REVIEW: Rebirth By Lil Wayne

(Universal)

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The ironically titled ‘Paradice’ sounds like Guns N’ Roses with AutoTune - it’s pretty horrid.

Sometimes you need to stick to what you’re good at. In the case of Dwayne Carter it’s being a rapper - and he’s really fucking good at it. Like any great artist, it was time for Wayne’s creative side to kick in and to explore new territory. Unfortunately, in Weezy’s case it was expanding his love of rock music, and thus we have Rebirth. The opener ‘American Star’ sets the tone of the project with its anthemic opening and guitar driven groove. ‘Prom Queen’ and ‘Ground Zero’ are more of the same, and the ironically titled ‘Paradice’ sounds like Guns N’ Roses with AutoTune - it’s pretty horrid. It’s not until track seven things get bearable with ‘On Fire’ and the hot ‘Drop The World’ featuring Eminem. Soon after however, Wayne launches back into his rock assault with ‘Runnin’’ and the awful ‘The Price Is Wrong’. I do appreciate that Wayne was giving it a go, and to be fair, ‘Prom Queen’ is a pretty good attempt - but one song does not an album make, and the rest of Rebirth comes off like an artist trying to sculpture a sound that is beyond their skill set. As great as he is at creating classic hip hop tracks, Wayne has fallen well short on this rock rap crossover. Disappointing.

Sir-Vere