Fighter: Lil Wayne
Trainer (Gym): Birdman, Slim Williams, Mack Maine, Cortez Bryant, G. Robinson (Young Money, Cash Money Records, Republic Record, Universal Records)
Cut Men: Mike WILL Made It, Cool & Dre, David Banner, Juicy J, T-Minus, Soulja Boy, A+, Christian Davis Stalnecker, Crazy Mike, Detail, Diplo, DVLP, ELEW, Fabio Marascuillo, Filthy, Hudson Mohawke, Lunice, Mike Banger, Nikhil Seetharam, Rasool Diaz, Sarom, Streetrunner
Weight Class: Rap Heavyweight
Notable Fire: Gunwalk (Feat. Gudda Gudda), Trigger Finger (Feat. Soulja Boy), Rich As Fuck (Feat. 2 Chainz), Love Me (Feat. Drake & Future)
Notable Trash: Wowzers (Feat. Trina), Beat the Shit (Feat. Gunplay), My Homies Still (Feat. Big Sean), Hot Revolver (Feat. Dre)
Tale of the Tape: “Uh, it sucks. I hate it.”
That was the six word review of I Am Not A Human Being II authored up by none other than Lil Wayne himself.
While Weezy was undoubtedly being tongue-and-cheek in that interview with Power 106 in Los Angeles, the news of this self-criticism received a pretty favorable reaction from the masses.
Lil Wayne is without question one of the biggest entertainers in the world today, and since he ascended to that point after dropping Tha Carter III in 2008, the quality and substance of his music has taken a noticeable downturn. Like most humans in the same situation, Wayne hasn’t appeared to cared all that much, possibly because he’s been raking in Dibiase-type dough for the last five years. And many of his legions of fans have remained steadfast in their support of Tunechi, regardless if his raps had reached “I got this bitch on lock like a closed door” status.
After several lackluster projects, including last summer’s Dedication 4, I Am Not A Human Being II was Wayne’s latest opportunity to show critics that he (and his music) had not become a caricature of himself. The album opens with Wayne rhyming over a solo piano instrumentation. This has become commonplace in hip-hop as in recent years as Wale, Nas, J. Cole (a couple of times) and Drake (several times) have all rhymed over the ivory, particularly on the opening track of an album or mixtape. Wayne tried his hand at it on the intro/title track, but it really did not land. He was unable to soften up the subject matter and ease up on the punchlines to match the tone of the record.
Sidebar: The piano took a weird turn at about the 3:20 mark, which didn’t do this song any favors.
Ahh, yes. The punchlines.
The insane number of punchlines, similes and usage of the super dupa/pause-stop flow/hashtag rap (or whatever you want to call it) routinely takes away from IANAHB2. This rhyming technique is fun and can be extremely clever when used in moderation. But as time has gone on, Tune has clearly taken this approach to the extreme, and this project is no exception. People like frosting on their cake, but most people don’t go to the store, pick up a can of chocolate frosting and dig in with a spoon as soon as they hit the couch. To put it another way, Chris Rock’s feelings toward having chicken for dinner (again!) is congruent with my feelings towards Lil Wayne’s punchline usage. Take it away, Chris!
One song after another followed this same blueprint on IANAHB2. The over-usage of punchlines causes the listener to focus in on just those bars, with the overall message of the song being lost somewhere in the lyrical wreckage of drug and oral sex references.
On a few occasions, Wayne decided to get back to his pre-Carter III roots and rhymed about a different subject — gunplay — which actually provided the brightest spots on the album. “Gunwalk” stands out as the best song on the record, which featured production by Juicy J and his hilarious trademark “Yeah, hoe!” in the background for all four and a half minutes. Wayne’s flow meshed perfectly with the metronomic production of “Trigger Finger”, unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for Soulja Boy’s insanely boring verse.
I Am Not A Human Being II also featured cameos from Trina, 2 Chainz, Future and YMCMB cohorts Drake and Nicki Minaj. Nicki actually had the single most memorable rhyme on the album when on “Lay It Down” she boldly stated “The Maybach ain’t poppin if it ain’t got no partation (sic)/Oops, I mean partition/It’s all a part of my vision/I sit and count this money while I watch you bitches audition” (although repeating this line sort of took away from it, as opposed to amplifying it, which was her intention).
Wayne did attempt to step outside the box with songs like “Hot Revolver” and tried to show some depth on “God Bless Amerika”, but misfired on both. “God Bless Amerika” in particular was a strange record, as his thoughts range from “My country tis of thee/Sweet land of kill em all and let em die” to “Been eating my girl and she’s so sweet/Got cavities”. Wayne appears to be expressing some meaningful angst early on, yet in the end, his overall message proves to be inconclusive.
The current explanation of this song on Rap Genius centers around an internal conflict Wayne is having given his quest to be recognized as one of the elite rappers of all-time, despite being quarantined in “hell” by his critics. Though, the glaring oversight with this conclusion is that if Weezy really cared that much about his place in history as an artist, he would’ve ceased making this meaningless music that focuses primarily on going down on chicks long ago and he wouldn’t have been calling himself “The best rapper alive” all the way back in 2005.
Overall, IANAHB2 has the feel of a mixtape in that it is a collection of songs that have no real connection to one another.
Sidebar: Of course, these days mixtapes are as detailed and thought out as albums for many artists.
Wayne followed the redundant formula of making a bunch of songs with heavy punchlines, high-profile features, and lots of talk about sex and narcotics. He got beats from some of the hottest producers, included his most popular song from his last mixtape and, according to some, he did his very best to replicate that record. In the end, IANAHB2 still failed to reintroduce fans to the Weezy of the mid 2000s— the same Weezy that allowed him to reach the pinnacles of the music industry.
Fight Night: Seventh Round KO Loss
This effort was clearly better than his recent mixtapes and feature work, however Lil Wayne was still unable to recapture the magic on this album. And perhaps for the first time, the general public is staring to react to his sub-par work. IANAHB2 sold 217,00 copies in its first week, good for second on the charts (trailing only Justin Timberlake’s second-week sales for The 20/20 Experience). Second is good, but it ain’t first, which is where each of his last two albums debuted.
Sidebar: And this, coming on the heels of his “near death” stint in an L.A. hospital. When it was revealed that Wayne would be okay, I couldn’t help but think the same thing Complex thought.
The week IANAHB2 dropped, I shot my friend a text asking him simply, “You get that Wayne album?” My friend is a hip-hop head that had been heavy into Wayne from early Cash Money through the Squad Up years. His next three texts in succession were as follows:
Text 1) “Fuck no!!! Lol”
Text 2) “Wayne sucks lol”
Text 3) “‘You can have it your way…BURGER KING’- Lil Wayne (he stinks)”
Even the diehards are turning on Tune.
It’s unclear whether or not Wayne has any interest in being a great artist anymore, but any honest observer has to be leaning towards “no” at this point. The guy who made soulful songs like this is long gone.
It was easy to walk into IANAHB2 with lowered expectations— it was even easier to walk out with confirmation of those expectations.