Lil Wayne – Funeral (Album Review)

Lil Wayne looks to put the rap game six feet under with the release of “Funeral.“

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TOP 5

HONORABLE MENTION. LINE EM’ UP

“Line Em’ Up” is “A Milli 2.0,” to me. On the song, Lil Wayne spits braggadocios/reckless/cocky/violent/punchline-heavy/zany/gassed up bars utilizing rap flows that are ungodly. Oh, by the way, the instrumental to the song has tons of bass and epic vibes attached to it.

5. KNOW YOU KNOW

Anytime Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz link up, they create hot s**t!

“Know You Know” features a spooky trap beat. Over it, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz drop scary bars about spoiling hoes, snatching hoes up, and giving hoes clearances to open up boxes of cereal that aren’t theirs (OK, maybe they didn’t talk about hoes opening up cereal boxes that aren’t theirs; however, I wanted to bring awareness to atrocities like that).

4. TRUST NOBODY

I hate saying s**t like this, but we need to start appreciating Lil Wayne while he’s still on this earth. Though his buzz isn’t as big as it used to be, he’s still a living legend that deserves to be applauded for his contributions to the rap game. To me, “Trust Nobody” is the kind of song that will remind you to appreciate him.

If the glum instrumental attached to “Trust Nobody” doesn’t get you in your feelings, then featured guest Adam Levine’s sobering hook will. If the track’s glum instrumental and sobering hook doesn’t get you in your feelings, then Wayne’s passionate bars centered around paranoia, heartbreak, self-reflection, and motivation will. If none of the things that I just mentioned gets you in your feelings, b*tch, schedule yourself to see a heart doctor!

3. CLAP FOR EM

Holy s**t, I haven’t heard Lil Wayne on a New Orleans bounce track in years!

“Clap For Em” is powered by a very bouncy beat. Over it, Wayne lets women know how they should shake, break, and prorate their asses. Though the second phase of the track is probably tougher than the first phase, I do think both phases will be thoroughly enjoyed by party-goers all over the world.

I can see a remix to “Clap For Em” featuring Drake and City Girls coming from a mile away…

2. I DO IT

Do you know what makes Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and Lil Baby such great rappers? They are able to make club bangers that are powered by truly sensational rapping.

“I Do It” features a booming beat that does everything in its power to knock s**t off walls. Over it, Big Sean gifts us with an unapologetic hook, Lil Baby gifts us with a verse that is sly, trill, and braggadocios, and Wayne gifts us with a verse that is unapologetic, sly, trill, braggadocios, wild, and slightly melodic. The combination of the three artists’ contributions to this track makes for some high-octane s**t!

1. MAHOGANY

I feel like Wayne uses tracks like “Mahogany” as target practice.

“Mahogany” is powered by a beat that straddles the line between smooth and hard-hitting. Over it, Wayne drops all kinds of competitive, violent, trill, and reckless bars using flows that are impregnable.

Wayne sounds both bored and gassed up on this song.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. FUNERAL (3/5)

2. MAHOGANY (4/5)

3. MAMA MIA (4/5)

4. I DO IT (4/5)

5. DREAMS (3/5)

6. STOP PLAYIN WITH ME (3/5)

7. CLAP FOR EM (4/5)

8. BING JAMES (3/5)

9. NOT ME (4/5)

10. TRUST NOBODY (4/5)

11. KNOW YOU KNOW (4/5)

12. WILD DOGS (4/5)

13. HARDEN (3/5)

14. I DON’T SLEEP (4/5)

15. SIGHTS & SILENCERS (3/5)

16. BALL HARD (4/5)

17. BASTARD (SATAN’S KID) (3/5)

18. GET OUTTA MY HEAD (2/5)

19. PIANO TRAP (4/5)

20. LINE EM UP (4/5)

21. DARKSIDE (3/5)

22. NEVER MIND (4/5)

23. T.O. (3/5)

24. WAYNE’S WORLD (3/5)

OVERALL RATING

(C)

Since Kobe Bryant passed last week, there has been so much ‘Mamba Mentality’ talk going on around the world. If you ask me, when it comes to rapping, Wayne is a prime example of someone who has the ‘Mamba Mentality.’ As the years have gone by, he’s found a way to remain relevant by understanding how to adjust his style to the ever-so-changing hip-hop game (Sorta how Kobe adjusted his style of play to the new-school NBA). On Funeral, s**t doesn’t change, as, throughout the album, Wayne comes across like an idiosyncratic rapper that whips beats, rebels against rules, and lives in the moment. He also comes across like a rapper that finds it way too easy to flow on beats, play martian, create punchlines, and dabble in wordplay.

The features on Funeral are really f**king good! I thought every rapper on the album tried to pay homage to Lil Wayne by giving him verses that are tougher than Charles Oakley. Additionally, I think the singers on the album do their best to get muthaf**kers to cry on the tracks they were featured on. All in all, everyone involved in the making of Funeral made sure you felt something when you listened to the album.

Here’s the thing: Wayne talks about meaningless s**t when he raps, but he does have this uncanny ability to make meaningless s**t sound entertaining. With that being said, the only knock on Lil Wayne’s career will be that he doesn’t have enough songs like “Tie My Hands,” “Earthquake,” “Get Over,” or even “Trust Nobody” on his catalog.

Much like I said about Eminem’s performance on Music To Be Murdered By two weeks ago, Wayne sounds like he’s completely in his element and having fun on Funeral. It’s almost like the pressure of dropping another classic Carter album has left his body, so now he can relax when he makes projects.