By Logan Schlossberg
Staff Writer
With an already chart-topping digital album on Billboard’s Top 100, there is someone in New York’s Ryker’s Island prison with a smile on his face.
Lil Wayne did not let his time go to waste these past months while locked up. With his passion and talent, Wayne was able to release “I Am Not A Human Being” on his birthday in September.
Lil Wayne completed the material for a 12-track album before serving his final weeks in prison for attempted criminal possession of a weapon.
The album, entitled “I Am Not A Human Being,” includes other well-known artists from his label, Young Money, such as Nicki Minaj, Lil Twist and Drake. It opens with a set party theme as Drake and Lil Wayne do what they do best: drop ridiculously clever flows over beats that are too catchy to forget.
Lil Wayne, who always refers to himself as “Weezy,” “F Baby,” or “Mr. Carter” in each of his albums, imposes his creative vocabulary, unique beat, gripping lyrics, and indelicate humor on his work like never before.
In his oddly titled song, “Gonorrhea,” Lil Wayne starts off the track by making a shout-out to “all [his] moon men” before diving into four captivating verses with something of a disappointing chorus.
After his previous album, “Rebirth,” a disastrous and disappointing seventh album with too much rock n’ roll, fans and critics are glad to see a notably better eighth studio-recorded album, possibly Lil Wayne’s best yet.
The song “That Ain’t Me” features top 40 artist Jay Sean. Lil Twist makes his appearance in the song “Popular,” a track that repeats a well-known lyric from Lil Wayne’s hit song “Bed Rock.”
Also featured is the increasingly popular song “Right Above It,” performed by Lil Wayne and Drake. The beginning of the song makes a grand entrance and sets up a perfect tone for Drake to perfectly open with the first verse.
In the song “Bill Gates,” Weezy uses his made-up word “Bill Gates” as a reference to how much his flows are worth, and as we all know, they’re worth a lot. Not one of the most popular or most liked, “Bill Gates” is a typical Lil Wayne song about his cash and his swag.
Nicki Minaj, featured in countless mixtapes with Lil Wayne, sings in the song “What’s Wrong With Them” and completes the perfect combination of “Weezy and the Brooklyn Barbie,” as the pair are often called.
“I Am Not A Human Being” is not only the name of the album, but the name of Lil Wayne’s song about his anything-but-ordinary life. With a shout out to his bloods, and his record label, Young Money, the song gives an explanation to why Weezy titled his album, “I Am Not A Human Being:” because he is simply better than human beings.
The album was originally supposed to be released as an EP instead of as a full-length album. Although one may think 12 songs is a little on the small side for Weezy, the album is a success.
It’s not hard to recognize the voice of Lil Wayne, and it’s not hard to say that “I Am Not A Human Being” may be the best album we’ve seen from Mr. Carter.
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