Tha Block is Hot review

The first studio album by Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne is one of the most commercially successful, popular and polarizing rappers out there and it'll be interesting to see how he started. This album doesn't actually feature any swear words from him, despite his foul mouthed later songs.

Tracks:

1. Intro: 6/10 a formulaic but well-mixed start to the album.

2. Tha Block is Hot: 5/10 while the subject matter is thought-provoking and it has a speedy beat, Lil Wayne's experience really shows, particularly in his weak delivery.

3. Loud Pipes: 6/10 a solid enough bragging track. The rappers, even Birdman who I've heard is awful, all do a decent job.

4. Watcha Wanna Do?: 5/10 good production, bad lyrics and delivery.

5. Kisha: 6/10 the sexism is very uncomfortable, but then again this is hip hop. If you look past that, it's a technically skilled track in many ways with a reasonable flow.

6. High Beamin': 7/10 this one is the best so far as it has more sophisticated writing.

7. Lights Out: 7/10 this is a thoughtly competent track and finally one where Lil Wayne doesn't sound completely muffled.

8. Fuck Tha World: 7/10 a darker one, this is certainly impressive stuff although it can't compete with many more sophisticated songs with this kind of subject matter.

9. Remember Me: 6/10 you won't remember it, but you might enjoy it enough without caring massively for it.

10. Respect Us: 5/10 a weak but perfectly enjoyable and catchy drug song.

11. Drop it Like it's Hot: 6/10 this one will divide people. On one hand, it's technically one of the most effective on the album. On the other hand, it's very misogynistic and is quite uncomfortable to listen to.

12. Young Playa: 6/10 there are some good rhymes here, although it's still clearly the work of an inexperienced rapper.

13. Enemy Turf: 6/10 ditto.

14. Not Like Me: 7/10 this one goes into more intelligent and witty territory.

15. Come on: 6/10 this drops plenty of decent bars without being very interesting.

16. Up to Me: 7/10 despite its lack of depth, this is a touching tribute to Lil Wayne's late stepfather.

17. You Want War: 7/10 an enjoyable collection of rhymes concludes the album well.

Best song: Lights Out
Worst song: Watcha Wanna Do?

Summary: This isn't a great album, but it could have been a lot worse. The main thing holding it back is the writing. There are some good bars; yet the tracks are frequently dominated by tedious and occasionally downright ugly gangsta talk, None of the rappers are brilliant and the delivery, when compared to other rappers, just feels mediocre. That being said, some songs are pretty good. As well as that, this has good musical production and even when the lyrics lack it's always a catchy album. On the whole, a perfectly OK record but hardly something you'll want to listen to loads.



Final rating: 6/10