Customer Reviews

Tha Carter III [Explicit]

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

I was officially introduced to Lil Wayne when I heard him on "Play'n It Raw", which was featured on the B.G. release Chopper City in the Ghetto, in April of 1999. I liked the collaboration between The Hot Boys (Juvenile, B.G., Lil Wayne and Turk) so I decided to pick up Guerrilla Warfare, which was released in July of '99. Since I liked most of the songs that Lil Wayne was featured on, I picked up his solo release Tha Block Is Hot, which was released in November of the same year. The title track was the 1st single and I also liked the tracks "High Beamin'" w/B.G., "Kisha" which featured The Hot Boys and "Loud Pipes" which featured Juvenile, B.G. and The Big Tymers (Mannie Fresh and Baby). The entire CD was pretty good so when Lil Wayne dropped Lights Out a year later, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. This CD wasn't as good as "The Block Is Hot" in my opinion, but I still liked tracks such as "Hit U Up" and "Shine", which both featured The Hot Boys, and the 1st single "Get Off The Corner".


Since No Limit Records and Cash Money Records were both on a decline, I didn't pick up any other Cash Money releases until Lil Wayne released Tha Carter in 2004. Once I heard the singles "Bring It Back" and "Go DJ", I figured the CD would be a decent pick up and I was right. My favorite track was "BM J.R." and the majority of the CD was a quality listen. A year later, Lil Wayne released Tha Carter II. This CD was even better than "Tha Carter", in my opinion, and my favorite tracks were "Money On My Mind", "Best Rapper Alive", "Shooter" w/Robin Thicke and "Tha Mobb".

Since the release of "Tha Carter 2", Lil Wayne has released several mixtapes and has appeared on several other CDs from other down south rappers, r&b singers, and even on Jay Z's "American Gangster" CD on the track "Hello Brooklyn 2.0". Lil Wayne was also featured on Kanye West's "Graduation" CD on the track "Barry Bonds". Finally, after several delays Lil Wayne released "Tha Carter 3" on June 10, 2008.

The first single "Lollipop" features the late Static Major, who was in the r&b group Playa and wrote and produced songs for the late Aaliyah Haughton and Timbaland. "Lollipop" is suitable for the club and house parties but that's about it, in my opinion. Lil Wayne uses the tired voice recorder that T-Pain has made famous lately, but people who have listened to music for years know that it was made famous first by the late, great Roger Troutman of Zapp. T-Pain is featured on another forgettable track in "Got Money". The second the track comes on you will be wanting to hit the skip button. "3 Peat" starts the CD as Lil Wayne is fresstyling and "Maestro" delivers a decent beat. I have heard better Lil Wayne freestyles but "3 Peat" does get the CD off to a decent start.
"Mr. Carter" is alot better as Lil Wayne and Jay-Z rip the track to shreds. Wayne could have left the last verse off of the song, but "Mr. Carter" is easily one of the best tracks on "Tha Carter 3". "A Milli" officially shuts the CD down. When I first heard this CD, I had to play "A Milli" 3 times in a row before I could go on to another track. "Bangladesh" who produced another Down South favorite of mine, 8Ball & MJG's "You Don't Want Drama", definitely produces a banger in "A Milli". This is what every Lil Wayne freestyle should sound like. Kanye West produces the smooth, grown and sexy track "Comfortable", which features Babyface. Lil Wayne basically tells the lady in his life at the moment that she shouldn't get too comfortable in the realtionship if she isn't going to play her part in it. Swizz Beatz shows up to produce another banger in "Dr. Carter" as Lil Wayne is able to give his prescription to any rappers lacking style, charisma and the abilities to what "he" thinks it takes to make it in the rap game in 2008. Cool & Dre show up to produce "Phone Home". Once you past the fact that Lil Wayne is calling himself a martian, you will be able to enjoy the lyrics and the beat. This track is definitely one of the better songs on "Tha Carter 3". Robin Thicke produces and is featured on "Tie My Hands" which has Lil Wayne discussing the mind state of New Orleans and how he feels about everything before and after Hurricane Katrina. Bobby Valentino, who recently left Ludacris and DTP, is featured on the smooth "Mrs. Officer" as Wayne makes a playful story up about pushin' up on a female police officer. "Let The Beat Bulid" is produced by Kanye West and has Lil Wayne on another freestyle mission. The first part of the track is pretty good, but Wayne should have quit while he was ahead because the last verse isn't as good as the other verses are on the song. "Shoot Me Down" features some nice vocals from D. Smith as Lil Wayne is able to get some things off his chest, while still maintaining decent lyrics at the same time. David Banner does it again on the nice "La, La" which features Busta Rhymes and Brisco. The beat sounds like something your child could play on a xylophone but after a few listens you will be bobbin' your head like I do everytime I hear the track. "Pyaying With Fire" features Betty Wright, who I remember from the "After The Pain" and "No Pain, No Gain" Video Jukebox days. Lil Wayne's lyrics could have been better but Streetrunner will keep your attention with the production. Alchemist, who is currently Eminem's DJ and is better known for producing tracks for Mobb Deep and "We Gon' Make It" by Jadakiss, produces "You Ain't Got Nuthin'". Fabolous steals the show as his verse on this track is better than any verse than he had on his last CD, "From Nothin' To Somethin'". Juelz Santana took the day off and Lil Wayne tries his best to keep up with Fabolous. "Don't Get It" uses the same sample that Common used for the track "Misunderstood" on his last CD, "Finding Forever". Lil Wayne ends "The Carter 3" on a nice note as he even takes time to give his thoughts on certain issues going on in the Black community today and his opinions of the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Overall, if you can look past "Lollipop" and "Got Money", I feel that you have a pretty good CD by Lil Wayne. If you were a fan of "Tha Carter 1" and "Tha Carter 2", then you should also add "Tha Carter 3" to your collection. If you are tired of hearing Lil Wayne on 50 different mixtapes and on 100 diffrent collaborations, then this might not be the CD for you. If you are into the Down South rap music scene of 2008, which would be Outkast, Scarface, TI, Bun B, Young Buck, Chamillionaire, David Banner and others, then you should also pick this CD up as well. Lil Wayne isn't for everybody, but if you actually sit down and give this CD a fair listen, then you won't be disappointed in my opinion.

James' Top 5

1) A Milli
2) Tie My Hands w/Robin Thicke
3) Mr. Carter w/Jay-Z
4) Dr. Carter
5) Comfortable w/Babyface

Honorable Mention:

Phone Home
Let The Beat Build
Don't Get It (Too much talking during the end of the track)
La La w/Busta Rhymes & Brisco
Mrs. Officer w/Bobby Valentino

so here's the deal, the people giving this album 1 star reviews and telling the supporters of wayne to listen to people like 'immortal technique', and 'jedi mind tricks' need to back off yo..if they like wayne lyrics, they will not feel jedi mind tricks stuff. its that simple. its too much of a jump for most people; so take this old school concious rap advice elsewhere because it will probably not make a difference here. now, if u compare him to people like biggie or pac or nas or jay, then ur giving him more credit than he deserves but given his stature, u have to. the kid has skills of word play more than any of his generation, this is an undeniable fact. however he does not utilize it on his albums. he does on other guest appearances and other mix tapes. but sex, drugs, and rnr sells so thats what he talks about on his albums. smart. i cant knock his hustle. there are a couple of moments where he actually talks about something worth listening to but theyre overshadowed by the cluster f@#k of women guns and drugs that is this album. now, from someone who actually likes people like wu tang, roots, nas..etc, i actually like this album but it is not by any means a classic or any of what the hype is making it out to be. its a good party record and with that it serves its purpose so please dont compare it to a politics driven record because that just makes u dumb.

so to make the long story short, if u like wayne, u'll atleast like the album and u should get it. if u dont like him then dont buy it.

Not even going to waste my time writing in detail about this piece of trash. It's a shame what passes for hip-hop these days. People seem to be more in love with Weezy's production than his lyrics, which is apparent to anyone that actually cares about the lyrics at all, because Lil Wayne is whack.

I'm not a "hater", I don't gain anything by dissing Lil Wayne at all. He's just another average, untalented, main stream clown in this giant cesspool of noise these record companies are trying to pass off as Hip-Hop. Also, the fact that people are claiming that the albums in the Carter Trilogy are classics is unsettling to my stomach. If this dude's the best there is, you guys can have him; I prefer a little more substance in my music.

Ok this album was hyped up sooooo much and after the delays and album release date changes you would have thought it was a masterpiece. Instead it kind of leaves you on a "?" note. The beats is kinda TRASH to me and I'm a producer so I am hella picky nowadays. Sure he has David Banner,Kanye West and Alchemist on a few tracks but even they aren't at their best. Like one of the other reviewers said, 14 year old high schoolers who like top 40 pop hits will think this album is gold but if you've heard "Tha Carter I & II" and jammed his mixtapes you will think otherwise. Not to mention his guest appearances are a definitely not my style. I'm from that dirty south so I can understand if you don't go get Soulja Boy, Hurricane Chris or DJ Unk but theres no reason why Bun B, Ludacris or Andre 3000 shouldn't have been at least considered damn. On top of that, you do not spend 7 minutes of your album dissing Al Sharpton. WE DON'T CARE! This album could have been WOW and it does have its lyrical moments but I'd say save your money or go get any of "The Droughts" or the first 2 Carters. In the meantime I'm gonna apologize to Bun B for taking "II Trill" out of my cd player for this.

This can barely pass as Hip-Hop, let alone even as music.

Here you have the result of the death of hip-hop coupled with the myspace-era where image means more than talent.

The 15 year olds have spoken, and this guy is apparently the best rapper in the word. But uh...he doesn't really rap. He just mumbles in a sleepy, drunken tone to some very over-produced beats which are a blatant insult to hip-hop. The beats are closer to techno/club than hip-hop, but aren't dancable either, so that doesn't work too well!

Apparently, his little scarves and excessive tattoos make him the best rapper. I don't know what the deal is...but I couldn't agree less!

There should just be another genre call techno-bling-garbage-club-music and then we can finally stop having to call Lil Wayne, Kanye and all these clowns rappers.

That's my 2 cents. Thank you.

Wayne wanted every song on the album to stand out and he achieves this with 'Carter III'. Every song on the album is different and they all stand out. Most of the tracks sound like that track on most Hip-hop CDs that you like because it is it is different from the rest. Imagine Nas' "Rewind" (from Stillmatic) or Jay-Z's "1-900 Hustler" (from Roc La Familia) or Wayne's own "Shooter" (from Carter II).

On C3 you have "Dr. Carter", where Wayne is a surgeon who saves hip-hop, "Phone Home" where he lets his alien persona come to the fore, the rock tinged "Playin' With Fire' and others. Most CDs would have only one such track but C3 is full of them which is great because it shows creativity on his part but the price is that C3 lacks cohesion.

C1 was helmed by Mannie Fresh mainly and C2 was produced by TMX (both are missing from C3) and they both had a sound that was specific to each album. And ultimately the first two instalments were street CDs, rooted in Gangsta rap but from a New Orleans perspective. C3 is a slight departure from the Money, Cash, H**s formulae but its not clear what goes in its place. Finally, while Wayne does show off his skills on the MIC he rarely gets personal (only in glimpses) & given the hype around him right now most of us would have liked to get into his head a little more. This is the only thing that prevents this CD from classic status because song for song nothing coming out in 2008 is touching it.

"A Milli", "3 Peat", "Mr. Carter" these aren't just songs they are events. Not to mention what "Lollipop" and "Got Money" are doing to radio. Tracks like "Tie My Hands" and "Dr Carter" will keep any 't rue school' head happy. "Comfortable" with Babyface ages so so well. The posse cuts are excellent and guest rappers are aware of the magnitude of this release so they definitely show up.

What makes this CD special is that while Wayne always sounds like he is not putting much effort in his craft there is so many intrcacies in his lyrics that we'll be decyphering them for months to come. "...Athritis in my my hands from writing but I'm a doctor they don't understand my writing..." And when he does go hard he destroys the track, (see his verse on "You Ain't Got Nuthin'). The music too has the same subtle change ups that elevate the track to the next level.

A real bonus is the inclusion of the leaked tracks on the Deluxe Edition. "I'm Me" and "Gossip" are 100% classic

Just like everyone else I have been waiting for this CD to drop, and other than TI vs TIP, Ive never been so disappointed with a major rappers album. I used to be a big Lil Wayne fan until he got into all the singing and now wants to be the king of the pop charts. He wastes alot of good production on this album and gets LYRICALLY MURDERED by Jay-Z and by Fabolous. A friend of mine also said that he wanted to release a more "pop" album so that he could sell records. Wow, what a way to lose some of your more loyal fans to sell some records. I guess he really aint the best rapper alive if he has to sell himself short just to sell records, and alot could have to do with the fact that he has been OVERPLAYED and OVERHYPED for the past few years. But if your a radio head and a bandwagon jumper of Weezy's then you might think this is the real deal like some of my friends, but if your not one of those this cd sucks somethin awful. Best tracks:
Mr. Carter (of course)
Shoot Me Down
Playing with Fire
Dont Get it
and 2 of those 4 are mainly cause the production is hot vs anything that lil wayne really has to say. I wasted money on this. Next time Im just gone have to bootleg it, lol.

Finally we have the Carter 3, I must say it is what I expected from Lil Wayne....metaphors scattered all about. I guess this will fit the mold of what's currently going on in the industry (Rick Ross comes to mind). Admittedly, the records has a few high points with appearances from Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and Bun B (who all out shined Wayne). However, left to stand along, Wayne is mediocre at best. The album will become an instant hit with the teenie boppers, but not with the grown ups...give us substance.

The album is getting credit for selling alot of records but Wayne is a mid level artist at best. This album is straight GARBAGE with little kid songs like Lollipop... come on he has no skills. I look at Wayne and see a disappointment, he is addicted to drugs and has big issues. Yes the album sold records but is there any substance will anyone remember this album 5 years from now? HELL NO is the answer. Its not a classic like Illmatic or like Reasonable Doubt or Ready to Die or The Marshall Mathers LP or The Chronic I mean lets be real people if Wayne drops when any big name drops he sells maybe 200,000 copies. To say he is the greatest ever is a travisty and a disgrace it just goes to show you who listens to Hip Hop today. Wayns lyrical skills are weak at best and jay Z burns him and runs circles around him on his own album. Sorry Wayne i was expecting more and all I got was a sub-par album that was highly OVERRATTED and OVERHYPED. Stick to remixes your better on other peoples songs anyway. 1 star is all this album deserves please review the track list before wasting your money.

Another piece of hyped, commercialized trash. Absolutley sickening piece of garbage, anyone that bought this album has a mental problem.