Lil' Wayne: Mad genius or just mad?
Matt Wickiser
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Lifestyles
Lil' Wayne, aka the Fireman, did not cool off at all this summer with his June 10th release of the highly anticipated album, "Tha Carter III."
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (Wayne), 25, signed with rapper "Birdman" at Cash Money Records when he was 11. By 15, he released his first solo album. At age 16, Wayne had gone double platinum with "Tha Block is Hot," which reached number three on the Billboard Top 100 albums. Today, Wittenberg students say it is hard to listen to the radio without hearing his distinctive voice on every song.
"The thing about Lil' Wayne is that he never goes away," said junior Kory Winter. "Most great rappers like Jay-Z and Eminem are only in the spotlight when they make a record. Wayne, on the other hand, is always on the radio whether it is his song or he is rapping on someone else's…he just doesn't take a break".
"Tha Carter III," Wayne's sixth studio album, has taken the artist to a new level of success by becoming the first album to sell one million copies in one week. This hasn't been done since 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in 2005. Wayne's album also went quadruple platinum a month after the release. According to a recent survey of 100 students at Wittenberg, 82 percent of them say Lil' Wayne is the most popular hip-hop artist out there right now. So what exactly is it that puts Wayne so far above everyone else in hip-hop?
"The thing that puts Lil Wayne above all other rappers is that he says he is the best and everyone seems to accept it," said junior Dave Nowicki. "Even Kanye West calls Wayne the best in the world on his song 'Lollipop (Remix).'" I couldn't imagine Tupac ever saying that about Biggie or any other rapper."
It's true that Lil Wayne refers to himself as the best rapper alive, and in songs like "Dr. Carter," a track off "Tha Carter III," Wayne refers to himself as a doctor with the patient, hip-hop, who is struggling to stay alive. At the end of the song, Wayne appears to have revived the patient by mumbling "wake up hip-hop I've saved your life." In a 2007 interview with Vibe magazine, Wayne was asked about being the president of his label Young Money Records.
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (Wayne), 25, signed with rapper "Birdman" at Cash Money Records when he was 11. By 15, he released his first solo album. At age 16, Wayne had gone double platinum with "Tha Block is Hot," which reached number three on the Billboard Top 100 albums. Today, Wittenberg students say it is hard to listen to the radio without hearing his distinctive voice on every song.
"The thing about Lil' Wayne is that he never goes away," said junior Kory Winter. "Most great rappers like Jay-Z and Eminem are only in the spotlight when they make a record. Wayne, on the other hand, is always on the radio whether it is his song or he is rapping on someone else's…he just doesn't take a break".
"Tha Carter III," Wayne's sixth studio album, has taken the artist to a new level of success by becoming the first album to sell one million copies in one week. This hasn't been done since 50 Cent's "The Massacre" in 2005. Wayne's album also went quadruple platinum a month after the release. According to a recent survey of 100 students at Wittenberg, 82 percent of them say Lil' Wayne is the most popular hip-hop artist out there right now. So what exactly is it that puts Wayne so far above everyone else in hip-hop?
"The thing that puts Lil Wayne above all other rappers is that he says he is the best and everyone seems to accept it," said junior Dave Nowicki. "Even Kanye West calls Wayne the best in the world on his song 'Lollipop (Remix).'" I couldn't imagine Tupac ever saying that about Biggie or any other rapper."
It's true that Lil Wayne refers to himself as the best rapper alive, and in songs like "Dr. Carter," a track off "Tha Carter III," Wayne refers to himself as a doctor with the patient, hip-hop, who is struggling to stay alive. At the end of the song, Wayne appears to have revived the patient by mumbling "wake up hip-hop I've saved your life." In a 2007 interview with Vibe magazine, Wayne was asked about being the president of his label Young Money Records.
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