There’s a degree of quality control on Carter V that nobody could have expected from a 2018 Lil Wayne record, let alone a nearly 90-minute one. Wayne is no longer the lunatic trailblazer of his ’00s mixtape run, a rapper who in a just a couple bars could summon a purplish reality where fish flew through the skies and pigeons swam in the ocean. It’s hard for that kind of Christopher Robin imagination to survive this deep into adulthood. But more than any release since 2009’s No Ceilings, Carter V captures Wayne how we want to remember him: openhearted, word-drunk, and exhilarated by the possibilities of his own voice. He dials back his most obnoxious tics: the overbearing Auto-Tune; the incessant dick jokes; that awful, forced cackle that grated exponentially more with every tired crack. And even his lamer quips pay off in unexpected, sometimes emotional ways. “Blunt big, big as Mama June off the diet plan/Smokin’ science lab/I should have a tattoo that say, ‘I’m not like my dad,’” he raps over a nervy Zaytoven beat on “Problems.”
Some of these tracks date back years, while others were reportedly finished just weeks ago. That could be a recipe for whiplash, but most of this material is woven together so seamlessly that its provenance is never a distraction. Nicki Minaj gives the most radiant R&B performance of her career on “Dark Side of the Moon,” and Kendrick Lamar brings Nicolas Cage-levels of insanity to his “Stan”-inspired spotlight turn on “Mona Lisa,” breaking out a dozen different voices as he dramatizes the breakdown of jealous boyfriend driven to the edge by his partner’s obsession with Weezy. Neither Wayne nor Kendrick let the song’s high concept get in the way of unbridled, ferocious rapping. On the more of-the-moment end of the spectrum, there’s “Don’t Cry,” an XXXTentacion feature that kicks off the album on a misleading, miserablist note, and “Let It Fly,” an undistinguished foray into Travis Scott’s boutique trap.
But unlike 2011’s relentlessly trend-chasing Tha Carter IV, on Carter V, Wayne finally gives himself permission to fall behind the times. The record is never more electric than when Wayne engages with his past, victoriously returning to lanes he’s conquered instead of fixating on all the newer ones he’ll never own. He reunites with Mannie Fresh on the riotously fun throwback “Start This Shit Off Right,” accompanied by Young Money’s resident lovable goofball Mack Maine and a heavenly hook from the queen of radio’s yesteryear, Ashanti. Swizz Beatz gets in on the nostalgia, too, adrenalizing his club jam “Uproar” with a hyped-up flip of G. Dep’s “Special Delivery.”
| 1 | I Love You Dwayne | 2:01 |
| 2 | Don't Cry | 4:09 |
| 3 | Dedicate | 3:09 |
| 4 | Uproar | 3:13 |
| 5 | Let It Fly | 3:13 |
| 6 | Can't Be Broken | 3:13 |
| 7 | Dark Side Of The Moon | 4:02 |
| 8 | Mona Lisa | 5:24 |
| 9 | What About Me | 3:36 |
| 10 | Open Letter | 4:29 |
| 11 | Famous | 4:02 |
| 12 | Problems | 3:29 |
| 13 | Dope Niggaz | 3:25 |
| 14 | Hittas | 3:43 |
| 15 | Took His Time | 4:22 |
| 16 | Open Safe | 3:43 |
| 17 | Start This Shit Right | 4:40 |
| 18 | Demon | 3:34 |
| 19 | Mess | 3:32 |
| 20 | Dope New Gospel | 3:27 |
| 21 | Perfect Strangers | 4:09 |
| 22 | Used 2 | 4:00 |
| 23 | Let It All Work Out | 5:16 |
