Lil Wayne: Tha Carter III

Lil Wayne isn't necessarily the greatest rapper

alive, but he's definitely the most inconsistent. Depending on the verse and

the song, he can sound like a track-devouring force of nature or a stoned

amateur fumbling his way through the English language. Both Waynes show up

throughout his feverishly anticipated new album, Tha Carter III. On the epic "Mr. Carter," Wayne smartly co-opts one of the only rappers who can match his sales, by tapping guest wordsmith Jay-Z for a hyper-soulful anthem that builds and builds to a devastating crescendo involving a choir and ecstatic handclaps. Just when it sounds like Wayne's on the verge of justifying

his outsized swagger, he follows it with "A Milli," a maddeningly repetitive

headache in hip-hop form that's downright unlistenable. Wayne's lyrics are all

over the place, but there's a palpable sense of joy to his delivery that's

infectious.

A deep vein of theatrical craziness courses

through Tha Carter III. There's a lot of Jay-Z in his flow, but there's also a lot

of Ol' Dirty Bastard. Wayne raps about being a Martian, jacks a catchphrase

from E.T. on

"Phone Home," gives new meaning to the phrase "Fuck The Police" on the

Prince-style sex fantasy "Mrs. Officer," pretends that he's a doctor on "Dr.

Carter," and ends what's sure to be one of the biggest albums of the year by

sampling Nina Simone on a nearly 10-minute-long song that devolves into a

stoned rumination on politics, drugs, and double standards. And it's addressed

partially to Al Sharpton. Even by hip-hop's loopy standards, Wayne is a bizarre

mega-star. Even when shamelessly exploiting the current craze for vocoder-style

voice modulation on "Lollipop," he radiates a distinctly personal kink. He's

the man of the moment, but the disc's best moments strive for timelessness and

attain it.