The Lil Wayne Retrospective Part 3: Lil Wayne-Tha Block is Hot

There's a great daily blog post on Noisey right now, written by Kyle Kramer, called A Year of Lil Wayne. Every day he talks about a new subject, relating to a different song or guest spot. It's a really rewarding and passionate read and I think it's existence made up my decision of whether I was going to cover every Lil Wayne feature. The bottom line is it's just too much, and I feel like it's not necessary to what I'm trying to do, which is chart Lil Wayne's growth and see how his whole discography measures up. If one wants the best of Lil Wayne, definitely check out that blog. Alright, after some time away, let's listen to Tha Block is Hot.

Lil Wayne-Tha Block is Hot (1999)

(Intro) Yeah, if you're gonna have a minute and a half of Mannie and Birdman talking about how dope Wayne is and how we aren't ready, its a good thing its over an instrumental this fucking good.

(Tha Block is Hot) This is Wayne's first single. It's impressive. The beat has some breakbeat drums and about 50 other sounds going on. The grunt sample is pretty dated but most of the crispness in production is there. I like how Wayne was once again told by his mom not to cuss but the violent imagery in the third verse pretty much proves that it was basically futile.

(Loud Pipes) I think my hopes of this being a true solo effort/breakthrough is going to prove false. This track may has well have been on a Hot Boys mixtape. You don't even hear Wayne until the last verse. Looking over the track list it doesn't seem like there will be very much of him shining solo. Track is good but probably the cheesiest, most dated beat so far.

(Watcha Wanna Do) Eh. Not very memorable. He went back to that one raised-inflection vocal delivery I got sick of last project.

(Kisha) I like a good story track. This song is basically about this girl named Kisha and how the Hot Boys pass her around like a relay race and everyone fucks her by the end. I mean it's not high art but it kept the concept the whole time. Really digging how Wayne's verse had every bar rhyme with Kisha (or the ee ah sounds) and even threw in some internal rhyme. Beat is less dated but not too memorable. Sort of just meanders in the background, uneventfully.

(High Beamin) Man, a lot of these tracks are pretty forgettable. They just sort of come and go. Maybe I've been burnt out on Mannie Fresh's sometimes dated beats. I zoned out on this one. The hook started to sound like "Me and my dick be sizzlin"

(Lights Off) Ok wow yeah just completely shatter my perception and drowsy mood, why don't you? This beat is killer, and really unexpected. This is why I want more solo Wayne tracks on this. The guitar loop and those clusters of piano chords are scratching my itch right now. The juxtaposition of Wayne's flow and this beat are working for me. Sure the beat is pretty adult contemporary R&B but it still works. Shout out to this couplet and it's impressive alliterative sonics.

"I'm highly intoxicated mixing krystelle and vodka
Somebody call the doctor cause my chopper done went blocka, knocka"

(Fuck Tha World) Two great songs back to back, and they're 2 of 4 tracks that are actually solo tracks on this album. I like this one even more though. This is getting closer and closer to the Wayne we know and love. Deeply introspective track about how everybody perceives him as a fuck-up and a gangbanger. He also talks about how his friends and family are being killed and how he now has a daughter. The sentiment of the track is well understood given those circumstances. It's positively jarring to hear Wayne refer to himself as a "young thug" given the modern rap climate and who's dominating it. Kind of neat thing you'd only notice now and was obviously unintentional. Another piano-based beat too. We'll definitely talk about how great I think Wayne goes over a piano at least by IANAHB II. 

(Remember Me) It's an energetic track but overall it's too simple for me to get anything out of it. The beat doesn't even sound particularly mastered.

(Respect Us) The best songs on here are always the most unique. This beat is almost too silly to take serious. Very salsa-esque. The opening to this track is very Young Thug. I could even see a post-Jeffery Thugga pull off going over top of a remake of this beat. It's a fun track, and unexpected. 

(Drop it Like it's Hot) There's a novelty to seeing a song called this before 2004. We get a glimpse of Lil Wayne working on some verse concepts. His first verse has every bar end in "girl", and his second verse has every bar end in "boy". Pretty dope. Can't stand the robot vocoder voice on the hook. Also it feels like the track wanders aimlessly at the end. I don't think these tracks needed to be as long as they are all the time.

(Young Playa) Loving the more conversational tone of Wayne's verses on this one. He sort of slides off the beat in a really satisfying manner. It portrays a more natural feel to the flow. The beat could soundtrack a 70's blaxploitation film, just with a few more cheesy drum sounds. This is especially evident with the Shaft-like voice over at the end. Again this song goes on for about 30 seconds too long.

(Enemy Turf) Mannie Fresh really does get an automatic win when he uses those acoustic guitar loops in his beats. These ones always sound the least dated. It's energetic to say the least. 

(Not Like Me) Pretty good flexin' track. This Paparue guy shows up again and I'm digging the hook. Mannie's line, "we use ta kick it like Tai Bo" will be pretty much taken word for word by Akon on "Smack That". Where is Akon nowadays? I think mostly providing money for electricity in Africa. Good shit.

(Come On) Holy shit this beat. Lots of forward momentum, and Weezy sounds hungry on this track. More of this would have been great, instead of tracks that may as well have been Hot Boys tracks, especially early on.

(Up to Me) It's worth noting how difficult it must be to not have a father figure in your biological dad,  and then to have your step dad be taken away from you, someone Wayne considered like his actual dad. And with recent times, the father figure in Birdman proved to be broken by greed and dishonesty. Now Wayne doesn't really have a father figure, and has been let down. This track is pretty relevant given Wayne's current situation. It really is up to him and him alone to keep it real. Sonically the track is nice if not noteworthy.

(You Want War) A hookless track, but the beat isn't interesting enough to carry it with intensity. Still, a promise of Wayne's finest moments.

Closing Thoughts: I think I appreciate and recognize Mannie Fresh and his production more than I actually like it, especially in this day and age. It's really dated, but it shines when he tries something new. Wayne, on the other hand, probably could have carried this project by himself but he's still not quite there. He's getting close to mastering unique, creative flows and excellent wordplay, but it's still not present wholly on here. 

Work Ethic and Longevity in 2016

Took a break from the Lil Wayne retrospective but here's something else real quick. Yesterday, Grimes dropped 7 new music videos, 4 of which were for songs off of last year's Art Angels. This sort of inspired me to take a look at how artists are finding ways to keep at their art that continue their inherent relevancy. Especially this year, there have been some great examples of this consistent work ethic. It's unsurprising, given the model for which music is distributed, and how that is constantly changing.

I'll start with Grimes. Claire Boucher is perhaps one of the hardest working people in the industry, especially in the span between the release of Art Angels and now. 3 music videos trickled out between October and  May, and these are most representative of Claire's skills as a director. Most of the dead giveaways of her artistic touch include multiple sets with a variety of costumes, well choreographed segments, and some quirky story that is only abstractly presented in the video. Kill V. Maim is the best example of her auteurist ambitions. The video is drenched in neon, and Claire utilizes her keen attention to detail to deck out her various co-stars with costumes that recall cyberpunk and anime especially. The pacing is frenetic, exciting, and endlessly re-watchable. 8 months in it remains this writer's favorite music video of the year. Also included in this more spread out batch of videos is California, which included a reworking of the beat itself, removing some of the more country-tinged sonics.

It's clear how impressive Claire's work is when given time, but it's just as impressive that while she was touring Europe she created 7 more videos. Videos made on tour are nothing new, but most of them are mainly about incorporating live performance footage in a stylized manner. This isn't really the case here. Instead, Claire manages to continue representing a visual language that is a staple of her work. There's no story in any of them, and they are minor works in the grand scheme of the whole Grimes project, but it's still noteworthy that there is a unique feel to all of these. They are undeniably more freeform and less planned out, but maintain the ethereal slow-mo feel and melding of costume design and excellent location scouting. The fact that she did all this while also non-stop touring from the release of her album to now is incredible, especially considering how she persevered when she got sick for a bit and apparently suffered a situation that left her shaken, one most likely personal. It's one month out from Art Angels being out for an entire year and Grimes has still managed to maintain supreme relevancy the entire time. She also managed to fit in a perfume campaign with Stella McCartney, a song on the Suicide Squad soundtrack, and curated the NBA 2k17 soundtrack somehow. Also she has crazy hair game.

I'd also like to talk about Gucci Mane, because he's notorious for his constant grind. It's markedly more impressive, however, considering he was released from jail on May 26th of this year. From then to now, in a span of 4 months, he released one studio album and has another on the way later in October. Gucci Mane found a way to instantly jump back into the rap game in a notable way, fulfilling the same role he did before he was put in jail but with rejuvenated energy. One day after his release, he had already found time to record 1st Day Out Tha Feds, a vivid and sobering description of the thoughts going through his head about being in prison, whether he deserved it, and how he's using freedom as a second chance. The fact that Gucci Mane jumped right into booth and wrote such a focused piece of work is a testament to his skills.

The album Everybody Looking came out on July 22nd, and boasts 8 singles, practically all of which have music videos Gucci Mane filmed while on house arrest. These videos paint a unique picture of his new position in life, more about having fun and relishing in the wealth he accrued whilst in jail. He also pokes fun at the clone narrative that arose once it was revealed that Gucci was way more well-built, healthy, and of clearer mindset post-prison time. Many consider Gucci Mane a relic of Southern Trap, but one thing he's shown is a willingness to stay relevant and connected with the youth. He's said in multiple recent interviews that he practically forces himself to like the music that the young rappers (some directly inspired by him) are creating. He's also amassed over a dozen feature spots since his release.His persistence to stay in the zeitgeist has led to him being at the top of the conversation at a height not reached since probably the release of The State vs. Radric Davis in 2009, and the song Lemonade, probably one of the greatest hip-hop singles of the 2000's.

Trap in general this year isn't the best example of the constant work mindset yielding great results, with one notable exception. Future, for instance, had an outstanding year in 2015, with dropping Beast Mode, 56 Nights, DS2, and the collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive with Drake. All of these projects range from solid to great, and it was without a doubt Future's reigning year. Unfortunately, he kept up the grind without any innovation, which led to Purple Reign, a forgettable mixtape with 1 or 2 Future classics. Then came EVOL, which is a solid project but feels slight for what is supposed to be his 4th studio album. Finally there was Project E.T.  Suffice it to say, I don't know anyone who actually even bothered to give it more than one or two listens. After one year of a driving, forward-momentum work ethic, Future is showing that he actually needs to slow his pace or risk stagnation of sound. Lil Uzi Vert is the same way. He's only released 3 projects since late 2015 but his sound isn't going anywhere either at his speedy pace. Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World had some of his biggest songs but The Perfect Luv Tape lessens it's impact when it sounds like they all came from the same sessions. He's not been around long enough for stagnation to come this quickly. However, his positive showings on this year's XXL Freshman Class bode well.

Meanwhile, Young Thug has figured out exactly what will yield excellent results, showing restraint in addition to a never-ending need to grind. If anything, this might be Young Thug's best year. Last year's trilogy of Barter 6, and the first two editions of Slime Season were somewhat drowned out by the emergence of Lil Wayne and Birdman's beef, with Young Thug's involvement. Seeing as he was Birdman's new protege, and Young Thug initially sounds like a Lil Wayne biter to the average listener, it didn't help that both Slime Season mixtapes were both nearly 20 songs long. That's a substantial amount of content to hold someone's attention, and it also didn't help that they were essentially barely curated compilations of unreleased tracks, leaked tracks, and loosies. They were still solid, but not the artful and composed work he would later release. In terms of quantity, Young Thug's output is actually substantially less in amount of songs, but the same number of mixtapes. This is where he shifts his work ethic to where it will gain him the amount of longevity he's held for practically the whole year.

I'm Up is a decent work, with a stone-cold classic song in Fuck Cancer (Boosie), an absolute banger that has very little to do with either cancer or Lil Boosie. Interestingly it only has 9 tracks, running just under 40 minutes. Slime Season 3 is even better, and even shorter, coming in at 28 minutes. Short projects like these lead to strong replayability. It wasn't uncommon to hear any song from these playing whilst just walking around either a college campus or a city. For comparison, only about 5 from all of Future's mixtapes this year met the same level of rotation. Of course, the crowning achievement for Young Thug's reinvention was Jeffery. The build up to this release revealed a subtle artistry not always present in both his personality and his music. His sentiment about not wanting to go by Thug anymore because he doesn't want his kids to have a negative perception of him is touching and vulnerable. In addition, his unflinching dedication to androgynous fashion is boldly progressive for a popular hip-hop artist to put out there. The mixtape itself is positively insane. The versatility and willingness for experimentation Young Thug showcases on the project is unparalleled in trap. The pure uniqueness of his style has permeated the hip-hop landscape, as it is positively captivating to audiences. Hopefully he can keep up the restraint and execution that got him where he is this year, so he can continue to break new ground next year.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Death Grips and their unwavering dedication to a steady stream of art. Though for some reason the major journalism outlets have sort of left Death Grips by the wayside, that hasn't stopped the trio. That sort of attention has never been the goal anyway for them. They're always more than happy with messing with their dedicated fan base, which has a longevity to uphold of it's own. Their persistence in creating new and challenging art isn't always obvious, especially because they exist in their own world, with no intent to market themselves putting up tour posters/announcements and at least making a Facebook post letting people know that something new is out. This kind of work ethic can only work if you have a dedicated fanbase, and Death Grips have one of the most die-hard and obsessive of any underground group I've seen. Their output is substantially more impressive considering they "broke up" in 2014. They've sort of settled into a pattern since last year. It goes like this; instrumental EP of frantic and abrasive Intelligent Dance Music-esque beats, the full-length album furthering their sonic journey, and finally a new record from the Zach Hill-Andy Morin duo The ILYs, who make Bowie-esque garage rock with a lot of the same electronic abrasiveness that Death Grips has. That's 3 releases over 1 year at a steady pace, not to mention any loosies they might drop. The one this year is most surprising, with a feature by Les Claypool.

It might also be said that Death Grips almost try their hardest to make newcomers second guess themselves. For the past 4 albums, the "single" they release is the most wild, freeform, and avant-garde they could have chosen. It's almost like a rite of passage every fan has to go through again, to see if they are still willing to follow the band wherever they go. In addition, they always find new forms by which to challenge their fans. This year, the instrumental EP was released as a video entitled Interview 2016, which is 30 minutes of grainy, piss-green footage of a man in a suit watching their performance and interviewing each member. Death Grips' seclusion and secrecy is very important to them, so they decided to make the video silent and replace all audio with the beats. If there is one thing fans have been dying for, it's something like this: for the band to let their guard down and open they project up for all to understand. There is literally one video-documented case of Stefan, the frontman, talking in a soothing, introverted voice. Knowing the band, they will never release that audio. Any reasonable, sane fan could take any number of things Death Grips has done as the final straw, but it just doesn't happen. They are simply too bewildering. They've also resumed their role of workmanlike live act that they had pre-2013. Clearly their manner of presentation is enough, considering their name popped up on more festival lineups than ever. This more than ensures they remain a staple of music discussion as a whole, with no signs of letting up their productivity.

That about sums up my point. I think it's important that being great at your art wasn't really a prerequisite for this. I mean, people I didn't include are people like Kanye West, Travis Scott, The Avalanches, American Football, and Frank Ocean. There is definitely something to be said about releasing something 15 years after your last project and how crazy it is that anyone cares (because people definitely care), but there's nothing amazing about work ethic if you kept lying about when your album is gonna come out. (Yeah Frank, Blonde is really good but I didn't want to watch that empty room for one more second after that live stream)