “The Price is Wrong,” which I can only assume from the Oi-style gang vocal shouts and the increased tempo is supposed to have a punk influence of some nature.

The record begins in characteristic rock fashion, with a noisy explosion of drum fills and pinch harmonics probably intended to mimic a band calling attention to the fact that it’s about to play. Things then take a turn towards Wayne’s signature style, with his auto-tuned but somehow still off-key drawl taking over the track. The guitar and drums stick around, but there is no personality or even musical proficiency in most of the instrumentation. Things don’t get much better after that.

First single “Prom Queen” starts with a radio ready palm-muted power chord progression beneath Wayne crooning about the fact that the object of his affections won’t have him, despite the fact that he’s 27 years old. This leads me to another complaint that pervaded my thoughts while listening to this album: the songwriting is awful. Lil Wayne’s stream of consciousness bravado works well with his rapid-fire hip-hop flow, and although there are plenty of lyrics about drugs, money, and bitches, he seems to be trying to evince a softer side of his personality. His singing is full of clichés about being broken hearted and abandoned by females, which seems insincere considering his career is founded on his desire and ability to “fuck every girl in the world.”

The record is not without its pluses. “Drop the World” features a very strong hook and a solid verse by Eminem on a track that could easily have appeared on The Carter III because it’s such a straightforward hip-hop song, devoid of the failed attempt at rock that plagues most of these songs. Collaborations with Blink 182’s Travis Barker and up-and coming producer Kevin Rudolf on “One Way Trip” sound good solely because Wayne raps rather than singing and allows the more talented musicians to take over. Other tracks like “Get A Life” fall far short, however, with an opening riff that sounds like it came off a collection of Smash Mouth B-sides.

It must be nice to be a pampered celebrity. In this case, however, having an army of yes-men who sycophantically agreeing with everything you say has proved to be less than beneficial for Lil Wayne. Anyone who has seen The Carter the documentary based on his life, can attest to the details his prolific consumption of marijuana and cough syrup on an almost hourly basis. While this doesn’t seem to affect his public image or his abilities as a rapper or performer, it does lead to decisions like the one to release. There’s a lot of evidence to back up your momma’s advice to stay away from drugs, kids, and this album is exhibit A.