still owes us a faux Sturgill Simpson album. Why not a darkwave Kanye West album or a nü-metal Wayne record? If anything, we should regret there aren’t more of these. Rebirth wasn’t ill-advised in itself if Godsmack can do a rock album, why can’t Lil Wayne? One of the fun things about Auto-Tune initially was the idea that rappers we were already big fans of could use it to realize their own singing fantasies. But only two songs are still somewhat lacking in vindication: “Playing With Fire” - which is just OK and switched out in favor of the legendary “Pussy Monster” on the Japanese edition, the one you should own - and this kooky, atonal-marimba-and-kiddie-voice banger loaded with quotables like “I’m on top like the attic” and a surprisingly warm, four-bar paean to his daughter that climaxes adorably with “I’m richer than all y’all/ I got a bank full of pride.” Many people hated “Lollipop” too, which admittedly has improved majestically with time (it’s kinda bluesy, actually!). The idea that there’s an underrated song on Tha Carter III seems ridiculous eight years later, but at the time there was plenty of skepticism over “Comfortable” (too sappy), “Got Money” (too normal) and “Dontgetit” (that bizarre Al Sharpton rant), along with scattered moments here and there that failed to convince his sizable contingent of skeptics. Impeccably orchestrated, half-melodized power ballad “Love Me or Hate Me” somehow never gets talked about, even though it features Wayne singing, pre-Auto-Tune, and rattles off airtight boast after hilarious boast in tune: “I’m higher than an eagle’s feet,” “I’m tight like ballet tights.” With the conceit of “I swear the other day I pissed Cristal,” he also beat Future by about eight years. The Leak in general may be Weezy’s most taken-for-granted release: “I’m Me” and “Kush” are beloved of die-hards, but all five songs are perfect it might actually be his best record, which is why it was included as a bonus disc the following year with certain lucky editions of Tha Carter III.
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