Rock & Hip-Hop: Lil Wayne’s Memorable Mashup
Written By: Elainey Bass
When formulating a list of iconic and memorable rappers in the industry, many people tend to have the same suggestions. Biggie, Tupac, Jay-Z, and maybe even Kanye West. However, you can’t forget to mention Dwanye Michael Carter Jr., professionally known as Lil Wayne. Between his crazy metaphors, unique voice, and humble spirit, his contributions to the rap game have been never ending. Mr. Carter has released over thirteen solo albums, but the Rebirth album is one that sticks out to many. Why? Despite mixed reviews, Wayne experimented, entered into the Rock genre, and created a lane of his own.
Released in 2010, Rebirth featured fourteen tracks on the deluxe version. It included features from artists like Nicki Minaj and Eminem. But what really gives his songs that classic Rock feel are his features from Kevin Rudolph (the first White Rock artist signed to Cash Money Records) and Pop-Rock singer Shanell. In the “Prom Queen" music video, Rock band KORN was featured despite not having a verse on the song. Throughout the album, you can hear familiar guitar chords, banging drums, and heavy bass under his vocals. However, some may feel like the instruments are a bit too much and overshadow Wayne’s lyricism.
It’s important to note that this particular sound did not start with Wayne. Back in the day, Run- D.M.C. experimented with the heavy sound of drums and crossed over to the Rock genre with their song “Walk This Way” featuring Aerosmith. The heavy drums and overall rock-feel is evident in a lot of their discography. Jay-Z and Linkin Park’s collaboration album in 2004, Collision Course, is also a great example. But despite these previous projects that received great feedback from fans and music critics alike, Wayne’s album slightly fell short.
During that time, the album debuted number two in the Billboard 200. But music critics on websites like Billboard, Pitchfork, and even Rolling Stone had mixed reviews about Wayne’s new venture. On Pitchfork.com, the reviewer described the album by saying, “Concocting the world's finest excrement-related rhymes, Rebirth is most definitely a flop, terribly unsexy, and contains surprisingly few shit jokes.” This is not the only review of its nature to be published. However, a few critics enjoyed it and described it as "Rebirth has moments of genius, and those moments almost always coincide with coupling fiery emotion with punk's propulsive rhythm.” Regardless of the reviews, Lil Wayne performed “Drop The World” with Eminem and drummer Travis Barker at the 2010 Grammy Awards and the crowd was thoroughly pleased.
Despite the critics dissecting the album and giving their own opinions, Wayne remains humble and confident in everything that he releases. His individuality seeps through in everything he does and is not ashamed to say that his inspiration is no one. He inspires himself and his five Grammys are a true testament to this. While Rebirth may not be a fan favorite for Wayne lovers, it still proves that the rapper simply does not need approval from anyone else but himself. After the album, he still proceeded to drop projects that exceeded fans expectations, all while keeping that same rockstar rapper vibe. Because of this, Lil Wayne has proved time and time again why he is considered a legend in the rap game.