Following up a pair of poorly received LP’S – his rock-opus, Rebirth, and the Young Money album – Lil’ Wayne’s buzz hasn’t died down over the last year. While we all expected Tha Carter IV to be released around this time, his extended vacation at beautiful Riker’s Island has pushed that project back for a while. Instead, he treats fans to I Am Not A Human Being, a brief, ten song LP, made up of leftover songs recorded before he went inside.

While the same length as Illmatic, by no means does it share it’s consistency (to state the obvious). That being said, there are a handful of excellent tracks included herein, obviously meant for Tha Carter IV, many of which have already been released in some format. The anthem “Right Above It” plays like this year’s “Got Money”, with a scene-stealing verse from Drake, working as a great lead single to the LP. The Rick Rubin-esque “I Am Not A Human Being” is a perfectly executed track in the tradition of “99 Problems” (or anything on Def Jam in 1988), as Wayne hits the listener with a barrage of double entendres and dynamic beat change ups. And the sullen, purp-drenched sound of “I’m Single”, is still as infectious as it was when he dropped the video, right before he went inside.

Among other new stand out tracks, like “Gonorrhea” and “With You” (both featuring Drake), we get an obvious handful of unfinished songs left up to the Young Money all-stars to see through to completion. The ridiculously dated “Hold Up” can barely stand by itself, and extra verses from T-Streets do little to help. The same can be said for the derivative “Popular”, which not only features help from Lil Twist, but also rapes it’s hook from the barely-expired Young Money hit “Bedrock”. And “What’s Wrong With Them” does little to remind us that Nicki Minaj is a creative lyricist, as she uses her appearance to simply sing the hook; and not well, at that.

I Am Not A Human Being is better than most albums we find from deceased or incarcerated rappers, but it has it’s share of filler. While this will hold fans over much better than Rebirth or Young Money Is An Army (or whatever that LP was called), it’s a shame some of it’s better moments we’re saved for what will obviously be a more consistent record, Tha Carter IV.