One promise we can make about Lil Wayne’s latest album: the title is not a lie. On Rebirth, Wayne drops his regular proud-to-be-sleazy MC persona and embraces his inner head banger. And this crossover is going to upset a whole lot of people.
Lil Wayne fans like their Weezy one way, namely aggressive, crafty with words and a rapper to the core. But Rebirth isn’t hard rap — it’s a venture into rap-rock fusion that doesn’t gel with Wayne’s definitive style. Instead of fast, pun-laden flow, we get poppy choruses and radio-friendly guitar riffs. We also get another rapper exploiting the current self-reflective trend, which amounts to channeling angst through a sea of whiny autotune (see “Runnin” and “Get a Life”). And finally, we get too many lame lyrics about ladies. As much as Wayne should be commended for (finally) trying to appreciate rather than degrade women, the metaphor of an attractive woman being “On Fire” is depressingly obvious.
All of this is a shame, really, because some of the music is catchy. The album opener “American Star” rocks a bluesy vibe, and “Da Da Da” boasts infectious bass. But Weezy, if you’re going to do rap rock, fulfill the promise of Rebirth’s highlights and be inventive. Don’t make an album that sounds like something high school boys will pump up to in the locker room.
2 Stars
