Lil Wayne has been in the rap game for years under the Young Money recording label. His rise in fame is a great story as he was once considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. However, for the past couple of years, Wayne has released an abundance of subpar to bad music.
He eventually began to gain some of his fans back with his features on songs with Tyler the Creator and A$ap Rocky. Then he released "The Carter V” which, despite being highly anticipated, received mixed reviews.
Now he releases “Funeral” which if you turn the album cover upside down it spells Lil Wayne. The title song “Funeral” starts the album with a beautiful instrumental which includes some bass guitar and piano. The beat switches to a normal trap where Wayne delivers some witty lyrics. His flow is decent at best, however he does match the energy of the song. “Funeral” is a decent opening track and it sets the tone for the rest of the album.
“Mahogany” introduces a mellow trap beat with Wayne discussing his lavish lifestyle by mentioning Louis’ bags and even visiting the Mahogany Bay. Wayne flows well with the beat while delivering some clever lyrics. “Mahogany” is one best performances by Wayne on the album, which isn’t saying much since there aren’t a lot of good performances here.
“Mama Mia” begins with one of the most annoying beats on the album. The beat starts well but the impact of it diminishes over time. Wayne repeats a similar topic as he discusses his riches and his lavish activities. Wayne again delivers a nice performance with versatile flow, however the beat does make the song hard to get through.
“Bing James” is one of the best songs on the album with Wayne and Jay Rock comparing their status to Lebron James. The production provides a decent trap with the two artists flowing well. Jay Rock is the standout with his aggressive delivery and versatile flow. Wayne delivers a subpar at best chorus since he sounds uninspired while performing it.
“Trust Nobody” discusses how Adam Levine and Wayne deal with pressure. The production is subpar with a mixture of pop and hip-hop, and neither meshes well. The performances are also subpar as the chemistry between Wayne and Adam Lavine sounds forced.
“Get Outta My Head” features deceased rapper XXXTENTACION and they talk about dealing with negative thoughts in their head. It’s not good with X and Wayne screaming over the lackluster production. While the topic is interesting the song does not do a good job of expressing that. Instead, it’s just a song where Wayne seems lost.
“T.O” talks about how Wayne and O.T Genasis use to sell cocaine. Wayne has a decent performance by providing some funny lyrics while matching the energy of the song. O.T Genasis, on the other hand, is subpar with a verse that doesn’t add anything to the song. His simple flow brings the song down a couple of notches.
Overall “Funeral” is a disappointing album from Lil Wayne especially with some of the features and production choices. The duration also did not help as it is hard to get through 24 songs. However, Wayne does have some good moments lyrically and vocally. He just needs to become a featured artist because this album needs to be put in a grave. 2.5/5
Photo Courtesy of Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records.
