So, songs from Lil’ Wayne’s ‘rock album’ continue to leak at a pretty steady pace. I must admit that while they had my attention initially, I stopped downloading and listening to these songs a while ago. When I need my ‘fix’ I could just throw in an old Blink 182 CD or something…Anyway, I took a hiatus from my Lil’ Wayne download hiatus and gave some new joints a listen…Really, that’s not all true, I didn’t know these songs were going to be of the rock variety when I first undertook the download, but I digress…These songs are, well, pretty bad. They sound like pop-punk filler, and this is really just a bad idea. I’m all for an artist experimenting with new sounds, and definitely respect Lil’ Wayne for his creativity, and also for making the music HE wants to make, rather than what the public may want or expect…But, putting this album out on a major label and all that is not a good career look, and really, I hope someone at the label puts their foot down on the whole Rebirth project. Shelf this thing now or…take a page from Mike D’s book.
Following the release of Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys fans were hit with references to Country Mike, who ‘brings the news.’ The trio joked that Mike D had an accident, bumped his head, and awoke thinking he was a country superstar dubbed Country Mike. Adrock and MCA went along with Mike’s memory issues, and the three recorded Country Mike’s Greatest Hits. The album was a very rare pressing, so rare that not everyone was even sure it actually existed. Truth is, it is very real. I actually have a vinyl copy of the hard to find pressing. It is not only real, but it’s what you would expect a Beastie Boys’ country album to be, kind of amusing at first like, ‘wow, these dudes made a country album.’ However, that quickly turns to, ‘eh, these dudes made a country album,’ meaning once the novelty of it wears off, it’s pretty much done. There aren’t any magic gems on the LP, but they do bring in Mix Master Mike for a dope cover of “Rapper’s Delight”, and Mike croons about pickup trucks, women, women on pick up trucks, and other country fair…The cover art is hilarious, and the whole LP is handled like a bootleg project, something fun and interesting, a collectible if you will for Beastie Boys fans. The album came and went without any pre-album hype, or anything like that and now rests as an add-on to their catalog, a bonus kind of thing if you will…
Lil’ Wayne’s approach of promoting Rebirth, and detailing the seriousness on which he is approaching the record, and all that is the wrong way to go. Of course, these are just my thoughts, but I’m sure there are those of you reading right now that may agree with me. If Wayne did something similar to Country Mike and made the cover art for Rebirth funny, made it a collector’s item and such, he would give himself more freedom, and frankly, wouldn’t put himself up for as much criticism. When you seriously try to make a rock album after being one of the best rappers, you have high expectations. You also have real rock dudes raising their eyebrows and saying, ‘ok, you want to do rock, let’s see what you got.’ What Wayne has now sounds like (insert 90’s pop-punk one hit wonder here). And that’s not a diss to Lil’ Wayne, just a diss to the music that’s he putting out right now in the name of Rebirth…But, that’s just my opinion…
The Beastie Boys are credited with inspiring all kinds of things musically, good and bad. But, at their heart they’ve been one of the best artists as far as reinvention and creative freedom goes. Their secret to success lies in seriously approaching their craft, without taking themselves too seriously. Lil’ Wayne should take note, and take a page from Country Mike…