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Do you remember when Vanilla Ice tried to make a rock record? Or how about when Michael Jordan played baseball? Go ahead and give Lil’ Wayne an invitation into the epic failure club.
Lil’ Wayne is one of the highest-grossing rappers of the decade. His monster, five-time platinum hit “Lollipop” pushed Lil’ Wayne into the heads of the remainder of the world who must have missed his stack of mixtapes and previous studio albums. “Weezy’s” track record is impeccable and his lyric ability is mind-blowing, at times.
So what happened? He tried to make a rock n’ roll record.
Even the avid Lil’ Wayne fans will find “Rebirth” difficult to accept as a worthy Weezy record. In fact, “Rebirth” is laughable with its corny lyrics, overused Auto-tune vocalization and the Rock n’ Roll history lesson Wayne attempts to give us. “Rebirth” was pushed back several times, increasing anticipation for its release, which was justified, considering the success of “The Carter III.”
Some respect should be given to Lil’ Wayne, though, for hitting his fans with a different musical formula so soon after such a successful run. Talk to Kanye West, for example, about his “808s and Heartbreak,” which for some of his followers, was a disappointment.
“Rebirth” begins with “American Star,” perhaps a play on Kid Rock’s “American Bad Ass.” Immediately we hear the dreaded Jay-Z assassinated Auto-tune. Auto-tune lovers will unite in Weezy’s distorted harmonies because there are plenty to go around. “American Star” also introduces us to Cash Money artist, Shanell, who is the only female on the record and, besides Eminem on “Drop the World,” the highlight.
The silly pop themes begin to appear on “Prom Queen.” As if emo high school ballads weren’t painful enough, Lil’ Wayne’s rendition makes the guys from Simple Plan seem like rock gods. “Ground Zero” dabbles into the Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit era and is actually somewhat enjoyable and catchy. Give Lil’ Wayne a red backwards Yankees cap and remember he’s “got a lot of drugs he could just share,” sings Weezy on “Ground Zero.”
He hops on the bass guitar on “Da Da Da,” which, aside from his solo, is dreadful. We are taken into yet another era of rock music in “Paradice.” Think rap’s version of Crash Test Dummies’ “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” and just as irritating.
“Get a Life” and “The Price is Wrong” are the worst tracks on the album. Probably best to skip these. Thankfully, there is one song worthy of mentioning. “Drop the World” featuring Eminem isn’t a reason for purchasing “Rebirth,” but it is worth picking up from iTunes. Reminiscent of the old Slim Shady we know and love, Eminem lyrically surpasses Weezy.
Another track worthy of mentioning is “On Fire.” Lil’ Wayne continues to be all over the place with his definition of rock n’ roll, but the single “On Fire” is worthy of being deemed a Weezy hit.
Cash Money singer/songwriter Kevin Rudolf makes an appearance on “One Way Trip” along with Blink 182’s Travis Barker. However, even with Barker’s stellar drumming, Lil’ Wayne’s ridiculous lyrics and Rudolf’s sad attempt at vocals make this a skip-worthy track.
“Rebirth” is hardly a rebirth at all. Although experimentation should never be looked down upon based on album sales, Lil’ Wayne should get the point. Leave the guitars to the guitarists and the bars to the lyricists. Onward to “The Carter IV.”