He summed it up perfectly on his “Coco” freestyle on Sorry 4 The Wait 2:
After being like blood to Birdman for almost 20 years, Wayne was now being treated like a stepchild. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne and his mythical Carter V album were left in the lurch. Birdman was hell-bent on getting Rich Gang out on the airwaves. The group dropped the Rich Gang: Tha Tour Part 1 mixtape (which was incredible and well worth a listen if you haven’t yet), and went hard in the paint promoting it– there were a number of viral videos and a clutch of street singles. Really, Thugger and Quan did all the rap-singing and Birdman rubbed his hands together and counted money in the corner. Last year Birdman assembled the second iteration of “Rich Gang,” this time piecing together himself, Young Thug, and Rich Homie Quan. Lil Wayne went from “Birdman Jr.” to “Ugly Duckling” It’s easy to get lost, so I did you the kindness of wading through all of the insanity and picking out five things you need to know to make sense of all this. It’s got everything– diss records, a tour bus shooting, lawsuits, and oh so much trolling. Or Twitter.Īnd then this whole crazy bizarro love triangle between Birdman, his titular son Lil Wayne, and Young Thug (who’s either an alien or a mutant, the jury’s still out on that) had to happen. It’s rarer still that these feuds ever make it off wax. "Rest in Peace to the Cash Money Weezy, gone but not forgotten, no.Rappers are more inclined to collaborate and form profitable alliances than they are to feud with each other nowadays. If FWA was simply an exercising of demons and styles that Wayne wanted to explore, then maybe he’s gotten the less desirable aspects out of the way to make room for another claim of greatness. Though, one has to wonder- why are we still waiting so anxiously for Tha Carter V? If Free Weezy Album is an indication of Weezy’s trajectory, it will probably be a let down. Die-hard Weezy fans will be able to pick and pluck lines, as well entire songs from FWA to rep proudly, no problem, and even semi-fans should find at least one record worthy of keeping in their iTunes catalogue. However, it seems the hunger that made Lil Wayne a household name is almost altogether absent on FWA, and Wayne does not appear to be "newly-inspired," rather he returns to his old tricks (some of which still work) with an overall heavy-handed approach at records.Īt the end of the day, though, it makes sense that Free Weezy Album is filled with hits and misses. There was hope for a newly-inspired Lil Wayne in the wake of his recent solitude and distancing from Cash Money. There was a true moment of visceral disappointment as I sighed and shook my head listening to "Post Bail Ballin'" for the first time- enjoying the beat tremendously before having it ruined by howling and dissonant auto-tune as it dropped. Although there are some tracks exempt of this, a lot of the songs on Free Weezy Album feel over-produced both vocally and instrumentally to the point of audience alienation. There's a severe lack of Weezy in the cut on this album. Have they truly sent our favorite party rapper into such moody territory? Even when Weezy wants to get the mood turnt, as he does, he falls flat with a clunky ode to James Brown, "I Feel Good." Then there’s tracks like “Psycho” and “He’s Dead.” These are entirely different songs, yet both make you wonder the extent of a possible Weezy transformation taking place in the post-Cash Money era. Seriously, the only thing missing is an intro stating "this one goes to all the lovers out there." But tracks later, listeners get betrayed in the form of “My Heart Races On”- a factory sealed and overly-produced break up pop-hop song that flirts with flat-out corniness. It sets the stage for the album to be an assurance that, just because it’s released free on TIDAL, and isn’t the next Carter instalment, doesn’t mean that Weezy is going to phone it in. “Glory” winds up being up a bit of a misdirection.
Webs of wordplay are woven with the expected expert dexterity, particularly on “White Girl“ ("By the gavel or by the gun, ni*ga/I be creepin’ like the shadow in the sun ni*ga/Be more careful how you pick and choose your words boy/Cus I’ll have you playin’ scrabble with your tongue ni*ga") and on “Glory” ("Holy shit I’m the shit/I’m God’s Manure"), FWA’s opening track. Just like the reliable red white and blue on the American Flag, Weezy delivers on many of his trademarks. Released on Independence Day exclusively on TIDAL (which Wayne has co-ownership in), there are some fireworks on FWA. The results are a mixed bag and so, they make this Weezy fan nervous.