Rebirth

Lil' WayneRebirth

Rapper turned supposed rap-rocker Lil’ Wayne is a man of his time. To some, he’s a hero. To some, he’s interesting. To most (and when I say most, I mean most people around the world, not just in the U.S.), he’s the poster boy of anti-Americanism. Imagine being from another country - almost any other country - and getting a look at this asshole: instantly dated and meaningless tattoos all over his face and body; big, fake diamond teeth; millions of dollars worth of gaudy jewelry all over his body; awful, ugly, garish clothing that’s four sizes too big; big expensive, ugly cars. He is the excess. Only in the U.S.A. can you be Lil’ Wayne.

“I was born and raised in the U.S.A. and all I wanna do it play” sings Wayne on Rebirth opener “American Star.” Well, he sort of sings. There are guitars and drums clouding what he’s doing. And, yes, there’s definitely a whole lot of auto-tune going on. What’s instantly amusing about this, Wayne’s first foray into the rap-rock hybrid, is how he really does go for the Gold. He’s not just trying to make his first wholly musical album, he’s trying to be innovative. He’s trying to make the rock genre his own. He thinks he can do this by writing auto-tune-aided hooks and having big rap-rock guitars and lame arena drums. He goes absolutely nuts with auto-tune - redefining the word “overboard.”

And that’s all I plan to say about the actual record. It’s shallow and awful. No one needs to hear it. It sounds exactly like you’d think a Lil’ Wayne rap-rock album would sound - like a soulless train wreck full of clichés. I will, however, talk about what I think this album means.

This is America. People will buy this album because in the past Rolling Stone and MTV and even Pitchfork has told them to. Idiots. Assholes. And Lil’ Wayne will think he’s some sort of major rock star because he has dreads, wears Vans now and sleeps with “rocker chicks.” But that’s not what’s scary. We knew all along that Wayne thought he was a rock star. We knew he was a delusional idiot. The truly terrifying thing about Rebirth is that more people will hear the album than, say, the next Hold Steady album. And what’s ugly about this revelation is that many of the folks who hear Rebirth will think that’s it is a rock album. That it is, in fact, innovative and genre-melding.

The idiots will literally think Wayne is the new Axl Rose simply because he’s loud and annoying and confident and doing something different than his peers. Most of us, I hope, are smarter than that. And, before you say it, no, most of us don’t hate hip-hop anymore. This isn’t 1982 or 1990 or even 2001; most American’s love (or at least accept) hip-hop music and culture. Those of us with any worldview or understanding of pop culture know exactly what Rebirth is, and it makes our stomachs turn.

Real hip-hop fans tend to consider hip-hop culture a way of life. They study the history of the culture and have strong opinions about the music and films and writings having to do with the culture. I respect this greatly, even if it does often mean that “real hip-hop fans” don’t often dip into culture that isn’t hip-hop related. So, in all actuality, most “real hip-hop fans” likely won’t go near Rebirth. They’ll hate it without hearing it. Sounds great, right? No. Not great because most Lil’ Wayne fans aren’t true hip-hop fans. They’re people who also love Linkin Park or whatever modern rock band is on MTV right now. And they’ll buy or download Rebirth and like it before they push play. And we’re stupid Americans. We really are. Rebirth is on record shelves everywhere and Lil’ Wayne will probably be on Leno in a week or so … we lose.

It’s over. Give up. We lost. Rebirth is the proverbial nail in our pop culture coffin. Making a more repulsive album than this would be a true accomplishment. As it stands, this is the lowest we’ve gone; so, Rebirth buyers, shame on you for being a part of our new low standard.   0/10

Written by G. William Locke