BLACK VINYL

Lil Wayne is one of the most well-known, well-loved, and continuously active rappers of all time, and he’s historically reserved his most developed, personally reflective material for his Tha Carter series. Beginning with the first volume in 2004, Wayne found a middle ground between his electric mixtape impulsivity and the more considered production of his studio albums, and subsequent entries in the series were easily some of his best material. The series set a high bar for the self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” and new chapters became events that fans looked forward to with an excitement that went beyond that of just another new album. Tha Carter VI comes seven years after the solid Tha Carter V, and five years after Lil Wayne’s proper studio album Funeral. As has become customary with the series, it’s a reflective surface of where Weezy is in 2025, and here he lands on confusion more often than the effortless magic of his earlier days. When the songs work, they’re great. “Cotton Candy” flips a saxophone-heavy bubblegum pop song into a relaxed, fluid beat that Wayne brings an A-game flow to while 2 Chainz drops in for an equally fun verse. The video game-instrumental of “Peanuts 2 N Elephant” is strange but exciting new territory, and “Bells” recalls LL Cool J’s early hip-hop classic “Rock the Bells,” refitting the beat with Wayne’s stream-of-consciousness, rapid-fire bars. A singalong hook from BigXthaPlug on the bass-heavy banger “Hip Hop” adds just enough catchiness to make it work in either the club or on the radio. Lil Wayne’s early mentor Mannie Fresh produces the soul-sampling “Bein’ Myself,” and his presence on the track is a nostalgic reminder of his role in making the first few volumes of Tha Carter so special. On tracks like these, we’re reminded of Wayne’s power and individuality. His performances are sharp and his lyrics are just as clever, confident, and bizarre as ever. Tha Carter VI misses just a bit more often than it doesn’t, however, and the misses are loud and bewildering. “If I Played Guitar” finds Wayne attempting a misguided type of emo pop over a “Hey There Delilah” type acoustic guitar instrumental. Bono sings a flaccid, would-be triumphant chorus on “The Days,” Jelly Roll garbles through the faux country hook on the barely listenable “Sharks,” and a Weezer song gets recycled for the cruise ship rap of “Island Holiday.” While these inclusions are stunningly bad, the ones that are merely mediocre are somehow more offensive. The entirely forgettable mumbling of “Alone in the Studio with My Gun” (weighted down further by empty features by mgk and Kodak Black) or the ridiculous Aretha Franklin-modeled AI vocals of the bombastic intro “Welcome to Tha Carter” are bad ideas that should never have made it out of the studio. Lil Wayne exhibits glimpses of the brazen genius of his earlier self intermittently on Tha Carter VI, but the album feels like a battle between those moments of greatness and the rest of his weird swings and inadvisable choices.

Lil Wayne–    King Carter    1:48
Lil Wayne–    Welcome to Tha Carter    3:35
Lil Wayne–    Bells    3:24
Lil Wayne & BigXthaPlug–    Hip-Hop    4:01
Lil Wayne, Jelly Roll & Big Sean–    Sharks    3:49
Lil Wayne–    Banned From NO    3:38
Lil Wayne & Bono–    The Days    4:21
Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz–    Cotton Candy    3:26
Lil Wayne–    Flex Up    2:50
Lil Wayne–    Island Holiday    4:17
Lil Wayne–    Loki’s Theme    4:10
Lil Wayne–    If I Played Guitar    2:52
Lil Wayne–    Peanuts 2 N Elephant    3:12
Lil Wayne & Kameron Carter–    Rari    2:50
Lil Wayne–    Maria    3:23
Lil Wayne–    Bein Myself    4:39
Lil Wayne & Lil Novi–    Mula Komin In    3:51
Lil Wayne, mgk & Kodak Black–    Alone In The Studio With My Gun    2:52
Lil Wayne–    Written History    4:42