The difference between an angry mob and a movement is a goal,” Schnur says. “If you march to the White House and the president asks, ‘What do you want me to do?’, you have to have something to say.
Read by Tens of Loyal Readers Est. 2006
Sorry 4 tha Carter 4.
Remember how great Cloverfield was?
Of course you don’t.
In fact, there are still people recovering from the eighty-five minutes of nausea-inducing hand cam action over three and a half years later.
For an overwhelming majority, the lasting impression from J.J. Abrams’ 2008 monster thriller is one of epic disappointment. That, and the image of Lizzy Caplan’s death by expansion.
But noting the visual acuity of hindsight, was Cloverfield really as bad as anyone remembers it to be? No. In fact, given another viewing, many would be surprised at how much more enjoyable a second visit to this apocalyptic New York City could be.
The problem with Cloverfield was not necessarily that the movie was horrible so much as the fact that it was set up against an insurmountable pile of hype.
Beginning with J.J. Abrams’ association with the project, buzz began to build quickly for the film far in advance of its release. Said hype was compounded by the secrecy of the production process and ultimately amplified to deafening levels when the teaser trailer made its rounds. The resulting hype monster quickly engulfed the critical and financial benchmarks.
As a result, we’ve come to associate the movie with the bitter taste of unfulfilled potential.
Enter Tha Carter IV.
Officially released on August 29, 2011, Lil Wayne’s ninth studio album was built up to be the magnum opus of the self-proclaimed Best Rapper Alive.
The anticipation began three years ago following the widespread acclaim of Tha Carter III and his corresponding spree of Top 40 hits and features. Lil Wayne quickly found himself at Olympian heights.
Unfortunately, the following years found Tunechi’s career in a perilous Icarus-esque free fall that landed him in Rikers Island for nine months on a weapon charge. In the interim between the Carter III and Carter IV, Lil Wayne released two albums. The first was the rock-inspired Rebirth; the second was I Am Not a Human Being, released during Wayne’s jail term to make sure that the rapper stayed on the mind in spite of being out of sight. Ironically, both efforts were largely forgettable, with Rebirth being lampooned with criticism unheard since Battlefield Earth reared its head at the box office.
Fast forward to Wayne’s release, when momentum for the Carter IV train began to pick up steam yet again, fueled by the belief that he would be hungrier than ever to climb back to the top of the rap game.
Much like the Cloverfield story arc of yore, hype for The Carter IV was ignited by the prospect of an all-time effort from post-incarceration Weezy 2.0. The fact that the album was pushed back, re-recorded and delayed only worked to kindle the burning anticipation, adding an air of mystique to the album. Initial expectations were rewarded with“6 Foot 7 Foot,” the first single off of the album which seemed to tease a collection of like-minded bangers to come.
The hype came to an apex with the release of Lil Wayne’s Sorry 4 The Wait mixtape a month before Tha Carter IV, which served as a self-explanatory mea culpa of tracks rivaling those on Wayne’s prolific Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 mixtapes.
Everyone thought it would be a great album. In spurts of effusive self-praise, certain tracks of the album even go as far as to forecast it.
Take for instance Busta Rhymes’ parting line in “Outro,” in which he pats Wayne on the back with “Tunechi, thanks for giving us a whole ‘nother classic with Tha Carter IV.” Or the much ballyhooed Jay-Z diss track “It’s Good.” Surely, Weezy wouldn’t have had the audacity to threaten a Lindbergh with Beyonce if he didn’t think he had an impressive album to back it up.
Unfortunately, reviews have largely fallen flat.
In the same month that found Watch the Throne on constant repeat and the post-Frusciante Red Hot Chili Peppers exceeding expectations with I’m With You, Tha Carter IV thus far seems to have come up short against the hype monster, the competition and worst of all, the pedigree of Wayne’s past repertoire.
What’s redeeming for Tha Carter IV is that its quality is much more evident than in the cautionary tale of Cloverfield. Tha album is not Tha-t bad. It’s very likely that in time, history will look upon it fondly. But it’s also not the crowning achievement many were hoping for. (Though Wayne would likely kickflip into anyone with such views)
For as many reasons as can be used to dispute the similarities between Cloverfield andTha Carter IV, there seems to be a common thread of merit.
In both, the monster won.
