The long awaited album The Carter V is officially here and has been worth the strenuous wait and proves that lil Wayne’s self claim of being the best rapper in the game to be true. A star quality of Wayne is his gift for rap following with his ability to out run his competition.
Entering the game at only nine years old the New Orleans native has been a franchise player for Cash Money records. A life long guardian and father figure to Wayne, Birdman was the main influence for Wayne’s stardom. The hype of the Carter V is fuelled by a larger issue of the pause this album had during the time of Wayne and Baby’s feud. The time line is quite rigorous so a few key points follow as:
Beginning in 2014 Wayne goes to twitter expressing his request of being terminated from his contract with Cash Money.
Later in 2015, Wayne became furious with Cash Money records due to his claim of being shortened of royalties for his work which then led him to sue Cash Money records. This Law suit then fuelled the movement of “Fuck Cash Money” picked up by Rick Ross and Pusha T.
April of 2015 Wayne’s tour bus was shot following a performance in Atlanta. Many believed the ties led to Birdman but he instantly denied these claims and continued to state that Wayne was still his family despite the beef.
In August of 2018 (after Waynes departure from Cash Money) at lil Weezyana Fest the two reunite and Birdman express his apologizes. The end of this feud and Wayne’s freedom from Cash Money has brought us an album with high replay value and his best featured list to date.
He is musically gifted by being one of the greatest punchline rappers of all time; his matching tone of lyrics and his ability to play with his voice is further captivating. Kendrick Lamar has been a huge fan of this play and has given Wayne his praise by attempting to match the play of voice.This can be found on Lamar’s album and on his feature ‘Mona Lisa’.
A notable take away from the album is a missing feature from Drake. The two have been close since 2009 when Drake signed to Young Money. This puts into question a potential break and or issue in their relationship due to their tight knit relationship before. The album is packed with Wayne telling his listeners about his issues with suicide and drug use, in “Let it all out” Wayne is public for his first time attempting suicide as it not being an accident. Further on “Open Letter” he recites his purpose towards his fans and further emphasizes his struggle.
Bringing the late XXX onto the album is an absolute power play move. A rumour surrounding this long awaited drop was the Birdman was putting the realest off due to all the beef. This feature hints towards the answer that this album was most likely put off due to the death of X this past June.
Overall the album sticks to the same sound Wayne has always had with his clean raps, only this time more refined. His punchlines are catchy and he proves his release from Cash Money to be an important one. Wayne continues to be at the top of the game and forever will be for decades.