What is the best album in the Carter series by Lil Wayne?

After years of delay, Lil Wayne Tha Carter V is finally out. Wayne is no stranger to album sequels, but his Carter The discs occupy a special place in his astonishing discography: it is the big budget albums which integrate all his experiences of wild mixtapes. They are home to Wayne's most famous version – the Wayne who gave us "A Milli" and "Got Money" and "Go DJ" – but what can we look at from the previous four versions tells of Wayne as an artist ? About his evolution and what his career is all about. Sam Hockley-Smith and Dee Lockett, vulture publishers, spoke with Craig Jenkins, music critic for Vulture.

What does the Carter series means in the context of the entire discography of Lil Wayne? Is he trying to do something specific with these albums? Does he succeed?

Dee Lockett: Good. If I were to enter the Martian mind, I would say that Carter series exists for every time Wayne wants to recognize the commercial side of rap just to be able to say that he has done it and can still do it, or so I guess that's the purpose of Tha Carter V. It's kind of the highlight.

Sam Hockley-Smith: I agree with that. My impression was always that he was using his mixtapes as a testing ground for different streams, and stranger lyrics, and that everything that worked for him would end up on one of those Carter albums.

Craig Jenkins: I think the answer to the question is in the name. In New Jack City"The Carter" was essentially a crack factory built in an apartment complex in Harlem. Wayne & # 39; s Carter albums are those on which he puts his reputation and his well-being, the formal events that mixtapes have as rehearsals. He still conceptualizes rap as a binary where mixtapes and albums exist as separate entities, which makes sense since he has contributed to the distinction. For me, it makes the "albums" a little stiff and the bands a bit wild.

Sat: If we start from this assumption – that his albums are more rigid "end products" and that the tapes are wilder – it's safe enough to say that Wayne works best when he's not trying to do anything specific or exceed I am a better rapper than everyone else. As he kept telling everyone that he was the greatest rapper alive until people started to believe him, it was as if he was placing his Carter albums as the must-listen in his collection by the force of the will. It's almost irrelevant whether it's true or not. Much of his catalog is buried in Mediafire links expired or scattered among unofficial DatPiff tapes, and it seems like time will pass through these albums.

What's your favorite Carter album?

Craig: I will be technical and say that my favorite Carter is the version of Tha Carter III who fled before the album we know now Tha Carter III. (Alias.The drought is over 2 for you Datpiff's heads.) It seemed that what Wayne wanted with this album carries the crazy spirit of the Drought and Devotion tapes in more polished studio recordings. The finished album came out too mannered and sporty for my tastes. (There is a quality of Jock jam palpable to the first two Carter projects that keep me away.) GOs Carter III There were exaggerated samples: "Help" is the best use of a Beatle in a rap song on this side … It's just the best time. "Diamonds and Girls" surpasses the incredible Cam'ron song that has also tipped Prince's "Diamonds and Pearls". There was a solid boom like "La La La" and a madness based on "I Feel Like Dying". C3 as it exists now is not as much fun or fun. The least is said about C4, the best. Great interludes, beautiful interludes. RIP Aretha.

Sat: Tha Carter III is not my favorite, but it's a close second. It certainly seemed that Wayne was able to translate some of the manic energy of his mixtapes. He also came to the top of Wayne's fame. c & # 39; was the The people of Wayne's album were waiting then we had large cuts like "You Is not Got Nuthin" and "A Milli" that ended up completely changing the sound of rap. Do you think that the seriousness of the final product compared to the leak is what it did for you?

Craig: Carter III arrived at the peak of a wave, but he always felt that concessions were made in order to grow dividends. The difference between what's in and what's out is like Fox's taking X-Men's bad stories and turning them into popcorn movies. You can catch the original mind if you squint, but the product is simpler than the property deserved. Wayne releases the album with radio rap as "Mrs. Officer, "" Comfortable, "" Tie my hands, "and even" Got Money, "as hard as it was, always felt like an insurance policy. Like several attempts to find out what happened with "Shooter". For me, we needed more "Let the Beat Build" and "Shoot Me Down" and "La La". Maybe it would not have been so sold.

Dee: I rock with Tha Carter II. For me, this is not the best of the series, it's his best work, point to the line. The versatility and the Craig range describes the C3 escape is I think what C2 was building the bridge for. He was about to experience a commercial phenomenon where he could still have a fierce mania with the limits of his sound without being dismissed as a novelty of being too present, like some of his later failed laboratory experiments ( looking at you, Renaissance). He took a break from Mannie Fresh, recruited a bunch of productions from New Orleans Whos (at the time), and did what still seems to be one of the last regional rap albums of that time. Even so, everything is on the map: you have reggae ("Mo Fire"), funk, rap, soul and lo-fi rock. I play "Greatest Rapper Alive" to this day and I can identify it as the moment when Wayne became a rock star. C2 It was like when Wayne really started giving up all the rules of rap. The album also contains the text "But it's the south, face it / If we're too simple at the moment, we do not get the basics" and it's just amazing, sorry. Also: C2 is the album where Wayne started stacking tubes before thinking that he even knew how to write one. People think of "Fireman", "Shooter" and "Hustler Musik", but do not sleep on "Hit Em Up", "Money on My Mind" and "I'm Dboy". who barely worried about hooks. Phew.

Craig: I wish Wayne's albums were less concerned with hooks.

Sat: It's fascinating to think back to the answer to C2. I remember that some critics were really excited that he had stopped working with Manny Fresh, which is strange to think now. In my ears, his work with Mannie Fresh will always be his best. C2 It was also the moment when people finally started believing his claims about his abilities as a rapper. Again, weird to think about it now! He has always been a great rapper. why do you think C2 The album where did people start to accept that he was as tall as he had said?

Craig: There may be a regional division at work. Only a year and a half passed between the first two Carter albums, but it's a year where Jeezy and T.I. nationwide, and rap in Texas becomes nuclear.

Sat: This moment is really important, but secondary to Wayne's undeniable talent as a rapper. As, the guy always made great rap songs, he did it just long enough to overcome New York's regional bias (which still had power at the time) and make pure rap that would please fans not rap.

Craig: Oh, it's definitely the talent that made him grow from the beginning Carter to the second. What I mean is that the time of the release of the album was lucrative because there were suddenly new looks on the rap of the south that perhaps had never been there.

Dee: I really do not think that the general public can accept a rapper as technically excellent until it is proven, which makes no sense, but casual fans are not really known to be sensible – and before C2Wayne was not there yet. To close! But not yet. He was still so young.

Sat: Speaking of Tha Carter 1 – That's why I'm always going to roll. It's probably too long, and there are certainly some flops, but it's also my favorite version of Wayne: it changes pace in the course of the song, completely passing (mostly) the production of Mannie Fresh, and most importantly, he was able to do it. without having to play the version of himself that he put forward after going through. The first Carter It was a very popular album in its own right, but it feels like it's part of a patchwork of Cash Money releases, intended to be played alongside Hot Boys and Big Tymers, as part of a bigger story. Still, "Go DJ" rises right next to all subsequent Lil Wayne singles, and Wayne drops devastating lines like "I'm here when times go bad, when the wheels fall and the tires stop spinning" the magazine is empty. the nine stop buzzing / I hit my fist until my palms become bloody "(" The Heat "). The strange silence and calm in a situation of violence that he is able to evoke is a telling sign of what was coming. As a longtime rap fan, I recognize that Mannie Fresh's production on this album – which is really busy, too synthetic, and sometimes a little chintzy (which I adore) could be alienating for those who did not do it. Does not vibe with the aesthetics of Cash Money. Is it good for you guys or is it a roadblock?

Craig: I absolutely have to be mood specific for some Mannie Fresh stuff, although I will say that there is no bad time for "Go DJ".

Dee: I …. do not like (more) Mannie Fresh. But yes, "Go DJ" is strangely timeless, because the sound actually sounds, while most C1 has not aged well.

Craig: Do you like his selection of beats since you broke up with Mannie Fresh? I think my biggest problem with Wayne is what he chooses to upset. And the poop bars.

Dee: Very rarely. Wayne has a terrible ear for the beats. At meeeee (ducks for the cover), this is one of the strongest blows against self-aggrandizement of his best rapper Alive. He's not even in the top 20. But it's just me!

Sat: He is not really lucky when it comes to his selection of rhythms, and his creative partnership with Mannie Fresh allowed him to experiment without worrying about cohesion (maybe he did not never worried). If these albums were to go out now, I hope Mannie Fresh would get equal billing on the covers. I'm personally offended by Dee's Manne Fresh opinions, but in the interest of making things happen, I guess I should defend The spirit of Mannie Fresh like a classic of rap forgotten at another time. We've all talked about our favorite Carter albums, and seem to avoid discussing C4 fully. What happened there?

Craig: C4 and I am not a human being and Renaissance are where Wayne's disgust for editions eventually turns into a liability. They are also nadir of his problems with choosing beats and worrying too much about hooks. That's all, all the little flaws of the album. We should probably think about it more because if you both find the trajectory of the Carter albums to be a kind of downward slope, I wonder what that means for the new album. I feel for Wayne the fans as I felt for people who love Star Wars after ghost threat. We have to see where the story goes, but the expectations are so low. May be C4 is a gift in this regard. There is very little C5 could be worse. Good, C4That's not all. Bless "Nightmares from the bottom".

Dee: In fact, I do not think C4 is a total lack ("Nightmares of the Bottom", "John" and yes, "She Will." Fight me!) but I think that if the masses have already decided for you that your best album (C3, meh) is behind you, what remains to offer them? I also agree with Craig. Wayne understood that he could do whatever he wanted after reaching maximum cultural saturation. And it would have been nice if we had the impression that there was even the slightest thought or intention behind throwing bad rhythms and bad rhymes on the wall, thinking that something had to stay in place . I also think Wayne burned. He has been doing it since his childhood, at a prolific pace, as rap had never seen. He also found an outside passion to invest more time in (skateboarding) and rap became the whirlpool instead of the only whirlpool. I have the impression that Wayne has fallen in love with rap. No problem with that.

Sat: Wayne and Kanye (who has the other great outing this weekend) both seem to have lost interest in making music to make music, but do not want to accept that – which I understand, to a certain level! C4 he had his moments, of course, but Wayne can be great because of what he says, but also the way he says it. So many Tha Carter IV sounded like Wayne's echo at its peak. He was reviewing the moves, but it was especially obvious because Wayne on autopilot always sounds like the big version of Lil Wayne, just less enthusiasm. My only hope C5 it is that he has redesigned all the different versions of himself that we liked and that he spent a lot of time assembling this album.

Craig: I think the problem that Wayne had C5 is that he has radically changed the DNA of rap since the last studio album that he has been trying to sell – Free Weezy Album It's not canon – that I wonder how it will stand out among its successors. I would love to see him take some sort of path leading to an older statesman, but I have no illusions about the fact that Lil Wayne is interested in "mature man rap" in the lineage from the latest albums by Jay-Z and Rick Ross. I have the impression that he will come back more like Dave Chappelle, doing the same thing that he did ten years ago for the same people who l? I? loved at the time. Maybe it will work. Tha Carter is a synthesis project, not innovation.