One to rule them all

Monday night, I dreamed that an entire Jeopardy! category was devoted to Lil Wayne. I only got through the first two answers (whose questions were: What is Carter? and Who is Baby?) before my imagination gave up, but holy shit was it amazing to hear Alex Trebek say, "Weezy F. Baby," when he read off the full name of the category. That's an ridiculous notion, I know ("I have no brain, I'm retarded. We are not the same, I'm a Martian."), but after watching Wayne move six figures of Tha Carter III its first week out in ailing '08, I'm thinking anything's possible. Jeopardy! category. Vice presidential nomination (the real dream ticket?). The utterance of the phrase, "Yes, homo." Anything. This is not to express shock over Wayne's success, but awe over his power. Like his friend Robin Thicke, he can reach the sky.

"There's no logical answer," says Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone on Wayne's ability to fly off shelves. But if we think hard enough, we can take a stab at one. The last album to sell within striking distance of six figures its first week out was Graduation by Kanye West, who, like Wayne, is a rapper with across-the-board appeal. The pop freaks love him, the snobs love him, the hip-hop listeners who probably don't pay much mind to the bigger picture love him. Kanye, after all, is safe. Even his flashes of outrageousness ("Heard they'd do anything for a Klondike / Well, I'd do anything for a blonde dyke," and backstage tantrums, alike) wash right into the middle of the road. At his most cerebral, Kanye's articulate to a fault, and that articulation combined with his soulful, often live, sound makes for an nonthreatening package. Do not be surprised if someday in the future, Kanye's material is considered easy listening.

But Wayne goes hard! And what's more, he goes everywhere. What's thrilling about him is his intellectual unpredictability. He cold gets dumb ("Swagger tighter than a yeast infection / Fly, go hard like geese erection") and then spits associations so complicated, they fold on themselves so much that they almost threaten the time-space continuum ("Fuck we / I’m all about oui like Paris / Hilton presidential suite already / I’m richer than Nicole / And I’m a Lion like her daddy"). He's like any cash-obsessed rapper flinging-money around, but alternately finds time to chin-stroke and properly observe (with a seeming straight face), "Rather unhuman, I should say," when talking about Al Sharpton's public behavior. He's sometimes so right ("Repetition is the father of learnin'") and sometimes so wrong ("I'm a venereal disease like a menstrual bleed"). You get the feeling that he's in total control as he weaves his complex metaphors ("Don’t you ever fix your lips unless you ‘bout to suck my dick, bitch / Swallow my words, taste my thoughts, and if it’s too nasty, spit it back at me"), but there are also what seem like wild tics, especially when he's at his most potentially offensive (in "Mrs. Officer": "And I beat it like a cop, Rodney King, baby, yeah I beat it like a cop / beat it like a cop, Rodney King, baby, said, beat it like a cop,"; and again in the bonus track "Whip It": "I whip it like a slave, like a motherfuckin' slave / Yes, I whip it like a slave / Yes, I whip it like a slave / I whip it like a slave, like a motherfuckin' slave / Yep I whip it like a slave, like a motherfuckin' slave..."). If Kanye is this one preppy thing to all people, Wayne is as close as it gets to being all things to all people. Cha-ching.

To me, he's primarily a cultural critic flyer than Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. He's capable of Godfather IIing one of the best pop songs of last year: his (unofficial) sequel to Beyonce's "Irreplaceable," the Babyface-featuring "Comfortable," is better than the original. And who else has the wit, cultural savvy and diabolical sense of humor to strip the phrase "fuck the police" of all the rage associated with it to create a song about...fucking the police, literally (the aforementioned "Mrs. Officer")? Tha Carter III isn't perfect -- there's some boring-ish money rap set to tinny 808s that sounded rusty even two years ago. And then, to make it worse, there's the contemporary pop equivalent of a pissing contest: an Auto-Tuned duet with T-Pain.

But Wayne's verbal chest-puffing serves to make his frequent bouts of sensitivity so much more poignant. In "Tie My Hands," Wayne raps about there being a silver lining in the dark cloud over New Orleans that was Hurricane Katrina. The final result is his demonstration that a song can be that very silver lining. "Tie" is as gloriously gentle as relief should be. Elsewhere, Wayne often qualifies his sensitivity or eccentricity with, "No homo," which is vaguely offensive to me as a gay man and as a linguistic trend-watcher (enough already, you know?). But whatever, I forgive it. I don't think he's being hateful, and I know that the collective sexuality of straight men is so sensitive that it might need a crutch every so often. If that's what it takes for the testosterone-laden to express vulnerability, so be it. Boys will be boys will be fragile.

Plus, the phrase has practical usage, as in, I love Wayne, no homo. But my penis is about the only thing he doesn't stimulate. And yeah, I know it's trite as a white blogger to be big-upping Wayne. I'm joining a years-long chorus. But I don't give a fuck: I'm happy to be part of the group. I'm happy to be one of a milli. For once, I'm happy to be a cliché. Leave the radical eccentricity to Wayne, you know? He's earned it.

Comments

I could not wait to hear your thoughts on this album. I lisetend to it quite a bit last week on a long road trip and at times I was floored by Wayne's genius. But then I would filp back and think he can do better that than that.

But honestly, his answer to Irreaplaceable was the best for me. And to use Babyface instead of someone like Trey Songz or Lloyd made it even more real to me and not just "good for radio". Which of course let me forgive him for using T-Pain.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Reed Fischer]

Ain't "a milli" seven figures (a one and 6 zeroes)?

[anon]

I try to avoid weezy as much as I can but there's no denying his success. Even though I cringe every time I see his face on the cover of a hiphop magazine, at least he's working. To me, he's a musician's musician.

[summer]

what is this "comfortable" of which thou speakest? i am off in search of it, but if you would be so kind to link to it, forever grateful i will be. :)

[Sara]

Weezy F.Tatface does my city proud. N.O. stand up!

Anywho, blogosphere love for Wayne has become truly tedious, yet I understand the praise. When he spit that Beetlejuice line I thought to myself, "Why is he repeating it 3 times? That's weird." Like 3 bars later it dawned on me. The little pothead "prettyboy" got me on that one.

I feel you Rich, no homo!

[Faith]

aww Rich, how sweet.

while I tend to beleive is slightly over played, i enjoy the mans rhymes. ::shrug::

Better than soldier boy, yes?

[Maxine]

When asked whether or not I bought the album I feel the need to get indignant like, "Yeah I bought the album, don't fuckin' judge me."

And by the way that damn Nina Simone sample is SO serious. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Nina is more gangster than a little bit.

A great written review, especially the "teachable moment" focused on straight male sexuality. No hetero.

[sylvie]

i've been a weezy fan since he guested on "back that ass up." i actually skip through most of the song just to hear his 30 seconds of song time. he had me at: "na na na after you back it up, then stop..." that's charisma right there.

[ohplease]

it's interesting to me how, when 50 and 'Ye sold hundreds of thousands of CDs, the rumor was their beef was a stunt and the label bought stacks of copies. but Wayne? he just plain earned the sales.

[imdone]

"There's no logical answer," says Universal Motown President Sylvia Rhone.

Ain't THAT the truth.

[elisa]

Sara, can you explain the Beetlejuice thing? I don't get it...Thanks! (or anyone else)

I love "Tie My Hands," especially this line:

"My whole city under water, some people still floatin/ And they wonder why black people still voting/ cause your presidents still chokin/
Take away the football team, the basketball team/now all we got is me to represent New Orleans, shit/ no governor, no help from the mayor"

This is an interesting read on the beats of Tha Carter III, apparently Tie My Hands is old, from before II (I wonder if it was made before Shooter?)
http://blogs.sohh.com/dirty/2008/06/behind_the_beats_of_the_carter.html
Also, he's apparently a fan of Babyface. Along with his love of Robin Thicke (No homo!), he has better taste in music than a lot of rappers.

Finally: Lil' Wayne has a "pro-sharing" mentality, or at least that's what I like to think, given his many many many mixtapes. Leaking his music didn't seem to hurt his sales any. From Rich's link:
"Labels sources suggest that heavy Internet piracy of the single cost Universal an additional 800,000 to 1 million download sales of the song. However, the label has also benefited from leaks related to the record as well, execs acknowledge."

I think a lot more people bought this album because they discovered they liked his flow and style from downloading his material. I don't think downloading "Lollipop" hurt Lil' Wayne at all.

[elisa]

One more link, on Lil' Wayne and piracy not hurting sales:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/arts/music/18wayne.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin

Also: I've been meaning to ask for a while, but what does the "H.E.R." tag mean? And how is it different from "Are and be"? They both seem music-related to me...

And I've liked (not loved) Lil' Wayne since he guested on Nivea's song "Ya Ya Ya":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y169Hotg6Ow

[the soviet]

ever wonder if he wrote "no homo" as his attempt to curb the gay rumors about him and baby?

not buyin' it.

[johan]

did someone really ask about why one says beetlejuice thrice?!?! WELL DUH it's to summon/banish beetlejuice!

did you see the jeopardy a couple of weeks ago when he was the answer to one of the questions? no joke.

[elisa]

Johan, I'm too young to have really watched Beetlejuice. I mean, it was on TV when I was small, but I didn't watch that show. So NO, I had no idea what the summon/banish thing is.

Seriously...Jeopardy? Maybe you saw part of it, Rich, while channel-flipping, and that's why you dreamed of Alex Trebek...

[Ed]

Rich you forgot to mention how a man that says "no homo" has the nerve to make the gayest song of the year "Lollipop"...seriously all the homo thugs (hold the thug), DL guys, and queens love that shit.

[kitty]

the phrase "No homo" just means "i don't mean it in a gay way." It's not meant to be offensive to gays. like, for example, you can say something like, "i got in his @ss. No homo"
Get it??
Weezy's album was pretty good but not better than some of his mixtape stuff. I love that guy tho. He's frickin nuts!!

[kitty]

Love your blog btw!!

[Bill]

Wayne's success reminds me how out of touch and how happy i am to be out of touch with mainstream hip-hop. I've never understood his appeal. The voice? Unbearable. His looks? Enough to turn a gay man straight. His lyrics? Clumsy.

But in this culture of low standards, i'm not surprise everyone is tripping over themselves to give this little troll some undeserved shine.

[Jas]

About your comment:

" And yeah, I know it's trite as a white blogger to be big-upping Wayne. I'm joining a years-long chorus. But I don't give a fuck: I'm happy to be part of the group. I'm happy to be one of a milli."

I beg to differ. It's not the least bit trite, Rich. You are fabulous...and a "witty, cultural(ly?) savvy" Wayne fan to boot!

[wendy]

Kanye sampling his own previously produced song on "comfortable" = cocky, lazy or genius?

worst rapper ever lyrically weak got to give it to the corporations they can fool dam near everyone and make this idiot a star

[Gmoney]

If you are a gay man that is your problem. weez is making sure you don't get him caught up in the gay mess... I never liked his style in the past but I must say he has some genius on the CD. The guy has talent.... Now his buddy birdman has none what so ever