This song comes off of Juvenile’s classic album 400 Degreez released all the way back in 1998. Master P and his No Limit army had the Hip-Hop world on lock and most people were looking for something new and fresh. The only people making noise in the N.O. donned a gold/platinum tank. Enter Baby, Mannie Fresh, the Hot Boys, and Cash Money Records. The South’s landscape would never be the same after that. Not only did Cash Money give us a different side of New Orleans, they also gave us some good music to “boot” (pun intended). This album also introduced the world to one of the best producers (Mannie Fresh) the greatest rapper alive (Lil’ Wayne) and the most stuntastic nigga ever (Baby). Everyone know CMR’s story, and everyone knows that the best song on 400 Degreez is track 12. I was listening to this song last night when it came to me that I have never did a Juvie song for SOTW. It’s a oldie, but goodie, so thank your uncle King Jerm for lacing you guys with another eargasm. As always, please enjoy this installment of Song of the Week!

Download: Juvenile feat. Lil’ Wayne & Turk – “Rich Niggaz”

1999 – Tha Block is Hot (2x Platinum)

This was Weezy’s debut for Cash Money Records where he stepped out and became a name on his own. He had the hood on smash with this album, his talent was raw and he had an “it” factor about him.

Download: “Lights Off” – Lil’ Wayne

2000 – Lights Out (Gold)

The dreaded sophomore jinx hit Weezy on this album. Critics and fans alike gave Weezy flack for just rapping over beats without any cohesion (a problem he still deals with) to his lyrics. The album didn’t live up to the debut, so everyone took this as a loss commercially, but the fans were still checking for him because he had some good songs on the album.

Download: “Grown Man” – Lil’ Wayne

2001 – SQ4 (Mixtape)

This was when Weezy began to perfect his craft. He always could rap, but this is when he learned how to be a lyricist. He released several freestyles over the same beats that NY cats were flowing over and showed them that Southern cats can freestyle too. I think this changed the game Down South with the Southern artist becoming freestylers.

Download: “Best of Me Freestyle” – Lil’ Wayne

2002 – 500 Degreez

This album dropped with the least bit of promotion during a time when Cash Money was falling apart and Weezy was stuck holding down the fort. Juvenile had left and was beefing with the label. Wayne decided to go at Juvie, naming his album 500 Degreez as opposed to Juvie’s 400 Degreez. This album wasn’t even 100 degreez! It tanked, and it was back to the drawing board again for Wayne.

Download: “500 Degreez” – Lil’ Wayne

2004 – Tha Carter (Platinum)

After taking some time off Wayne came back in a good way with this album. He hit platinum again off the strength of “Go DJ” and more focused lyrics. Wayne showed his versatility on this album, but most importantly, he showed some growth as an artist. This is the album that Gillie claims to have ghostwritten for Wayne while he was an artist on Cash Money.

Download: “BM JR” – Lil’ Wayne

2005 – Tha Carter II (2x Platinum)

The second album of his Carter trilogy turns out to be one of the most important records in Cash Money’s history. Fresh off doing a feature with Destiny’s Child, Wayne was becoming a star in his own right. The South was a major force in Hip-Hop and Wayne was near the front of the pack. This was CMR’s biggest debut ever. Not bad for a label that just lost their long time in-house producer Mannie Fresh.

Download: “Money on My Mind” – Lil’ Wayne

2006 – Like Father, Like Son (Gold)

The debut of Birdman and Weezy went over with a success. Wayne showed that he could carry a team, which he did on some tracks on the album. This album produced Wayne’s best lyrical performance. (See Below) This album was a hit in the hoods and at the record stores. During a time when selling gold was like going platinum, Wayne managed to push the team near a million copies.

Download: “Army Gunz” – Lil’ Wayne

2007 – Da Drought 3 (Mixtape)

I don’t know if there was ever a time when one artist assaulted the market like Wayne did in 2007. Think of Master P in 1998 when he was dropping an album twice a month for a whole year. Weezy was on several remixes, countless mixtapes, and featured on 3 out of 10 radio plays. They had him down for 77 songs in this year along. Talk about being hungry. Wayne was that guy in 2007.

Download: “Live from 504″ – Lil’ Wayne

2008 – Tha Carter III (2x Platinum plus)

After all the commotion, leaks, and album cover changes, we finally got the album we had been waiting on for 3 years. There was so much anticipation for this album that there was no way for it to live up to the expectations, but it did. Not only did Weezy push over a million copies in a week, he was double platinum at the end of the first month. Wayne delivered his best album to date with this release. He showed artistic growth, subject matter, and cohesion. This album pushed Wayne to the front of line without any doubt.

Download: “Let That Beat Build” – Lil’ Wayne

Look at the evolution of Wayne and tell me that he isn’t a good rapper. You may hate his guts because he doesn’t rap like your favorite artist, but you got to give the man his props for being a student to the game. Get your hate on!

Rewind the clock back ten years and you have C-Murder sitting atop the Hip-Hop world with a platinum solo album, a double platinum album with his brothers in the group TRU. Millions of dollars at his disposal and had the whole world screaming “NO LIMIT SOLDIERS!” Fast forward to real time and what do we have, C-Murder has served a couple of years for an alleged murder that he denied his involvement, the downfall of No Limit Records, and a wedge drove between the once tight knit family. Not is all lost because C-Murder returns to the lab to bring us Screamin 4 Vengeance. It wasn’t too long ago that C-Murder was shooting videos while incarcerated, but now that he’s on the outside, he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

Intro
You have Ice-T talking about the mean streets of the N.O. If you haven’t seen the DVD where this came from, you need to check it out.

I Represent
It starts off with a SICK beat that C-Murder gives you some of his gutter rhymes over. This is song is definitely a BANGER! Sounds like the C-Murder that we are used to hearing.

WTRU (Skit)
It is what it is.

Be Fresh
Featuring Detroit
C-Murder ups the tempo on the flow, and surprisingly he rides the beat pretty well. I guess you can call this a club song. Not what you would expect from C-Murder, but it works for him.

Posted On Tha Block (Remix)
Featuring Mia X, Krayzie Bone, & Papoose
Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. Mama Mia returns and shows that she hasn’t lost a step. The song is TIGHT. Pap and Krayzie put up good verses, but I have to say that this was Mia’s song.

Mihita
Featuring Mia X
This is a love song about a pistol. The beat is on point and once again Mia and C hook up to make a good song.

Gangstafied Lyrics
The production on this album continues to be good, and this one is no exception. C-Murder gives us exactly what the title states. Gangsta lyrics and bass pounding beats that C-Murder fans will love.

Streets Keep Callin’
Featuring H Double
C-Murder takes it back to the N.O for this one over a smooth beat that he does damage to. This song is HOT! This takes you back to the 504 Boyz days.

My Set
This is one of those songs that you might hear your local trapper blasting from his car. “I’m up early in the morning with them pigeons, all night I been cookin up in the kitchen!” The beat is simple but it’s so hard.

Beastmode
Featuring Verse, J. Lyric, Sincere Sosa, & Chieffa
The production on this one is awesome. C keeps it coming with the gutter material along with the crew on this one. BANG THIS ONE!

Cuttboyz Anthem
Featuring Cutt Boyz, Verse, Max Minelli, and G. Dinero
C-Murder gets lyrical on this song, but don’t get it twisted, he still brings that cutthroat music that we’ve gotten accustomed to. The production will have you bouncing like its 1998 again.

Freeze (Ice Man)
Featuring Max Minelli
This might be the first slip up on the album. He’s talking about robbing people on this one. I guess you can say this is a soundtrack for robberies. Some might like this one, I don’t.

Down South
Featuring Slim Thug and C-Loc
Slim Thug drops by to drop a verse out on this one and the song is pretty tight. C-Murder continues with the hardcore lyrics, and Slim Thugger and C-Loc put up some decent verses.

Murdaman Dance
If you don’t know what the “Murdaman Dance” is, then you don’t know anything about C-Murder! This is another one when he’s talking greasy over a nice beat. I like this one.

Bottom Line:
Can you knock C-Murder for sticking to what works for him? No. He went back to what works for him, gutter lyrics and pounding beats. I wasn’t looking for him to be as lyrical as his fellow New Orleans native Jay Electronica. C-Murder pulled out the blueprints of what he used to do and went with that. The result was a good album, might not be received by the masses well, but down south the boys will be listening to this one. C-Murder has a cult following similar to that of Soulja Slim, dudes are going to listen to him no matter what. I was surprised that this album was this good.

nappyPicks: “I Represent”, “Posted On Tha Block (remix)”, “Streets Keep Callin”, & “Beastmode”

Download: C-Murder feat. Mia X, Krayzie Bone, & Papoose – “Posted On Tha Block (remix)”

1992 had The Chronic from Dr. Dre, 1993 had Doggystyle from Snoop Dogg, 1994 had Ready To Die from The Notorious B.I.G., 2001 had The Blueprint from Jay-Z, and 2008 had Tha Carter III from Lil’ Wayne. If you didn’t catch that, those were all the most anticipated album releases of the respective years. 2008 isn’t any different as Lil’ Wayne has had the most anticipation for an album release, even surpassing the same day album release battle hype between Kanye West and 50 Cent for their Graduation and Curtis albums last year. You can’t watch TV, listening to the radio, or surf the Internet without hearing about Tha Carter III’s upcoming release in some form or another. As a result of Weezy’s recent comments about mixtape DJs and their need in the rap game, DJ Chuck T decided to leak the official album on the Internet for listeners and fans to download at will. Despite this, I think Wayne will still go on to sell millions and go platinum with this release, regardless of the leak attempt/revenge (Wayne fans are going to download and purchase the album…so it’s pretty much a win/win for Weezy). The hype and anticipation for this album has been well built over a span of 3 years since his previous album release (Tha Carter II) and numerous guest appearances. Does the album live up to the hype though? It is a certified classic or certified collision course…Let’s see Dr. Carter!

3 Peat
Produced by Maestro
The beat provided by Maestro immediately gives this track that “introductory” feel to it, similar to past tracks like “I’m Me” (The Leak EP) or “Tha Mobb” (Tha Carter II). Wayne drops some nice aggressive sounding lyrics on this track, clearly stating his position and making his presence known to listeners. This is the official introduction of Tha Carter III to the public with Wayne stating this is a three-peat like the 90’s Chicago Bulls dynasty. This is a nice way to start off the album and leaves you prepared for the rest to come.

Mr. Carter
Featuring Jay-Z; Produced by Infamous
Being a huge Jay-Z fan, when I saw this track on the track listing I was excited and anticipated a great track. Upon listening to the track my anticipation was fulfilled as this track starts off great with some very nice subtle production from Infamous. I can remember how excited I was about “Hello Brooklyn 2.0” on Jay-Z’s American Gangster album, and how very disappointed I was with it after hearing the song (the worst song on American Gangster in my opinion). Nonetheless this song makes up a lot for the previous offering from the two and this is how their collaboration should have been the first time. Without a doubt Jay-Z spits some very ill lyrics on this track, but Wayne not to be out done gets down for the crown and stands toe to toe with Hov in terms of lyrics. Glad to hear that this is the fifth single for the album, and I hope they make a great music video for it with Wayne and Jay-Z featured together in it.

A Milli
Produced by Bangledesh
This is the official second single for the album and it’s a song that has been constantly played on the radio, and I sure that most listeners have heard it plenty of times. Bangledesh is able to cook up an interesting sounding beat for this track that goes well with Wayne “freestyle” sounding delivery. This song is a pretty good one, but has gotten old now and won’t be getting a lot of play from me. I’ve heard it enough on the radio and won’t be listening to it that much in playing the album.

Got Money
Featuring T-Pain; Produced by Play-n-Skillz
This track is the official third single off the album and it has that club feel to it. Featuring the maestro of Auto Tune on the hook in T-Pain, Wayne spits lyrics that are fitting for a song of this type and they do what they are supposed to do. I’m not really feeling the production from Play-n-Skillz on this track, as it sounds kind of generic especially from the synths that they use. This is an average song in my opinion that will most likely get play in the clubs and radio. This is the first track on the album that I’m not really feeling and will probably skip a lot when playing.

Comfortable
Featuring Babyface; Produced by Kanye West
What!? Babyface on a track with Lil’ Wayne, I never thought I would see the day of that happening. But I ain’t trippin’ cause he truly adds to this track and makes it that much better. The production by Kanye West on this song really sounds like some vintage Kanye beats from his College Dropout days, and that’s the kind of production that he does best (not a lot of this heavy-snyth/techno sounding stuff he has done lately). Wayne sounds very comfortable spittin’ over this track and doesn’t sound out of place at all on this type of track. I can clearly say that this is one of my favorite tracks on the entire album, if not my favorite. This one has been on repeat for a while and is top quality in my opinion.

Dr. Carter
Produced by Swizz Beatz
Right off the back I must say that Swizz did his thing with the production on this track in sampling David Axelrod’s “Holy Thursday” to near perfection. Wayne delivers a very creative track in the theme/topic of this track in him playing a doctor who is operating on various artists in the industry trying to save them. If you really listen to what he’s saying he’s actually on point with a lot of the statements he’s making about the rap game and music industry. I love the fact that after unsuccessfully saving the first two artists/patients, he is able to save the last one from dying which happens to be “Hip-Hop”. That’s some clever thinking on Wayne’s part to create a song like this that shows his creativity as an artist when a lot of people claim to rarely see them in him. I would enjoy seeing a music video made to this track, it would be some creative shit to watch.

Phone Home
Produced by Cool & Dre
The team of Cool & Dre provides some sci-fi sounding production on this track, which is the point judging by the song title and direct reference to the movie E.T. Wayne is dropping some rhymes on this track explaining how he’s a Martian and not off this world. I can understand where he was trying to go with this track, but unfortunately he missed the mark on this one. The chorus is really poor on this track, especially the person yelling “phone home” throughout it. This track is a skip in my opinion.

Tie My Hands
Featuring Robin Thicke; Produced by Kanye West
Once again Kanye West returns with some nice and smooth music production on this track. Weezy hooks up with Robin Thicke again for another great collaborative effort. This track seems them picking up where they left off with “Shooter”. It sounds more like a Robin Thick song than a Lil’ Wayne track, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Robin Thicke included it on his album as well. Wayne really drops some knowledge on his second verse with lines like these: They tried to tell me keep my eyes open/My whole city under water, some people still floatin’/And they wonder why Black people still votin’/Cause your president still jokin’/Take away the football team, the basketball team/Now all we got is me to represent New Orleans/No governor, no help from the mayor/Just a steady beatin’ heart and a wish and a prayer. That’s some real truth right there spoken by Weezy and should really be heard by everyone. This is a perfect example of why people shouldn’t just write off Wayne as an artist who doesn’t rap about anything. You can tell that he’s very passionate about his hometown and everything they have been through and are still struggling with. This is another favorite track of mine of this album that will get many spins from me.

Mrs. Officer
Featuring Bobby Valentino; Produced by Deezle & Wyclef Jean
This is an interesting song by Wayne with him talking about his escapades and thoughts about having sex with a female police officer. Even though it’s a clever track with it topic/theme, it still comes off sounding your average track for the ladies. Bobby Valentino singing on the hook does what it’s supposed to do in further talking to the ladies, but the song kind of gets stale after a while of listening. Deezle & Wyclef Jean provide some nice production for this type of track and it does its job. This song isn’t a skip, but it’s kind of close to it for me.

Let The Beat Build
Produced by Kanye West
I know that they were trying to stay true to the song title with the production on this track in letting the beat build up throughout the song, but it gets very repetitive really quickly. Wayne isn’t really saying much on this track, but he does a nice job in switching up his flow during the song. The hook on this track is horrible and more thought should have been put into it than just what it is. This track is a skip for me and I won’t find myself listening to it much.

Shoot Me Down
Featuring D. Smith; Produced by Kanye West
The beat provided by Kanye on this track fits nicely with Wayne’s flow and delivery as it sounds very personal. The singing by D. Smith on the song’s hook is a nice addition, and it makes it sound like a Lupe Fiasco or Kanye West type track. This song is nice for it’s build-up, as Wayne’s flow and delivery get more aggressive as the song nears its end. It has a similar feel to Wayne’s “Gossip” track (The Leak EP).

Lollipop
Featuring Static Major; Produced by Deezle & Jim Jonsin
Okay, everybody and their momma has heard this song on the radio or seen the video on their favorite music video television program like 106 & Park or TRL. This song, which was the first official single for the album, like “A Milli” has been played to death and has gotten old after hearing it so much. Just like “A Milli”, this will be a song that doesn’t see much play from me just because I’ve heard it so much already. Despite that, this is an interesting type of song from Wayne and one I was surprised to see as his first single for the album when it was released. I was wondering what Wayne was on when I first heard this song, but after a while this song kind of grew on me and it did its job in building much anticipation for the album. The only question I have is why Deezle & Jim Jonsin sampled the music/sound effects from the game show Deal Or No Deal. When I first heard this song I said to myself, “those are definitely the sound effects from Deal Or No Deal” (Ha!).

La La
Featuring Brisco & Busta Rhymes; Produced by David Banner
This track could have been done without on this album, as it sounds absolutely ridiculous with the “childlike” sounding production by David Banner. None of the artists on this song are really saying any spectacular or amazing, which makes this song even less interesting. This track is definitely a skip for me, and sounds like it should have been put on one of Wayne’s many previously released mixtapes instead of being placed on the album.

Playing With Fire
Featuring Betty Wright; Produced by StreetRunner
I know that I said earlier that the track “Shoot Me Down” sounded like Wayne’s “Gossip” track off his EP The Leak, but I think this track exemplifies that even more. Seeing as how StreetRunner, who also produced “Gossip”, handles the production, it gives off an epic kind of feel and blend well with Weezy’s lyrics and intensity/energy. Even though it’s similar to “Gossip” it’s not better than that track, as Wayne’s lyrics don’t really grab your attention like they did on the previous track, especially when you saw him perform it live for the first time at the BET Awards. This is an average track in my opinion and nothing more than that.

You Ain’t Got Nuthin’
Featuring Fabolous & Juelz Santana; Produced by The Alchemist
The Alchemist delivers his trademark sounding production on this track, which sort of works at times throughout the song. It might be just me but the production gets kind of boring to listen to after a while and it kind of takes away from the potential that this track had with Wayne, Fab, and Juelz all on a track together. Lyrically, all three emcees spit some nice rhymes, but the feel of the track makes it feel like a mixtape track instead of an album cut. Some better production would have made this track work much better.

Don’t Get It (Misunderstood)
Produced by will.i.am
After three average/mediocre tracks, Wayne closes out the album on a more personal note with an excellent finale to the project. The production from will.i.am is good on this track, but it comes off as kind of bland seeing as how the same kind of beat and song was done by Common with the song “Misunderstood” on his Finding Forever album. After two verses from Wayne, the proceeds to explain how people in the hood are really just misunderstood individuals. Think of Kanye West’s “Last Call” when you think about this track in ending off the album.

Bottom Line:
So in the end does C3 (Tha Carter III) live up to its hype and anticipation? Yes it most certainly does. Lil’ Wayne was able to continue his success from Tha Carter II and further build upon it into a product just as good. Is Tha Carter III the best album of 2008? It’s only June so it’s too early to determine that, especially knowing how the 4th quarter in the rap game is. Personally, I don’t think it’s the best album released in 2008 so far cause there have been some better released before this album, but I definitely think it’s one of the top albums of 2008 without a doubt. Despite the album being leaking, this album will still see some of the highest sales for a rap album in a very long time considering the state of the buying trends for rap albums. I can confidently say that this album will go platinum in its first week (and that’s a bold statement nowadays), but Wayne has the fans and support to do so. Wayne will no doubt have plenty of support from his die-hard fans, and I think he will be able to garner even more fans with this album. A lot of people, specifically “Hip-Hop Heads” have written off Wayne as just a commercial, pop-rap artist that’s just following the trends in the music industry, but I think that Weezy is much more than that if you really give him a chance. Yeah all artists have their commercial tracks and club songs (who doesn’t nowadays), but when Wayne wants to talk serious and spit the truth especially about the conditions of his hometown New Orleans, he can definitely lay claim to “The Best Rapper Alive” or at least the heir to the throne (that is once Hova really does retire from the rap game). This album had some low points, but there were more good points to be found and that’s what makes this album worth purchasing even if you aren’t a big Lil’ Wayne fan. Wayne has produced a great album right here that is sure to please various audiences with its range of songs from “Lollipop” to “Comfortable” to “Mrs. Officer” to “Dr. Carter”. There’s something to be found and liked by everybody off this album even if it’s not the entire album, and in the end that’s really what a great album is supposed to do and how you recognize one.

nappyPicks: “Comfortable”, “Mr. Carter”, “Tie My Hands”, “Dr. Carter”, “Lollipop”, & “A Milli”

Download: Lil’ Wayne feat. Robin Thicke – “Tie My Hands”