It’s all of Wayne’ worst habits confined to one place. Although I will defend “Rich as F***” until the day I die, the rest of the album is all over the place, laden with nonsensical lyrics (“That p**** boneless, that’s Chick-fil A” – playa what?) and juvenile sexual innuendo. I know Young Brick will give Wayne a pass for IANAHB2, but y’all know that’s not my style. I know the popular picks tend to be Rebirth (2009) and I Am Not A Human Being II (2013), but I think Wayne should be applauded for his effort on the former (or at least be given a pass for trying to have fun after already having had achieved more than a decade in rap) and that the latter is actually a much more influential and enjoyable project than people give it credit for (its original version, which recently leaked, is full of gems). Going back to older times, which sadly feel ancient now, 500 Degreez (2002) is a project that I think isn’t up to par with his earlier catalog. I don’t really find myself listening to I Am Not A Human Being (2010), because Wayne has since released more exciting projects. As a result, projects from the 2009-2013 era have largely been drowned out due to the improved skill and artistic transparency Wayne has shown in more recent years.
I feel like Wayne’s post-Cash Money era (2014-present) has given us incredibly deep lyricism a more introspective, poetic Wayne with flashes of that eccentricity that we all have come to love and a more “raw” Weezy that was lacking at the beginning of the 2010s. Since the question limited me to albums, I didn’t include mixtapes, but two of them reign over all of the albums I’ve named. The greatest Wayne albums, however, are Tha Carter III (2008), Tha Carter II (2005), and Tha Carter V (2014-2018). So with those aspects in mind, I feel that the best Lil Wayne albums, in no particular order, would be Tha Carter II (2005), Tha Carter V (2014-2018* = this will be covered in depth later), and Free Weezy Album (2015). Therefore, what appeals to me might be different from the average hip hop critic’s recommendation. Furthermore, when it comes to Wayne, who’s always worked at a monstrous pace and specialized as a vocalist, I tend to not deem production as important as his rapping. would make my “best” rappers list) while “greatest” includes skill, but also accounts for legacy, longevity, influence, context, and other intangibles.
I’ve always defined “best” and “greatest” separately – I feel that “best” entails pure skill (Big L, Big Pun, Kool G, etc.
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