The years since the 2008 release of Tha Carter III have not been Lil Wayne’s best. There were eight months of a one-year prison term spent in Rikers Island, of course. And his misguided foray into rock with Rebirth left a bad taste in fans’ mouths that went uncleansed by the releases of I Am Not a Human Being and mixtapes like Sorry 4 the Wait. With the upcoming release of Tha Carter IV this Monday, August 29, Wayne demonstrates he’s still got what it takes to compete in the rap game.

[photo via zimbio.com]

The album leaked this week to mostly warm reviews by fans on Twitter, and deservedly so. Does it fall victim to the uninspired chest-puffing and misogyny that plagues mainstream hip hop? Sure it does. The track “It’s Good” even includes a violent barb at Jay-Z and an apparent threat to kidnap Beyonce (“I got your baby money/Kidnap your b—-, get that how-much-you-love-your-lady money”) in response to a jab at Wayne’s Young Money crew on the Watch the Throne track “H.A.M.”

Especially later in the album, it seems less like a Weezy record than a greatest hits tour by his high-profile friends. The album includes two tracks on which Wayne doesn’t even rap: “Interlude” featuring Tech N9ne and André 3000, and “Outro” with Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes busting the kind of wicked fast flow that it seems only he is capable of.

That said, Tha Carter IV is a strong return to the ring by Wayne after years of less-than-stellar releases. The first four tracks are solid performances, with Wayne varying the speed of his raspy rhymes over caffeinated beats climaxing with the contagious “6 Foot 7 Foot.”

Even the radio-ready rap is built to keep heavy-hitting hip hop heads bobbing. “So Special,” featuring John Legend, weaves in chords on an organ, tinkling on piano keys, and a healthy dose of synth over a syncopated bass line. Against that backdrop, Wayne offers a relatively saccharine narrative about an anonymous beau.

Towards the end of the album, “President Carter” effectively cuts in a sample of President Jimmy Carter’s swearing in during his 1977 inauguration. Juxtaposed against the tasteless cacophony of Watch the Throne‘s “Otis,” it looks like Wayne is poised to comes out ahead in this battle between rap’s top titans.

Tags: chris cassidy, hip hop, lil wayne, music, record review, tha carter