TheAgitator.com
Forever ever?
Friday, July 18th, 2008I’ll confess to knowing next to nothing about Lil Wayne or his music. But this Rolling Stone review of his latest CD leaves me dubious.
OK, it’s true: he really is the best rapper alive. Lil Wayne made that claim on his last official CD, in 2005, and since then, he’s unleashed an astonishing torrent of mixtapes, leaks and guest appearances to back up the boast.
Sweet. So let’s get a sample of this kid’s mad rhymes. The review obliges:
As Wayne croaks in the woozy “3Peat,” “Get on my level/You can’t get on my level/You will need a space shuttle/Or a ladder that’s forever.”
I may have just found something to go on my guilty pleasure list.
Or not.
Probably not.
I don’t think there’s such a thing as a “best rapper,” but I sure have been enjoying OutKast lately.
Nothing against rappers, I just don’t think any artist is the “best” at his or her art.
I’ll preface this comment with the point that I don’t like rap.
but from what I have read, Lil’ Wayne is, hands down, the best rapper out there. He is, by far, the hardest working musician out there right now. When he was told he didn’t have the balls to go at Jay-Z, he declared himself the best rapper out there, went after him on his tracks (which he often leaked on the internet)… and then Jay-Z called him up to collaborate! That’s nuts in the industry.
If there was ever a capitalist musician, it is him. His methodology for rising to the top can be coppied to about any other form of business. Even if he sold a million records in a week, his tracks still sound like he’s got $2 in his pocket. Contrast him with all the other rappers who’ve gone soft and have gotten out of touch with thier fans, he’s definitely the big boss right now.
Also, what’s that silly nonsense Ella is doing on Blue Skies? It’s just babble. Let’s read a sample:
“bop bee bee, bop be ba doo-be-doo-wa”
Epic fail.
Sorry, scat is never judged on its rhymes or wordplay. Bad comparison.
It’s about how it sounds, not about how it reads.
Lil’ Wayne is an excellent rapper. Judging by the amount of recording and collaborating he’s done over the last 3 years, probably the hardest working.
However, to call him the best rapper alive is a stretch. But his confidence and work ethic are what would make someone believe that he is.
It’s about how it sounds, not about how it reads.
In rap, people frequently pay attention to the words. In scat, people never pay attention to the words, because there are none. It’s just a bad comparison.
rap. more like CRAP. Look people, we are halfway through 2008… Can we PLEASE stop pretending this garbage is music now? I mean c’mon… it’s had a good run and there have even been a number of halfway decent acts (and actors) come out of it… but it’s time to cap this noise once and for all. Enough is enough.
Why not just have a “hey you kids get off my lawn” post?
My roommate is obsessed with Lil’ Wayne and I want to put a bullet in my head every time he comes on. His lyrics are retarded and he squeaks like a little girl at the end of every verse.
His hooks suck too:
A milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli a milli…
Can we PLEASE stop pretending this garbage is music now?
I hear this silly sentiment often. “Rap isn’t music.” It’s like saying, “Jackson Pollock wasn’t a painter.” Of course he was and of course, rap is music. If it has rhythm, it’s music. Melody isn’t even necessary. (And some musicians would even say it doesn’t have to have rhythm to be music.) So, it’s not music you like, but it’s still music.
August Rush says the music is all around us.
To the OG OP,
Old school rap, 80′s style, is da best!
Let me weigh in here: Lil Wayne is a badass. He’s not the best rapper ever–nobody beats Notorious B.I.G.–but he’s very solid, and he has definitely been smarter than the competition in embracing mixtapes ahead of the curve. (Frankly though he’s been on a decline for a couple years, quality-wise.)
Any rap lyrics in isolation can sound silly, you have to hear, not read, the whole song.
“It’s just a bad comparison.”
It’s not a perfect comparison, but it serves to illustrate the important point: Things that sound great when performed by the artist can look pretty silly when written down, especially when its’ being judged by someone who doesn’t appreciate the art form to begin with.
Things that sound great when performed by the artist can look pretty silly when written down, especially when its’ being judged by someone who doesn’t appreciate the art form to begin with.
Okay, I totally agree with that. Thanks for being patient with me. But does Radley not appreciate rap? I’ve not seen him say he likes it, but I’ve never heard him knock it.
I’ll join the chorus of people who are saying that you have to listen to Lil Wayne to get a feel for it. He has an absolutely unique flow which is, frankly, bizarre (I think it’s in a good way, but you’ll have to decide for yourself).
The whole level – space shuttle – ladder thing…
Those are joke lyrics, right?
He’s lyrically and vocally terrible. But then MTV bleeps out every third word, so maybe I’m just missing the crux of the &@$!ing song on cable. But there’s no doubt he can lay claim to <a href=”http://www.xcomment.com/g1/img/lil_wayne_pink_bape_camo093007041156.gif”ugliest living rapper. He’s the Willie McGee of song.
From the 28 June 08 “Lexington” in the Economist:
“Consider the hot album of the moment: “Tha Carter III” by Lil Wayne. Its central message is that if you are a rap star, you will get laid.”
http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11622433
How is this post any different than what Libertas did to Generation Kill?
You ask me, he’s been artistically dead since Mannie Fresh left Cash Money. Lil Wayne’s just a thugged-out version of Kool Keith now, saying whatever with no regard to it making sense.
IMO there can’t be a best of all time, simply because that’d include anything after, and you don’t know.
Speaking of rappers: Nas has the skill to make another classic, he just doesn’t do it for some reason. The “N” album was a lot weaker than I expected, kinda sad for the hype.
The article doesn’t claim that Lil’ Wayne is the best of all time. It says he’s the best alive.