It's easy to hate Lil' Wayne; he's cocky, he has a torrid love affair with Auto-Tune and his rhymes are beyond idiotic at times. In 2008, "Tha Carter III" took Wayne to new heights. The album went three times platinum, was nominated for eight Grammys and was the highest selling album of the year. Wayne has earned the right to do whatever he wants. There is a big difference, however, between what an artist can do and what an artist should do.
His highly anticipated, much-delayed rock album, "Rebirth," hit stores Feb. 2. The album is little more than a creative failure. There are a handful of solid, creative tracks, but there are many others that just plain suck.
The album opens with two of its worst tracks. "American Star" is a cocky mess. There's no flow and no creativity to the guitar or drum work. "Prom Queen," the album's first single, is laughable. Hearing Wayne shriek over his rollercoaster relationship with a high school prom queen does not make for anything listenable.
After half a dozen delays and numerous leaks onto the Internet, "Rebirth" was finally released. Haters were licking their chops when they heard Wayne
was making a rock album, and they could easily tear him apart over his latest effort. Wayne never seems to fully understand what makes a competent rock song, and many of his tracks suffer because of it. There are some standouts though, and critics need not overlook them.
The opinion of the fans can be seen in the early sales projects for "Rebirth." Estimated to sell about 140-150 thousand copies in its first week, that number is nothing compared to the 1.2 million his last album "The Carter III."
Wayne, who was sentenced to serve one year in jail stemming from a 2007 arrest where the rapper was charged with gun possession, is squeezing in video shoots, recording sessions of songs from "The Carter IV" and time with his family. What he's not doing is getting advice on prison life. "This is Lil Wayne going to jail," he says. "Nobody I can talk to can tell me what that's like. I just say I'm looking forward to it."