This isn’t Lil’ Wayne’s first album, clearly you knew that by the Roman numeral “III” in the title. But by the way it’s been hyped up over the last year, you’d think it was. What it is instead, is the first album that establishes Wayne as an official superstar, joining in the ranks of Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Kanye, etc. But why now?

Early in his career, Wayne was looked at as the “kid rapper” of the Ca$h Money Millionaires family, and nobody outside of their fanbase really took him seriously. But during that time, Wayne perfected his craft. It wasn’t until the release of The Carter II, as well as his Dedication series of mixtapes that he carved out his own identity of super-emcee.

Wait, super-emcee? Isn’t this the guy that made “Lollipop”? We’ll agree with you that the song “Lollipop” sucks (well, the remix with Kanye that features actual rap lyrics is hot). On paper, it seems like more disposable bullshit. He’s got “Lil” in his name, he’s on every third R&B song, he rapped on “Bling Bling”, and was a member of The Hot Boyz. This checklist screams not to go anywhere near this album.

Despite some questionable beginnings, Wayne has transcended all of that and really begun to take up the art of rhyming. He’s a bit of an anomaly, because most other rappers that have a rap sheet similar to his simply aren’t that dope.

Listening to Tha Carter III, new listeners of Lil’ Wayne will quickly see how effortlessly Wayne can rip a mic – when he wants to. He selectively turns it on and off, at times dumbing things down to a level that makes you wonder why he’s considered one of the best out right now. Case in point is obviously “Lollipop”, as well as the album opener, “3 Peat”, which lets his core fanbase know that he hasn’t abandoned them, rhyming “fuck” with “fuck” and such.

He turns a corner quickly however, on “Mr. Carter”, his second collaboration with Jay-Z, as the two compete two see who can come off the illest over a soulful beat by Just Blaze. Truth be told, Wayne does his thing here, but Jay delivers one of his most lyrically complex verses in a while, never being allowing anyone else to Eminem him again. “A Milli” follows, his “Eye Examination” if you will, that features Wayne simply rhyming his ass off over a minimalist track, and addressing the answer to the long-debated what’s-a-goon-to-a-goblin argument. “Got Money” (feat. T-Pain) also finds him in top form, as the album’s quintessential club-banger, and sure to be next hit single.

Interestingly, he tiptoes in backpack territory in several places on the album, with hit and miss results. The corny “Phone Home” finds him over a spacey beat – more suited for Black Elvis than Lil’ Wayne – but with added thump from Cool & Dre. Here, he puts himself in another category of emcee completely, saying he’s beyond an “animal” or “beast”, claiming to instead be a “Martian”. Fairing better is the David Axelrod sampled, Swizz Beatz produced “Dr. Carter”, where he checks up on three dying patients, showing them how they can step their rap game up. The classic sample and tightly knit concept of this song makes it easily the best track on the album. Later on “Let the Beat Build”, he does just that, rapping over a drumless Kanye West track, which kicks in at the final moment with a lyrical payoff that does the first half of the song it’s justice.

Naturally, Wayne has to succumb to the pressures of the major labels, so he does pull back at times, delivering plenty of more radio friendly tracks in the same vein of “Lollipop”. Perhaps one of the most tasteless, not-cool-at-all extended metaphor tracks ever is “Mrs. Officer”, where Wayne and buddy cop Bobby Valentino suggest they are going to …uh… beat that pussy up like the police. Tasteless, but make what you will of it. The Babyface assisted, Kanye produced “Comfortable” is a bit of a response record to Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”, acting as a radio jam with a little more substance than “Lollipop”. Both “Tie My Hands” (feat. Robin Thicke) and the dreary “Shoot Me Down” find a more introspective Wayne, and fare better than the other songs that feature sung vocals.

Whether or not Tha Carter III will mature into a classic album remains to be seen, but there is one glaring problem with the record. While it is filled with lyrical gems, in many cases you can almost “catch” Wayne doing one-take sessions, where it’s very obvious he is freestyling. Sure, that may be impressive to some extent, but this isn’t a mixtape. At times, he is feeling himself so much that it’s like he assumes that he doesn’t need to fix the sloppier parts of his verses, which many times find him going off into weird tangents and never returning. But sure, he’s a Martian, and again, it won’t matter years from now if these lyrics become embedded in our brains. But we know he can do better.

All in all, Tha Carter 3 does not disappoint, and for the most part lives up to the hype. Make no mistake, Wayne is easily one of the best emcees holding a mic, sketchy past or not. Anyone who disagrees clearly isn’t listening. Sure, Wayne had albums before this one, but Tha Carter 3 truly is his debut. – Pizzo