Lil Wayne will release
The Carter III on May 13. Maybe. After all, the guy has spent the last two and a half years doing everything but making actual studio albums: seven or eight mixtapes, dozens of guest appearances, several arrests, and more hype than the
"Loungin'" video*. Some of this attention has been warranted.
The Carter II, his previous studio effort, is a good but not great record, with "Tha Mobb" ranking as one of the decade's finest rap songs and "Shooter" impressively meshing hardcore raps with a crossover sensibility (though Alan Thicke will forever out-class his son). Moreover, Wayne's ascendence benefited heavily from 2005's ignominious distinction as one of the worst years in rap history, with critics so
strapped for music to ride for that they actually tried to convince themselves that Paul Wall and Mike Jones were good.
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