With 2004's Tha Carter and its 2005 follow-up, Tha Carter II, he made a case for himself as the South's preeminent rapper, with a supple flow, witty lyrics and ample charisma. Lights Out, released in 2000, and 2002's 500 Degreez established Wayne as a true force in a shifting hip-hop landscape.
His raps focus on youthful rebellion, New Orleans style - crack, girls and turf supremacy are paramount. But Wayne went solo in 1999 with Tha Block Is Hot. Though the emcees showed promise, many listeners focused on the post-Bounce production of Mannie Fresh, and regarded Wayne as a fresh-faced vehicle for the producer. and formed the immensely popular Hot Boys group on Cash Money Records. By the time he was 15, he'd linked up with Juvenile, Turk and B.G. Dre’s “Xxplosive” on “Dope N*ggaz,” while Mannie Fresh revisits the Cash Money golden-era bounce of Juvenile’s “Ghetto Children” for “Start This Shit Off Right.” There are nods to the experimental Wayne of the I Am Not A Human Being projects (“Don’t Cry,” “Mess”) and also the rapper’s under-heralded pop wizardry (“Famous,” which features his daughter Reginae as hook singer), and even a love song built on a gospel sample, “Dope New Gospel.” In all, Tha Carter V is an album for anyone who’s missed Wayne-no matter which Wayne they’d missed.One of Southern rap's most enduring and talented emcees, New Orleans' Lil Wayne began rapping at the tender age of 11. “Mixtape Weezy,” as Jay-Z famously coined, is alive and well on songs like the Swizz Beatz-produced “Uproar,” Wayne blacking out over a reinterpretation of G-Dep’s 2001 hit “Special Delivery.” The nostalgia doesn’t stop (or peak) there, as Wayne and Snoop Dogg share space over a flip of Dr. Fortunately, Wayne has rewarded his fans’ patience with 23 tracks that speak to a number of his most storied eras. Though Wayne was not without projects in between, some seven years were allowed to pass between the release of the fourth and fifth installments of the lattermost. An artist should be so lucky to sustain the kind of longevity that would allow for multi-volume phases the likes of Wayne’s Dedication, and Da Drought mixtapes, let alone the series that made him into a superstar, Tha Carter. Maybe more than any other rapper in history, Lil Wayne’s output is defined by franchises.
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