Is Lil Wayne Tha G.O.A.T.? — The Carter V Review
Lil Wayne in concert (Google Common License)
The wait is finally over. Lil Wayne’s much-awaited sequel to his Carter album series has released, as of September 28th, 2018. With sales putting his album on top of the Billboards, just behind Drake’s Scorpion. Interestingly enough, Drake was once a protege of Lil Wayne years back upon the revamp of Young Money Cash Money Records in the mid to late 2000s (Coscarelli). Hence, showing Lil Wayne’s unrivaled influence in the rap game. This has many rap listeners convinced that Lil Wayne is the goat or greatest of all time.
Lil Wayne packed many star-studded cameos on Tha Carter V, such as Kendrick Lamar, XXXTentacion, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, and many more. Thus, Lil Wayne uses pop, mumble rap, and nu-rap to get his messages across in the new album (Clark).
It’s been around 7 years since the last Carter, Carter IV, which also topped charts in 2011. However, this was the last Carter album under the label of Cash Money Records. Due to record disputes over the past decade, Lil Wayne bailed out of the label, claiming that he wasn’t properly compensated for his work on the label over the years (Coscarelli).
Nevertheless, Lil Wayne gets plenty of love from his fans, I included, for he truly is the face of 21st-century hip-hop. There isn’t a rapper he hasn’t directly influenced in his lifetime, and many other up and coming rappers look to him as a God after 2Pac.
Work Cited
Coscarelli, Joe. “Lil Wayne’s Album Is Stalled. His Opinions Are Still Flowing.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/arts/music/lil-wayne-interview-gone-til-november.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article.
Coscarelli, Joe. “Lil Wayne’s Long-Delayed ‘Tha Carter V’ Is a Streaming Blockbuster.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/arts/music/lil-wayne-carter-v-billboard.html.
Clark, Bailee. “Old Moolah Baby, Tha Carter V Is Finally Here.” The Spectator, 10 Oct. 2018, www.seattlespectator.com/2018/10/10/old-moolah-baby-tha-carter-v-finally/.