Holden Miller
After five long years, Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated album, “Tha Carter V” is finally here. Although the New Orleans rapper has not discussed in specifics why the album came so delayed, he said to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that the contractual disputes surrounding its release were “just business.” Despite not putting out a studio album for a half-decade, Wayne has not been completely silent–he’s released several mixtapes in the last few years. On September 28th, though, fans were given the album they so desperately wanted and waited for. The album’s opening song, “I Love You Dwayne” begins with an emotional voicemail from Wayne’s mother, who tells him how proud she is of his success and how it has guided their family The track is a heartwarming and dramatic experience which sets high expectations for the songs that follow.
Features on the album include Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, the late XXXTentacion, and several more. These features and Wayne’s crisp, thoughtful lyricism give the album purpose and perspective– whether in discussing conflicts during Wayne’s adolescence, coping with the fame, or even his attempted suicide as mentioned in the closing track “Let it All Work Out”. However, this is a Carter album, meaning not all the songs deal with hard times;many of the songs are upbeat,entertaining, and even celebratory. This is evident in the track “Dope N****z” where Wanye very confidently writes “I’m feeling like John Gotti Lennon / And you gon’ respect my mind and my sign and my emblem.” Wayne’s comfortable in the spotlight, as he has proved time and time again, and although it took what, to his fans, seemed like forever to be released, “The Carter V” was well worth the wait.
