What's Wayne's Legacy??

[gmass927]

Here's my take on Wayne's legacy in modern hip hop. What do you guys think?

link - Lil Wayne's Legacy: The AI of Rap | On The Pursuit of Awesomeness

[YMCMB357]

Lil Wayne dropped his tenth solo album last week. If you’re one of those people who wishes hip-hop music had more cunnilingus references, then this is probably your Illmatic, but for the rest of us, it was just another weak effort in a long string of recent disappointments from Weezy.


It’s been eight years since Wayne anointed himself the best rapper alive. It’s been six since Wayne released Da Drought 3. His best piece of work. And it’s been five since The Carter III. His last worthwhile play. Whether you were in the camp that believed Wayne or not, it’s clear, he’s no longer the “best rapper alive.”


In modern rap music1 there are six gods of hip-hop. Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Jay, Eminem and Andre 3000. They are undisputedly the greatest rappers of the last twenty years. They had everything. Prodigious bars. Impeccable flow. Quotable lines. Classic albums. Commercial virility. Critical success. And left game changing legacies.


In some order, they are the Jordan, Magic, Bird, Russell, Kareem and Wilt of hip hop music.


Then there’s a second tier in modern rap music. This tier gets a little murkier. It’s not definite, it’s all arguable, but it probably goes something like Kanye, Snoop, Dre, Scarface, Lauryn, a handful of Wu-Tang members and maybe a few other fringe guys2.


They’re basically your Kobes, Duncans, Shaqs, Wests, Oscars, Hakeems, Malones3, and Baylors.


So, what’s Wayne’s legacy in the landscape of modern rap music? Where does he stand? How will he be remembered?


My answer is The Answer. He’s the Allen Iverson of rap4.


This has little to do with the tattoos, braids and slight stature. And has everything to do with what they accomplished, how they accomplished it and how they changed the game.


Wayne and A.I. both hold weird places among the greats in their respective professions. They’re clearly not among the premier names, but at their pinnacle they could challenge nearly anyone. A.I. led the league in scoring four times, broke Michael’s ankles, and in 2001 season was the league’s Most Valuable Player. Wayne has three number one albums, bodied Jay’s own beat, and in 2007 the “Brain Trust” named him the Hottest MC in the Game .


A.I came into the NBA in ’96, in ’98 Jordan retired and left a huge vacuum in the league. By 2000, the stars of the ‘90s, Malone, Pippen, Barkley, Stockton, Hakeem, etc., were either gone or aging quickly and future prep to pro stars, Garnett, Kobe, MacGrady, were just starting to grow into their stardom. There was lull in NBA talent. Of course Shaq was still Shaq, when he was healthy. And Duncan was Duncan, his greatness only eclipsed by his boringness. And Jason Kidd was pretty good too. But, Iverson ruled the league. He, whether David Stern liked it or not (he did not), became the face of the NBA. The league’s most exciting and bankable star.


In 2002, Eminem released The Eminem Show and spent the rest of the decade slipping in and out of drug addiction. In 2003, Jay-Z released The Black Album, became president of Def Jam and retired from rap. In 2005, Wayne released The Carter II and proclaimed himself the best rapper alive. And from 2005 to 2008 he may well have been. Nas was cold, Fitty had lost his heat and all Outkast could muster up was Idlewild. Kanye was doing his thing, but Wayne became the biggest hit maker in the game, jumping on every feature imaginable, releasing song after song and selling more than anyone else. Hip-Hop, even if it was slightly watered down, was Wayne’s world.


During Iverson’s prime he averaged over twenty-three shots per game. That’s a lot. Wayne has released 147 singles in his career, for perspective, Jay-Z, who is thirteen years older than Wayne, has only released 101. That’s one of the defining characteristics of both Wayne and Iverson. They’re both “high volume scorers.” That’s a basketball term for someone who scores a lot thanks to bulk shooting. Neither of these guys were models of efficiency. Iverson was a 42% shooter in his career. Not terrific. A good Lil Wayne album is about 50% filler. That’s too much filler. This is one of those weird features that make these guys amazing and maddening at the same time. Their ability to be great comes with you having to tolerate their misses (and, believe me, they miss).


Iverson was much less an “NBA player” than he was a “playground player”. He was never a prototypical pass first point guard. He didn’t fit in a strict structured NBA offense. He was razzle dazzle. He thrived on creativity. On isolations. The crossover, a playground staple, was his signature move. Wayne, in many ways, is the same. He’s not a classic MC. He’s a “mixtape rapper”. He lacks polish, but delivers on originality. His verses are free form, word association, popcorn rap. He’s not a story teller or a knowledge dropper, he’s a rhyme spitter. The spontaneity that spurred brilliance from both, ironically also limited them from taking their talents to GOAT-level status.


All of this led to each of these men having one huge hole on their resumes, that above all else, hold them back from being mentioned with the Biggies and the Birds. For Iverson, it’s a championship. He came close in 2001, but lost in five to the Lakers, before his window for immortality was slammed closed. For Wayne, it’s one truly classic album. He came close a few times. The Carter II has glimpses of greatness, but needs to be edited down by about ten songs to be considered a classic. Da Drought 3 is Wayne at the absolute peak of his powers, but unfortunately isn’t an album and is thus disqualified from the conversation. And The Carter III, his nearest classic, has some fantastic moments, but, like most of Wayne’s extended works, it lacks focus. Wayne says he’s got one more album left in him before he calls it quits, but judging by The Carter IV and I Am Not a Human Being II, he’s already done.


It’s apparent; Wayne is in the last throes of his career. The magnitude he once achieved in the mid-to-late aughts, now just a memory. Like Iverson in his Detroit, Memphis, Philly-redux years, a shell of his former talents. Unable or unwanting to evolve or adapt his diminishing skills into a game that’s leaving him behind. A.I was out of the league by 34, drafted in ’96, number one overall, ahead of guys like Marcus Camby, Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant, players that are still playing in the league, Iverson’s career ended quickly and before it’s time. Wayne is only 30, Jay-Z released The Blueprint at 32, Nas released Life is Good at 39, but at 30, Wayne is already burned out.


Wayne, like Iverson in the NBA, will go down in the hip hop annuals as a uniquely talented individual, who at his pinnacle could stand with anyone, but whose limitations weighed him down from ever achieving the prodigious status some saw in him.


Or, maybe Wayne will prove me wrong, and The Carter V will be a classic and it will transcend him to another level in the hip-hop hierarchy. But, I think we’ll see Wayne in the X-Games before that happens.

[back on my bullish*t]

tooooooo long

[IAmChristian_]

Still, why is everybody criticizing how he was on top of the world, and fell off and blah blah. He's not gonna be there forever. Thousands of new artists come up and gain the likes of other fans and new genre's collect new fans and it's not 2008 anymore. There was a handful of rappers who were on top and Wayne just happened to be above them all, but its 2013. Stop with the X games shit, saying Wayne's fell off, and that Carter V is gonna suck. Enjoy the damn music and live your life. Stop worrying about his and do yours. His legacy is his own, same goes for you.

[Black00]

Wayne's fell off, Carter V is gonna suck.

said no man ever!
and your favourite mixtape is d4? damn son , why you saying wayne fell off if your favourite mixtape is DIS?

[YoungTunechie]

said no man ever!
and your favourite mixtape is d4? damn son , why you saying wayne fell off if your favourite mixtape is DIS?

And favorite album Rebirth?

[GeorgiaBoyTool]

Andre 3000 is great, but he's no "god of Hip-Hop" he hasn't even dropped a solo album, he just does long features, he's basically on Jadakiss status.

I know the cool thing to do now is hate on Wayne, but now everyone seems to have amnesia about his legacy.

[IAmChristian_]

said no man ever!
and your favourite mixtape is d4? damn son , why you saying wayne fell off if your favourite mixtape is DIS?

Go back and read what I said. I said stop with the Waynes fell off and Carter V is gonna suck. i see people saying that every single day. I would never say it because I have respect for him as a artist.

[Black00]

Go back and read what I said. I said stop with the Waynes fell off and Carter V is gonna suck. i see people saying that every single day. I would never say it because I have respect for him as a artist.

oh tru , i musnderstood your words fella! sorry

[IAmChristian_]

oh tru , i musnderstood your words fella! sorry

all good!

[LtFanTn]

I Dont See Why Everybody Says He Fell Off , And Another Thing Bout The IANHB2 Sales , We Live In The Day Of Good Technology , Were You Can Click A Button , And Its So Much Easier To Get Free Music , So His Album Did Not Suck , Its Just Easier For People To get Music Off The Net And Save Money , Than Going To Target And Payin 20 Bucks For The Album , And His Legacy Will Be Wrote Down The Best American Musician Ever ( In My Book ) , And Everybody Gonna Take Those Words Back When c5 Comes Out And They Said It Sucked And Bullshit , I Think Its Gonna Compare To c3 , We Shall See!

[AF1PIMPN]

Pimp'n Says: Imo he's tarnish'n his legacy wit his latest efforts. He clearly doesn't give a fuq about rap anymore & he can't just quit bcuz he's still some what YMCMB's biggest draw(4 now) but Drake will eclipse him. Every since Tunechi was born & Weezy F. died so did Wayne's "Best Rapper Alive" aura. I just call him Benjamin Button right now bcuz da nigga age'n backwards wit all dis skate/YM(sign'n kids) BS.