Weezy’s Rebirth In The Face Of Prison Time

By the count of various sources, including Rolling Stone, Lil Wayne is expected to begin serving his eight-month jail sentence on Feb. 9, meaning his new album Rebirth will have hit stores just one week beforehand. In the same month, he’ll have had his album reach number one on iTunes, taken part in a stellar Grammy performance with Drake and Eminem, and seen the inside of a jail cell. Granted that this seems like it’s all in a day’s work for Wayne and his contemporaries — with peers like T.I. finding themselves in the clink after similarly successful career runs. Perhaps jail time is similar to running the press circuit — something that has to be done for consistency’s sake.   

In any case, Wayne puts together a consistent effort on his newest release. Following Tha Carter III’s staggering success and some ubiquitous breakout successes like “Let it Rock” with Kevin Rudolf and “Down” with Jay Sean, it remained to be seen whether Weezy could keep up the white-hot streak. His snarky synth-rap breed, with its rocker-squeal affectation, has spawned millions of fans. Perhaps this is why the first song, “American Star,” has such a weak impact. The lyrics are mediocre: “Born and raised in the U.S.A. / where my president is B-L-A-C-K,” capped off with “and I just want to play.” Okay, Lil Wayne, we understand that you’re playful. But what else do you have in your bag of tricks?

It turns out he has a fair amount of songs devoted to high school obsessions, like the previously released single, “Prom Queen,” in which he laments that he “Never’ll forget the day she laughed and walked away.” This slower-tempo electric guitar jam is curious. Weezy scarred by the prom queen? Is this really the same man who sings “She stole my heart / she ran away/now I’m heartless / so f— her anyway” in “The Price is Wrong”? The songs in which Wayne seems beat down don’t sit well with me. It doesn’t fit with the Weezy persona of indubitable suavity. That being said, Lil Wayne’s voice sounds exceedingly slick on this track with its plaintive synthesis a la T-Pain. 

Shining moments of Rebirth come in songs like “Knockout,” where Wayne collaborates with Nicki Minaj. Wayne is looking to play dolls in this song, but not in the typical sense. “Hey Barbie are you into black men? / Hey Barbie, I can be your black Ken.” From there, it’s a dream house romp with electric guitars and a rap showdown between Minaj and Wayne. Other collaborations on Rebirth include the sci-fi reminiscent “Drop the World” with Eminem and “One Way Trip” with Kevin Rudolf.

A frequent collaborator on this album is Shanell, a hip-hop diva who adds considerable singing range to Lil Wayne’s electronic-rock sound. She lends her pipes to “American Star,” “Prom Queen,” “Runnin’,” and “I’m So Over You,” essentially dominating a large amount of Wayne’s new content. By far the most successful of these collaborations is “I’m So Over You,” which is one of the bonus tracks on Rebirth’s deluxe edition.

In the end, the album doesn’t give the listener an excessive amount of Weezy hooks to hang onto, making it easy to slip through the rock-influenced album without a song that you can sit yourself down and make yourself at home (read: quote rap verses in their entirety). The album has some fun, but the melodrama of songs like “Prom Queen” leave a weak aftershock. Where Weezy keeps it sharp, knocking out the competition is where the true Rebirth takes place. 6 out of 10.