Carter Administration
Lil Wayne
Tha Carter II
(Cash Money/Universal)
Katrina’s recorded impact, if for a moment.
In a rare instance where you couldn’t count on the record company to create a delay, Lil Wayne’s brief FEMA knock on “Feel Me” isn’t enough and he should have taken time to do more. The 23-year-old Cash Money Millionaire has more to him than labelmate Juvenile, even if his flow is weaker, but he passes up too many chances to make waves. Predictably, most of Tha Carter II finds Wayne justifying his means. “I made enough?/I ain’t made shit . . . Breakfast? Yes! Let’s eat” explains away why he started dealing, but he still carries the perverse desire when the “escalator” arrives, it’ll go up for him, not down. It’s enough so when he completely loses focus (“Get Over”) you can blame it on pressure to include fluff R&B or, on the atrocious rap-metal clap track “Best Rapper Alive,” covering bases. Lil Wayne has an arsenal of tools in front of him — including sturdy producer Robin Thicke, related to none other than Alan Thicke — to lift him out of NOLA grime. It’s his choice.
— Steve Forstneger
