The similarities between self-proclaimed Best Rapper Alive Lil' Wayne and GNR frontman Axl Rose are miniscule and largely specious. Both have been at the top of their game in their respective genres (1988 Axl, present-day Weezy). Both have copious documented dalliances with famous members of the opposite sex. Both have braids.
The kicker is this: They've both been keeping us waiting for far too long.
Sure, Axl's made us wait over a decade for Chinese Democracy, and Weezy only a year or so, but in an accelerated society like ours, the wait for Lil' Wayne's ever-forthcoming release Tha Carter III FEELS like its been forever.
Back in the day, when rock fans were waiting for new Guns N Roses, their main means of getting news updates were from Kurt Loder and magazines like Hit Parade. Albums were typically spaced out by a year or two anyway, so the wait seemed natural.
Today, Lil' Wayne records new tracks pretty much everyday and they all seem to find their ways onto blogs and Limewire. He puts out a new mixtape every other week. To be entirely honest, he doesn't really NEED to put out TCIII.
Axl Rose lost his relevance sometime ago, and doesn't look to be wanting it back anytime soon. Lil' Wayne is as relevant as it gets. No other rapper alive right now commands as much gravitas and respect from so widespread a fanbase. Yeah, backpackers love Black Thought and Talib Kweli. Dudes that just want to party or hear drug talk can fuck with just about any MC, lyricism be damned, but no other rapper gets them ALL hype. No one but Wayne.
Now, I realize I'm not the first motherfucker to point these things out. I'm definitely not going to be the last. There's just one thing nagging me about the delay of his new album. It's not that I need a new Wayne fix. Fuck, there's easily 3 albums worth of his recently leaked material I've still got to get around to.
It's that his career is kind of on the line with this release.
A few months ago, when he had been trounced in sales by Kanye West and desperately seeking some attention, 50 Cent attempted to start a feud with Lil' Wayne. 50, as an artist, has always asserted himself by starting beef. He always won by virtue of the fact that he sold records. It didn't matter how strong Jadakiss' disses were ("...you ain't a predicate, you'll never be the King of New York, you live in Connecticut..."), because, ultimately, 50 sold 8 million units. ("...yeah, in New York, niggas love them vocals, but that's only in New York, dawg. Yo ass is local...")
Here's where he's got something on Wayne. Yes, Weezy makes money off his mixtapes. Yeah, everyone and their mother thinks he's the best alive. Yes, he actually IS better than 50, but Wayne's never released a REAL album. Yeah, he's got the first 2 Carters, the collab he did with Birdman. But he doesn't have a Get Rich or Die Tryin' or a College Dropout.
He's yet to prove that he can pick his own beats, write a song that kills on radio and put out a 5 Mic worthy album. Now, Da Drought 3 is a 5 Mic album. That's pretty much 'duh,' but DD3 uses beats from proven songs. Half the tracks are just really really good freestyles. They hide under the umbrage of "the mixtape circuit," with lower production quality and less critical scrutiny.
50 Gets on my goddamn nerves, but the man knows how to put out a collection of solid material, even if he did forget with Curtis. I think that Wayne can do this as well, but we won't know for sure until TCIII hits.
Yeah, it's possible that this album might be amazing, but there's so much anticipation behind it that if it is anything less than Reasonable Doubt or Ready To Die then people will write it off. The naysayers will be proven right and it'll be a difficult slump to overcome.
Axl waited so long to put out Chinese Democracy that it doesn't matter if he releases something that is Songs In The Key of Life meets Led Zeppelin IV. The hype and wait overcome the actual content. Context is key.
Wayne needs to release a perfect album. One that showcases every aspect of his greatness. We need a great street anthem (like Gossip). We need a poppy radio hit (like new leaked track Lollipop). We need a song that shows off his sensitive side (like Prostitute Flange). We need that relentlessly boastful Weezy (like the Upgrade Freestyle). We need some Dear-Mama-Tupac shit (like World of Fantasy). We need an album that will stand the test of time and act as a marker to the era where a boy who we used to all ridicule in the back of Hot Boyz videos became the illest, most charismatic and messianic MC since Tupac.
We need Tha Carter III and we need it now.
Here's some varied tracks. A couple are streams.
Lil' Wayne - Did It Before (prod. by Kanye West)
Lil' Wayne - I Know The Future
Lil' Wayne - Something You Forgot
Lil' Wayne - Get Too Comfortable (F. Babyface, Prod. by Kanye West)
Lil' Wayne - Burn This City (franz ferdinand sample)
*BONUS:
Here's a track from Chinese Democracy that doesn't suck too hard.
Guns N' Roses - Better
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