Tha Carter IV
by Lil Wayne
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 280 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 115 out of 280
  2. Mixed: 60 out of 280
  3. Negative: 105 out of 280
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  1. jjamessmithh
    Aug 29, 2011
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is an abridged, track by track review of Lil' Wayne's 'Tha Carter IV'. Intro - This track contains an expected amount of barely innuendo rhymes. It has simple, straightforward lyrics. The beat has a production value of 5 out of 10, anyone with a Mac can pull it off.

    Blunt Blowin - Another easy to follow track, but still is a generally pointless rap song, almost out of character for Wayne. Also the same is the low production quality of the track itself; simple bass lines, nothing special to mention.

    Megaman - Once again, another simply produced track, and lyrics to be expected from Lil' Wayne. He strays away from the higher pitched voice he normally uses, and that isn't necessarily terrible.

    6 Foot 7 Foot feat. Cory Guns - Very little clever wordplay, absolutely terrible production. The featuring of Day-O by Harry Belafonte was bizarre, but the thought was killed by how absolutely unbearably annoying the repetitiveness of the song is. Cory Guns' verse almost revives the song, but it is almost too far beyond repair to fix.

    Nightmares of the Bottom - A song intended to be a slow jam, starting off with the signature lighter flick, vaguely reminiscent of the verses of Mrs. Officer. Still a mediocre track.

    She Will feat. Drake - A song about a girl, not too catchy, really just another song about how he wants to f**k. Drake conforms to this mentality.

    How To Hate feat. T-Pain - This track was actually one of my favorites on the album. In simplest terms, its a F**k You song to a girl. The track feels like its T-Pain's instead of Wayne's and features his brilliant use of autotune. In fact, Lil' Wayne's parts in the song sort of ruin it for me.

    Interlude feat Tech N9ne and Andre 3000 - Possibly the best track on the album, and that may be just because Tech has the Midas Touch. Andre on the other hand is a refreshing addition, and its nice to see that he still has talent.

    John feat Rick Ross - A song with a violent dirty south beat leaves no more than that to be desired.

    Abortion - I couldn't get past the first 20 seconds, it was that annoying.

    So Special feat John Legend - The only good parts are the ones that involve John Legend.

    How to Love - One of only two entirely bearable tracks on the cd, and I feel the only reason for that is because it has more of an R&B feel, and can be played on the radio. Through and through, easy to listen to on repeat.

    President Carter - *Lighter flick* The production quality is better than the lyrics, seems like it may have been an idea when someone was searching for lost Doritos. Hint, hint.

    Its Good feat Jadakiss and Drake - Beat was good, catchy, Jadakiss shines.

    Outro feat Bun B, Nas, Shyne, Busta Rhymes - Nas and Busta killed this track, amazing flow. Very glad that Wayne kept out of it.

    Out of the three bonus tracks, I decided to add in Mirror featuring Bruno Mars. This track should have been on the cd as a regular track, because bonus tracks usually imply they might have been discarded. I actually like this track, the overall feel of it is smooth and easy on the ears.

    All in all, the record blows. I feel it has reached the time that Wayne Carter just needs to throw in the towel and produced tracks for guests to come in on. As a rap record, I give this cd a 6 out of 10. As a Lil' Wayne record, it gets a 3.    … Expand
  2. JRG
    Aug 29, 2011
    2
    Lil Wayne gets away with too much. His latest work has been absolutely horrendous and his fans gobble it up, the critics go easy on him, and his team of yes men gives him the okay on nearly any travesty you could imagine.

    This album has close to zero replay value. The only tracks I have revisited have been She Will and Mirror because Drake and Bruno kill the hooks, and the Outro because    Lil Wayne gets away with too much. His latest work has been absolutely horrendous and his fans gobble it up, the critics go easy on him, and his team of yes men gives him the okay on nearly any travesty you could imagine.

    This album has close to zero replay value. The only tracks I have revisited have been She Will and Mirror because Drake and Bruno kill the hooks, and the Outro because of the guests. Nas is the highlight of the album, bringing the best verse on a track where Wayne is nowhere to be found.

    Throughout, Wayne has TERRIBLE lines galore. Some that make you facepalm, some that make zero sense, and an abundance of lines that make you shake your head. Wayne's flow is stale and repetetive, and he never truly goes in on a verse. In fact, nearly every verse is ruined by one of his many ADHD punchlines. They rendered me unable to take Wayne seriously, and made me wonder how Wayne could have seriously thought people could like them.

    The only redeeming factors are the Interlude, Outro and a few of the beats, and Wayne didn't take part in any of these either.

    This album gets one point for the beats, and one for the guest verses. Wayne himself gets a 0 for effort.

    Sadly, millions are inevitably going into the pocket of one of the laziest and most useless men on the planet.    … Expand
  3. Dr_Ubersexy
    Aug 29, 2011
    1
    Let Me start by saying this, The album had potential. Some of these beats are phenomenal like "John" (A.K.A. The song he stole from Rick Ross, look up "I'm not a Star" By Rick Ross, it sounds exactly the same), and "She Will". The guests are great as well as Drake, Rick Ross, Nas, and Tech N9ne lay down some sick rhymes in this album. Overall its just a fantastic album... BUT This littleLet Me start by saying this, The album had potential. Some of these beats are phenomenal like "John" (A.K.A. The song he stole from Rick Ross, look up "I'm not a Star" By Rick Ross, it sounds exactly the same), and "She Will". The guests are great as well as Drake, Rick Ross, Nas, and Tech N9ne lay down some sick rhymes in this album. Overall its just a fantastic album... BUT This little guy who goes by the rapper name "Lol Wayne"... *Ahem* excuse Me "LIL Wayne" decides its a good idea to take a giant dump on all of these songs and then release it under his name. In all seriousness, Lil Wayne has the most annoying, disgusting, nasty voice in all of music. This is a pathetic excuse for rap, Why does he have such a big fan base? His voice is vomit inducing. You have to be deaf to like the piece of bull crap.… Expand
  4. Fedgrub
    Aug 29, 2011
    10
    Lil Wayne continues to impress. There is only one or two tracks with Lil Wayne singing, so I'm not sure what the other reviewers are complaining about. It's Good is worth the album price alone.
  5. Tom52312
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    When you thought he couldn't get any worse, he does. Lil Wayne is just a disgrace to hip-hop now. The saddest thing is that this terrible album will sell millions and he'll make another one. "If I die today, remember me like John Lennon". I can't listen to this without laughing. The worse thing is that line is from one of the least horrible songs on the album.
  6. MrCarter
    Aug 29, 2011
    1
    You have to be mentally unstable to listen to this album. First of all, lil wayne sings too much, when he shouldn't at all. His voice is so unbearable I'd rather watch spiderman 3 on replay. His flow has become so bad, I think Nicholas Cage can act better then that. I only give it a one because the outro and the interlude are good. YOU KNOW WHY? BECUASE LIL WAYNE ISNT IN THEM AT ALL.
  7. Carter4sucks
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    Lil Wayne did a horrible job on Tha Carter 4...it does not even closely match the level of Tha Carter 3 in quality. You would think after a year in jail he would have something else to talk about or have hundreds of great raps to spit...but no. His lyrics are nothing new, his flow is average, the beats are forgettable and generic and overall it is a bad experience
  8. bumbllebee
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    this is pure trash, some of the weakest raps ive ever heard. do not buy this is a pure waste of money.. he should of just stayed in jail so we wouldnt have to him in his leopard pants.
  9. lilweezy34
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    Lil wayne lost a fan with this album, his performance last night at the vmas was disgraceful .. i dont think i will ever buy another lil wayne album ever.
  10. andrew3000
    Aug 29, 2011
    2
    It's a shame that Lil' Wayne has to ruin perfectly good albums by rapping on them. He's clearly got the popularity and influence to pull a pretty inspiring array of collaborators. About half of these beats sound phenomenal until Wayne drops his vocals and the whole thing goes to hell; there are even terrific verses by Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Nas, and Busta strewn around. Maybe they cameIt's a shame that Lil' Wayne has to ruin perfectly good albums by rapping on them. He's clearly got the popularity and influence to pull a pretty inspiring array of collaborators. About half of these beats sound phenomenal until Wayne drops his vocals and the whole thing goes to hell; there are even terrific verses by Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Nas, and Busta strewn around. Maybe they came hard with it to mask Lil' Wayne's lack of ability on the mic, but they failed-- they just make him sound even worse by comparison, since it's difficult for a Lil' Wayne verse to stack up against a real emcee. And Weezy sounds worse than usual here, just pooling a ridiculous array of nonsequiters and punchlines rasped out in a processed-sounding croak. Weezy has the singing voice of Emperor Palpatine, but "How To Love" is better than most things on this album-- at least it's the one song here where he doesn't try to convince people that he's rapping. Apparently, when it comes to hip-hop, there's only one Carter worth talking about - and I can only hope he jacks that heavenly "Nightmares From the Bottom" beat and puts a real song over it.

    When the best thing one can say about your album is "hey, at least it's not Rebirth," it's probably time to hang it up.    … Expand
  11. rollingstone82
    Aug 29, 2011
    7
    When it comes to Weezy, you expect nothing but bizarre. Tha Carter IV is for the most part, a retread of what Wayne's done. To tell the truth, Carter IV sounds more like a mixtape rather than an album. There isn't much in the album to call bizarre or weird. Wayne sounds lyrically on top even though he does happen to use that damn staccato flow way too often (not to mention, the numerousWhen it comes to Weezy, you expect nothing but bizarre. Tha Carter IV is for the most part, a retread of what Wayne's done. To tell the truth, Carter IV sounds more like a mixtape rather than an album. There isn't much in the album to call bizarre or weird. Wayne sounds lyrically on top even though he does happen to use that damn staccato flow way too often (not to mention, the numerous **** jokes). The production doesn't really help much, as they sound more like the songs any rapper would make. The saving grace is still in the end Wayne himself. The twisted personality he brings to his songs replete with the numerous similes and metaphors. But sometimes you would wish that he would just quit throwing punchlines and actually rap about something. 7.5/10… Expand
  12. P-Independent
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    From time to time I would listen to the latest Hip Hop albums and Dwayne Carter (Little Wayne) has satisfied my needs in terms of his earlier work with gritty and plain ole' egoistic melodies and lyrics; I'm referring to Tha Carter I, II, and III. Tha Carter IV is a complete mess with vocals that isn't fitted for Hip Hop by any means and the content is beyond degrading and completelyFrom time to time I would listen to the latest Hip Hop albums and Dwayne Carter (Little Wayne) has satisfied my needs in terms of his earlier work with gritty and plain ole' egoistic melodies and lyrics; I'm referring to Tha Carter I, II, and III. Tha Carter IV is a complete mess with vocals that isn't fitted for Hip Hop by any means and the content is beyond degrading and completely moronic. I've given this album a chance, I really did but Little Wayne is going downhill after this, don't buy this album if you're looking for anything remotely like Tha Carter II or III or something innovative and creative. The vulgarity and profanity within in the content alone is just plain ole' unnecessary which will turn mature audiences off.… Expand
  13. humblehumpty
    Aug 29, 2011
    0
    I give this album a 4, but then switch it to a 0 because he calls himself the best rapper alive but dropped one of the weakest rap albums of this year. Every song sounds like a filler, and the punchlines sound like a grade 2 made them.
  14. robguy222
    Aug 29, 2011
    10
    I love this album!!! It's so great. 6 Foot 7 Foot, She Will, John & How To Love. My fav and only Tha Carter album i've heard. Oh yeah Blunt Blowin & How To Hate are good too. Lil Wayne is always great. Who doesn't like him (well people who don't like rap of course). So you should listen to this album clearly.
  15. TDog2011
    Aug 29, 2011
    7
    It's been 3 years since Lil Wayne's Grammy-Award winning album Tha Carter III, but since then Wayne's very public problems, most significantly his 8 month jail term, have overshadowed his career and there have been constant delays regarding Tha Carter IV. However, after months of delays Tha Carter IV has finally been released.

    Tha Carter III was a very consistent album which only featured    It's been 3 years since Lil Wayne's Grammy-Award winning album Tha Carter III, but since then Wayne's very public problems, most significantly his 8 month jail term, have overshadowed his career and there have been constant delays regarding Tha Carter IV. However, after months of delays Tha Carter IV has finally been released.

    Tha Carter III was a very consistent album which only featured a couple of bad songs towards the end of the album. With Tha Carter IV, some songs do feature the style of III, but there are a few songs throughout which, are not awful, but are worse than other songs on the album. The obvious songs that shine on the album are She Will, 6 Foot 7 Foot, So Special and the Outro. These are definitely the best songs on the album and you'll have these on repeat after listening to them. However, songs like How To Hate, Abortion and Nightmare's of the Bottom are the songs which aren't on par with the rest of the album. While it may have it's highlights, it doesn't have the same consistency or natural flow that Tha Carter III had and no serious hit-makers like Lollipop and A Milli from III.

    You can sympathise with Wayne, his highly-publicized troubles have overshadowed his career, and his post-Carter III album Rebirth was dreadful, and to bounce back with another 'blockbuster' album like III would've taken some style. Let's hope if Lil Wayne decides to make one more album, he'll learn from the mistakes of this album and make the album that everyone is waiting for.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Most Discussed Album of 2011
14
#14 Most Shared Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 12, 2011
    40
    In short Tha Carter IV flops not because it's straight-up bad, but because it's boring.
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  2. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Sep 11, 2011
    50
    We know he's capable of better. Whether it ever comes together on a Carter release is anybody's guess, but the prognosis isn't good.
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  3. cokemachineglow
    Sep 11, 2011
    78
    Beat-wise, IV doesn't attempt to outdo the top-dollar Carter III production, whose murderer's row of producers and beats is likely to remain unparalleled for some time. But Wayne uses the less showy selection this go-round to deliver a definitively rawer album that only smartens the impact of some of his career's best vocals.
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