Theoretically, this is OK because the Carter 3 mixtape where it appears isn't for sale, although artists and bootleggers do sell mixtapes under the counter, at brick-and-mortar holes in the wall and online. The Beatles sample with the submerged bass drum could never have been cleared for commercial release. "Help," off the Carter 3 mixtape isn't Lil Wayne at his very best, although I love it - just Lil Wayne at his most blatant. A bunch of them are wilder than anything on the hit release, and at least as good. Many of these songs were supposedly slated for the official album very few ended up there. Twice he put out double-CDs of his own new songs, some over famous beats, some over original music. He seemed to record all the time, free-associating verbally and vocally. But Lil Wayne was so prolific on the mixtape scene that he redefined it. Most hip-hop artists nowadays prime the pump with gray-market mixtape CDs that add guest tracks, skits, freestyles, and other second-drawer material to scattered previews of their next album. In the two-and-a-half years between major-label releases, Lil Wayne whetted his fans' appetites by giving away more songs than anyone can count. Tha Carter III's first-week sales, which were easily pop's strongest since Kanye West's Graduation last September, were spurred by a daring marketing strategy that doubled as a cocky musical challenge. Filled with bold, entertaining wordplay and plenty of well-executed, left-field ideas, Tha Carter III should be considered as a wild, somewhat difficult child of Weezy's magnum opus in motion, one that allows the listener an exhilarating and unapologetic taste of artistic freedom.In the week after its June 10 release, New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne moved a million copies of Tha Carter III, his first official album in two-and-a-half years. You can fault him for not connecting enough on the album and further complicating his unmanageable body of work with this disjointed effort, but Wayne's true masterpiece is the bigger picture and how he's flipped the script since the first Carter rolled out. As the track flows from political commentary ("My whole city's underwater, some people still floatin'/And they wonderin' why black people still votin'/Cuz your President's still chokin'") to despair and onto some moving "keep your head up"-styled verse, it proves Wayne can go deep and connect with his audience if he chooses. Just like on Tha Carter II, Robin Thicke ends up the most complementary guest, coating Wayne's post-Katrina tale "Tie My Hands" in warm buttery soul. Carter," and with Babyface laying the stylish swagger all over "Comfortable," Wayne gets the opportunity to convincingly vibe in the land of true class. Giant meets giant when Jay-Z stops by for the velvet-smooth hangout session "Mr. Carter," when the football reference "And you ain't Vince Young/So don't clash with the Titan" dances on a David Axelrod sample and an unexpected jazzy production from Swizz Beatz. It wouldn't be the electro-bumpin' "Lollipop," an infectious track that contains the wonderfully Wayne line "I told her to back it up/Like burp, burp." You certainly wouldn't want to lose key cut "Phone Home," where the maverick adopts an alien voice and drops "I could get your brains for a bargain/Like I bought it from Target." Another Weezy special from way outside the hip-hop universe comes in the striking "Dr. 5 - the "classic" argument could be considered, but figuring out what to sacrifice from this high-grade jumble is difficult.
Lil wayne the carter 3 mixtape series#
4 - just one of his mixtape series that made it to a Pt. Had he included another easy-access single like "Rider" from The Drought Is Over, Pt. Tha Carter III is instead a surprisingly casual album that takes numerous listens to sort out, and only part of a puzzle that is scattered across mixtapes, guest shots, and Internet leaks. His "best rapper alive" quote is discussed to death, but if that claim includes creating perfectly crafted full-lengths in a 2Pac style, the evidence won't be found here.
Lil wayne the carter 3 mixtape plus#
There's his complete annihilation of the mixtape game, the ridiculous amount of guest shots he granted since Tha Carter II made him a hip-hop superstar, that photograph of him kissing his mentor, Birdman, rumors of addiction to the sizzurp, plus the gargantuan ego and aggravating aloofness (Wayne will ignore all incoming beefs and infuriate challengers even further by offering the lethal "I don't listen to your records"). How Tha Carter III came to be "the most anticipated rap album of 2008" is a story that involves the usual delays and promises of a masterpiece, plus a whole lot of bullet points that could only exist in the absurd world of Lil Wayne.