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| Three of the four rappers are featured in this column. T.I. is in jail...again. |
Three hip-hop heavyweights release two albums not even a month apart, forcing me to take my first stab at some album reviewing. First, Jay-Z and Kanye West dropped Watch the Throne (August 8th), a solid album that takes chance after chance and makes it work. Tha Carter IV, released last Monday, is an album from the likes Mr. Dwayne Carter, AKA Lil' Wayne. Both albums have what it takes to be considered for a Grammy nomination, but which one stands alone as the best Hip-Hop album of the year so far? They both make very good cases.
Watch The Throne
The beats in this album are the biggest risk Jay-Z and West took and they passed the test. I loved what each track had to offer, both artists have always found ways to be more original than the competition over the years, from Jay's famous "Annie" sample to West letting Maroon 5's Adam Levine sing on one of his best songs ever (Heard 'Em Say). Otis was a great selection for their first single, it instantly represents what this album's message is all about: "We are The Throne. We run the rap game and no one else does." It was also really special to see them sample Otis Redding, a true soul legend and a obvious inspiration to both artists.
Tracks three through six are really great and are the most lyrically sound portion of the album. "N***as In Paris" starts off the sequence and is often the first song I turn to when I pop this CD in the car. In the beginning of the song, they choose to sample some of Will Ferell and Jon Heder's lines from the film "Blades of Glory". It is a very odd choice, but it totally works and provides some comic relief where it is never commonly found. Track number six, titled "New Day", is a song where Jay-Z and Kanye both rap to the children they have yet to have, which is by far one of the most powerful songs on the album, right next to "Murder to Excellence" and "Welcome To The Jungle".
Even though I love this album, it does have some flaws. The song Beyonce is featured on, titled "Lift Off", is the second track off the album and it once again proves that Kanye West is a horrible singer. The beats can also be a huge turnoff for a hip-hop purist, as it sometimes feels a little more dub-step than hip-hop.
Even with that being said, this album gives us two of hip-hop's superpowers joining forces and it is beautiful to hear. When they both go back and forth on "Gotta Have It", I get some chills. That is what makes this album special- it has never happened before.
Tha Carter IV
Only the "Best Rapper Alive" could throw the same beat on the "Intro", "Interlude", and "Outro" and make it one of the best parts of the his latest album. Wayne enlists an army of hip-hop soldiers that includes Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes to go on two tracks without him and spit some of the sickest flows you will here. Nas' verse on the "Outro" is by far the best one on the entire album and yes, that includes all of Wayne's verses. Never have I heard a rapper go off on another rapper's album like that, it is simply incredible.
But lets get back to Weezy. The first four tracks on this record give us classic Wayne and that never fails to please the ears of true rap fans. Even hearing "6 Foot 7 Foot" again (even though it came out months ago) made this album start to run on all cylinders.
After allowing us to some of his classic style, Weezy does something really cool with "Nightmares of the Bottom". He raps on a piano beat and it is most solid lyrical performance on the album. He gives rap fans everything you could want with this track: originality and lyrical genius.
After his latest single (She Will), the album hits a few bumps in the road. "How to Hate" might be a song some enjoy, but I am personally exhausted with the constant auto-tune that T-Pain has built a career on. This song is just bad to me.
After that track, the album resumes its quality until it is hit by a train called "How to Love". This song has received a ton of radio play, but lets be honest, folks: This song is nowhere near what we come to expect from Lil Wayne. He belongs in a booth spitting rhymes like he has from an early age, not singing on some dumb acoustic guitar beat. I skip this song every single time, it is a thoughtless act at this point.
But skipping it leads to hip-hop's holy ground in "President Carter", where he samples Jimmy Carter's inauguration. It is fantastic and once again had me floored. I can forgive him for "How To Love" if something like this follows.
The "Outro" (as mentioned before) proves that Wayne can put a great album together and not even have to be featured on the final track. The bottom-line is this: If you claim to like rap but cannot appreciate what Lil' Wayne does on this album lyrically, then I just could not talk to you about music anymore.
Which One Is Better?
I like "Watch The Throne" more because it features my two favorite rappers, but that cannot overshadow the greatness that is "Tha Carter IV". I am not sure if it his best album, but it is dangerously close. Although, if Wayne does not tell me "How To" do something on his next album, I will be happier.
Tha Carter IV wins, but it is a very close race and if I wrote this again, it could have gone the other way.
Chad Underwood is the editor-in-chief at Students Of The Game. He is currently studying at Auburn University at Montgomery and majoring in Mass Communications.
Even though I love this album, it does have some flaws. The song Beyonce is featured on, titled "Lift Off", is the second track off the album and it once again proves that Kanye West is a horrible singer. The beats can also be a huge turnoff for a hip-hop purist, as it sometimes feels a little more dub-step than hip-hop.
Even with that being said, this album gives us two of hip-hop's superpowers joining forces and it is beautiful to hear. When they both go back and forth on "Gotta Have It", I get some chills. That is what makes this album special- it has never happened before.
Tha Carter IV
Only the "Best Rapper Alive" could throw the same beat on the "Intro", "Interlude", and "Outro" and make it one of the best parts of the his latest album. Wayne enlists an army of hip-hop soldiers that includes Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes to go on two tracks without him and spit some of the sickest flows you will here. Nas' verse on the "Outro" is by far the best one on the entire album and yes, that includes all of Wayne's verses. Never have I heard a rapper go off on another rapper's album like that, it is simply incredible.
But lets get back to Weezy. The first four tracks on this record give us classic Wayne and that never fails to please the ears of true rap fans. Even hearing "6 Foot 7 Foot" again (even though it came out months ago) made this album start to run on all cylinders.
After allowing us to some of his classic style, Weezy does something really cool with "Nightmares of the Bottom". He raps on a piano beat and it is most solid lyrical performance on the album. He gives rap fans everything you could want with this track: originality and lyrical genius.
After his latest single (She Will), the album hits a few bumps in the road. "How to Hate" might be a song some enjoy, but I am personally exhausted with the constant auto-tune that T-Pain has built a career on. This song is just bad to me.
After that track, the album resumes its quality until it is hit by a train called "How to Love". This song has received a ton of radio play, but lets be honest, folks: This song is nowhere near what we come to expect from Lil Wayne. He belongs in a booth spitting rhymes like he has from an early age, not singing on some dumb acoustic guitar beat. I skip this song every single time, it is a thoughtless act at this point.
But skipping it leads to hip-hop's holy ground in "President Carter", where he samples Jimmy Carter's inauguration. It is fantastic and once again had me floored. I can forgive him for "How To Love" if something like this follows.
The "Outro" (as mentioned before) proves that Wayne can put a great album together and not even have to be featured on the final track. The bottom-line is this: If you claim to like rap but cannot appreciate what Lil' Wayne does on this album lyrically, then I just could not talk to you about music anymore.
Which One Is Better?
I like "Watch The Throne" more because it features my two favorite rappers, but that cannot overshadow the greatness that is "Tha Carter IV". I am not sure if it his best album, but it is dangerously close. Although, if Wayne does not tell me "How To" do something on his next album, I will be happier.
Tha Carter IV wins, but it is a very close race and if I wrote this again, it could have gone the other way.
Chad Underwood is the editor-in-chief at Students Of The Game. He is currently studying at Auburn University at Montgomery and majoring in Mass Communications.
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