The Brilliance of Lil' Wayne?

Lil’ Wayne has become one of the most polarizing artists in the independent music community. Since becoming a hipster darling through Pitchfork’s issuance of glowing reviews for two of the decade’s best mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3, it’s been cool to like him but maybe even more chic to hate him. What makes him different from clowns like 50 Cent and fellow-Cash Money pioneer Juvenile? He made a name for himself with a crew that grounded its business model on the exploitation of conspicuous consumption and boasts like, “I like to fuck her in the ass while he beat up the pussy.” But Weezy has come a long, long way since his exploits as mentee of Cash Money Records founder Baby. It seems that Wayne really found his voice when he embraced his eccentricity and began to operate on a different plane from anyone else on this planet. He’s that rare artist who can relate with comparable degrees of success to casual listeners and self-proclaimed aficionados, and for fans of popular hip-hop as well as those conversant with underground rap music. With his mixtapes, Wayne managed to strike this balance in a way that allowed him to focus his lyrical strengths while building a loyal following amongst cynics who could see that his effort and passion were substantial and not necessarily tied to promises of fortune and fame. He wouldn’t profit from the marathon mixtapes, even though each was clearly the result of tireless writing and included some of his best rhymes dropped over recycled beats. He didn’t need to record these to get his name out, and he surely could have used these lyrics with a set of fresh beats in order to push several more installments of the mainstream Tha Carter series. These tapes were loose and the raps were brilliantly insane. No ordinary rapper concocts lines like, “And when I was five my favorite movie was the Gremlins / Ain’t got shit to do with this but I just though that I should mention,” and “Don’t drink Cristal no more / Just pour it on white bitches’ heads.” Incredible. Weezy’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes and sickly relaxed flow communicate the thoughts of a madman, though whether Wayne is as crazy as he appears or whether this is all an act is always uncertain. He’s like a commercially acceptable version of Kool Keith or MF Doom, though certainly more consistent than the fading former. What’s more, his non-commercial efforts are generally much more exciting and creative than his proper releases. Da Drought 3 is arguably one of the ten best hip-hop releases of the decade, while Tha Carter III was mostly a hit-or-miss affair where Weezy alternated devastating flows over Kanye West production with inexplicable guest spots from Babyface and Robin Thicke. Even so, Wayne’s mega-selling 2008 LP showcased some of the year’s finest moments in the genre, with “A Milli” and “Got Money” conquering hearts by blending the rapper’s quirks with club-worthy braggadocio. The most prolific artist we’ve seen in a long while isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and love him or hate him, you have to appreciate that he’s operating on a different level from the rest of us mortals.