"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we've posted some of Wayne's best tracks to drop over the past few years, and now we're dropping the top 10. This is it, the definition of Lil Wayne--bar for bar the best of the best. If you aren't convinced, look back over the past 5 weeks and take the same journey that we have. In the end you'll recognize the importance of today's release, Lil Wayne's The Carter III. June 10th, just another day in rap history.

Though only one track can hold the top spot on our list, the selection shouldn't necessarily be thought of as Wayne's "best" track per se: each song is just one part of a massive body of work, assembled over two years by the greatest mind in music. Years from now, music historians will look back on Wayne's career and wonder at both Dwayne Carter's impetus and poetic genius. Those of us who have been following this shit clearly understand that we are watching a legend during a legendary time.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 60 - 51
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 50 - 41
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 40 - 31
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 30 - 21
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 20 - 11

Download Links: If you'd like to hook up all 80 songs, grab them in zipped packs: Part 1 (80 - 71), Part 2 (70 - 61), Part 3 (60 - 51), Part 4 (50 - 41), Part 5 (40 - 31), Part 6 (30 - 21), Part 7 (20 - 11), Part 8 (10 - 1). Grab them all and proceed to bump.

Hope you enjoyed this, everyone. It was a lot more work than it appeared (you just try and review 80 songs by the same artist). The challenge of compiling this list, however, is just another testament to Lil Wayne and his music. Thanks to everyone who participated: zolmes, logic JESS!CA and myself.

10. "Georgia... Bush"
Heard on Dedication 2 | Download

What hasn't been said about this song? I'm not going to beat a dead horse--if you haven't heard this song then you probably shouldn't even be reading this countdown. Wayne's analysis of Katrina and its aftermath is poignant and palpable: from the mouth of the N.O. comes an indictment of government that plays like Jimi Hendrix on the national anthem. Wayne's plainspoken style resonates deeply with the listener. In a hip-hop world that's all about credibility, there's little that surpasses "Georgia... Bush." It feels real because it is.


Beyond his political fervor, there is a wonderful bit at the end where Weezy spits over 2Pac's "Ambitionz as a Rider" to great success. Some would probably argue that this "freestyle" is the best section of the song. Certainly, when considered as part of "Georgie... Bush," Wayne's lyrical exercise only adds to the track.

This song, though a bit stale by now, is important enough to merit a spot in the top 10. -bw

If you haven't heard Georgia…Bush off of Lil Wayne and DJ Drama's Dedication 2, I'm pretty sure you have to check your cultural literacy pass at the door as far as I'm concerned. For those of you looking for the total auteur package this countdown, you can now indisputably cross off both a complicated relationship with home and a sense of socio-political alienation on your rubrics.

Plenty of Weezy tracks are prefaced by the same kind of spontaneous, candid, intimate banter—"Thank God I'm a millionaire!"—characteristic of countless New Orleans blues artists. This track though is introduced with a direct address: "This song right here is dedicated to the president of the United States of America. Y'all might know him as George Bush, but where I come from, the lost city of New Orleans, we call him this…" as the first eight counts of the chorus to Ray Charles' Georgia on My Mind loop endlessly, "that's right, you know who you are." If you thought Luda vs. O'Reilly was beef this is the whole cow and a great deal more was lost than a contract with Pepsi.

If there's one thing that defines Lil Wayne's style it's his talent for flawlessly crafting a singular sense of direct communication into his writing despite hugely varied contexts, his ability to navigate a narrative voice that—like the French notion of a film director's mise en scene—through delivery remains essentially his own despite infinitely diverse territory. In this musically tense, percussive song Wayne drops nasally choruses not unlike the scrappy adolescent whine Wayne began with in his Hot Boys days, but where Wayne excels is, unsurprisingly, in the verses between brazen croaky hooks. -JESS!CA

9. "Famous"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana 1 | Download

I can still remember sitting in my old apartment with a small group of friends, listening to "Famous" on repeat. It was a nearly religious experience, as Wayne is basically using this song to affirm that he has no stylistic boundaries whatsoever. "Famous" is unlike anything else you've ever heard in rap music. Perhaps Aesop Rock fans might identify with the off-beat flow and idiosyncratic rhyme schemes, but this ain't no Bazooka Tooth, this is Wayne at his finest.


Personally, I can say that "Famous" is the track that did it for me. Before "Famous," I was on the fence. After it, I finally came to stand behind Wayne's claim to being the best rapper alive. No one has come close since. -bw

8. "Gossip"
Heard on Various | Download

This track, said to have been written in 2006, can be found in a relatively mastered version but what you need is the live version from Wayne's performance on BET's 2007 Hip Hop Awards. Having seen the man live twice myself, I'm not sure a live version of any Wayne track wouldn't better convey his enthusiasm and dedication than anything in the studio, but that could just be fangirl bias.


On Gossip, Wayne's lyrical pyrotechnics power an epic beef track firing on all cylinders:

"Don't believe in me. Don't believe me.
I graduated from hungry and made it to greedy.
My flow is like pasta, take it and eat it,
but I'ma need cheese if I'm bakin a ziti!"

His consistent refusal to single out any particular rivals in his tracks demonstrates Wayne's commitment to exorcising his me-versus-the-world chip on his shoulder through artistic expression affirming the superiority of his skill instead of emphasizing his opponents' alleged unworthiness—a cheap and easy technique found in the great majority of beef tracks as well as in…well…everything from political reporting to advertising to grades K through 12.

It's a lot harder to prove a claim than disprove one but Wayne's never been one to take it easy. On Gossip he applies equal parts young gun bravado with earnest confessional inquiry in the sincere and imaginative, engaging, personal fashion that defines Lil Wayne's classic style. In this recording of Wayne performing for, speaking to an audience of his predescessors, contemporaries, buisiness associates, friends, detractors, and competitors Wayne's breathless athleticism and impeccable sense of timing, of rhythm, augment Gossip's driving beat—a metronome's beep and rock solid drums—with it's dramatic strings, piano, and perfectly cut and accelerated sample. If he hasn't made a Carter believer of you by the time he concludes his performance, you may be doomed to a life of disabling skepticism.

"Cut the motherfuckin cameras. Cut the check. Cut your props. I am hip hop! (And I ain't dead I'm alive)."

Stop analyzin' and criticizin' and realize what this guy means to rap right now. And start epitomizing, already. -JESS!CA

7. "Prostitute Flange"
Heard on Carter III Sessions | Download

The smokey crooner version of himself Wayne channels in the music video for Like Father Like Son's You Ain't Know comes to fruition here as Lil Wayne establishes himself as a rapper who inspires discussion without even rapping and, perhaps more signifigantly, as an artist who begins one song with "I got a lotta loot and I ain't lookin for a lady" just as convincingly as he can with "I wouldn't care if you were a prostitute and hit every man that you ever knew." Haters call this hypocrisy but this kind of range and artistic self-awareness shows up in everybody from Tupac to Hendrix, John Lee Hooker to Johnny Cash—who incidentally could deliver himself in one song as a man who "took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down," and as one who can "walk the line because you're mine" in another. Sound familiar?


As a song about, essentially the kind of love more often in singer-songwriter or blues tracks than in hip hop, Wayne addresses a glaring sexist double standard—as Christina Aguilera once put it in her 2002 track with Lil Kim, Can't Hold Us Down, " The guy gets all the glory the more he can score while the girl can do the same and you call her a whore." Approaching the subject matter with conviction and soul Wayne brings his own depth as a performer and a person into the spotlight without missing the mark.

Musically this has never been one of my favorite Weezy tracks. But I do think it stands out as a formative song in his career both in its content and in its execution. Essential listening for any Weezy devotee, this is the only track in the history of the rapper's experimentation as a singer that matters more than Lollipop. Prostitute remains, in my opinion, Wayne's first and most relevant success as an artist rather than further proof of formal mastery as a rapper. -JESS!CA

6. "The Bad Side" with Juelz Santana
Heard on New Orleans Nightmare Vol. 4 | Download

The highly anticipated I Can't Feel my Face collaboration from Lil wayne and Juelz Santana still hasn't seen the fire hydrant on my corner, no airplay whatsoever, and at this point I've pretty much given up on this one ever coming out. It's rare for Weezy to skip out on a project he talked about, so I'll say there's still a small chance we'll see this album out sometime this year. Either way, we know "The Bad Side" was the first single and there hasn't been a high quality cut of it released yet so just maybe...


Quick history lesson, this song leaked when a video popped up on YouTube of Wayne in his bus bumpin it. He's doin' his Wayne and singing along, mouthing the Juelz verse, and if you listen to most of the versions that are out you can hear the two girls on the bus in the background. My favorite part: when Juelz spits that 'two girls make a dime anytime' line and Wayne gives the camera a little grin and points to the hoes. Haha, keep laughing girl.

I'm not the biggest fan of Santana, but Juelz is at his best on "The Bad Side" even though he stills whips out some of his signature one-liners that leave you wondering, did this guy really just say that? Like "They want beef I give 'em a cow" or "I leave 'em with no neck like fat guys." Oh and I almost forgot "You don't wanna see me act mean, so don't watch me I'm not a flat screen!" Act mean? Chuckle at that one. But you gotta love him. These two together > the father-son combo.

Lets Go!

Hard body, I can't even bend
nor fold I'm cold like the wind
or Northpole I froze all my limbs
too much ice I'm a walkin' bezzle

Damn he's cold. Wayne sets it off with his familiar hard-body intro before getting caught up in his Uzi clip for a few bars, excuse me, he is that Uzi.

Now after that there comes a smell
then after that Welcome to Hell

Murder death kill! Both of these guys spit some Demolition Man shit in "The Bad Side." But I'm particularly leery of trusting Juelz when it comes to making due on the threat of making "'em Chinese food, another cat fried." I'm not sure that's a very widespread practice Juelz, but we get the point--especially when he flips his occupation from cook to, yup, "they actin' like bad pets and yes I am a Veterinarian."

Weezy switches it up after his Uzi preoccupation, moving right along to the subject of substance-abuse, err, umm, you know what I mean:

And I don't mean David when I say it, when it comes to marijuana I'll cop-a -field

And the money shot:

And you don't wanna see my bad side
you would want to be my ally
And I believe that I can fly
not like R Kelly, he a damn lie
Weezy
Write it in the sand, I hope the wind doesn't blow for eternity

I haven't felt a breeze in some time now.-logic

5. "Swizzy - Remix"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

This song is a fucking takeover. Sorry Swizz, but Wayne absolutely exposed you. Then again, isn't that what happens every time goes over someone else's beat? Indeed, "Swizzy - Remix" is just more fun for Wayne at another MC's expense. The beat is hot, and Wayne's take on it might be a clue to Swizzy that he should stick to producing.


Short and sweet, "Swizzy - Remix" is absolutely bursting with a series of jaw-dropping name references unlike anything I've ever heard on wax (Kevin Costner, Buffalo Bill, Emmitt Till, Johnny Gill, Stephen Hill, Seal, Pam Grier and more). The best comes at the end when Wayne uses basketball as a metaphor for his position in the rap game, simultaneously referencing one of the best players in the game, and one of the worst.

I'm ballin' you just Eric Dampier, dawg
I'm dirty I get my Bill Laimbeer on!

There's a point when Wayne pauses briefly to catch his breath, quickly resuming the verse, saying: "Fuck it Swizz, I'm still going!" It seems, though, like Weezy isn't just talking about the track, he's addressing every MC in the game--something like an advance warning. Weezy the best, indeed. - bw

4. "Git Busy" with Fam-Lay
Heard on None Higher | Download

I've always been a huge fan of this song, and though I wanted it in first place, "Git Busy" clocks in fourth--not bad at all.


A deconstruction of this song could take days, but I'll try to keep things manageable. This track plays like an unending aural assault--upon first listen it is nearly impossible to wrap one's mind around what Wayne is doing with the beat. He goes on for 2-plus minutes, no chorus, stringing together tongue-twister after tongue twister while word-associating and lacing the song with metaphors; one can listen to "Git Busy" on repeat for days and never get bored. Like putting together a puzzle, there is always something new revealed: listening to Wayne at his best is like a treasure hunt. On "Git Busy" his depth is astounding, as if there is always another level of complexity to be discovered.

Yeah, I lay back I'm comfortable
Weezy baby boy, lazy boy
I did my service in the Navy
Now I'm just a veteran
They forever pay me
Dig me like a shovel
Mama I'm a rebel
I come from under that rock and turn into a pebble
Baby I'm trouble
So turn up the treble
You say it's clever
I call it whatever

And that is the essence of Weezy. Effortless rhyming that is infinitely listenable and always offers something new. Ultimately, this is just what Wayne does, and we had better get used to it. Fuck analyzing it, just enjoy it. For example, check this little tidbidt:

I'm a man in every sense I got cents
Since I got rich I got tints on every Bent
Since I knew attention, come out them like vents
I vent, and show no relent; money well spent
I'm a hell-raiser, blaze a L right in front of the law
I'm tougher than ya'lls

It's almost a shame to post the lyrics here, because half of the pleasure in Wayne is that discovery, the a-ha! moment that comes with nearly every track. -bw

Who the fuck is Fam-Lay? What the fuck is he doing in the rap game? Because Wayne murks him so bad on this track I gasped out loud the first time I heard it. There's absolutely no comparison, there's no anything. This is Wayne busting the hell out of a beat because he can, because the original is so fucking slow, so fucking wrong for this track that listening to it must have pissed him off. This right here, this is a song. This is clever, this is whatever, and this is what rap should be--everyone giving it all on tracks, because fuck letting Fam-Lay exist. -zolmes

3. "We Takin Over (Remix)"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

This might be Wayne's best verse ever, but it's tough to call. The pundits over at Vibe gave Weezy's original verse on this beat the top spot in their countdown--an absolute tragedy that exposed a dearth of understanding about Wayne. The remix, featured on Da Drought 3 is a jaw-dropping song, a starburst of lyricism that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before.


"We Takin Ova" (the REMIX) is one of Wayne's best--everything about it is astounding, from his opening, immortal words ("Feed Me! Feed Me! Feed Me!) to his lyrical defense of the infamous kiss between he and Birdman to 30-seconds of mind-numbing word association. What has your favorite rapper done lately? -bw

Writing about one of your favorite musicians it's easy to get hyperbolic. I'm sure the words great, amazing, awesome and all their synonyms have been used more times than good music criticism should allow in my parts of the countdown. But part of what's been great about this whole thing is being able to listen to some of my favorite songs again.Because you know how it goes--you get distracted, you get new albums, you move and you forget that this song right here? This is one of the best things you have ever heard.

And like I said, I've probably been saying that about everything I've written about here. But this here? This is a notch above the rest. This is Wayne's...I don't even know a track to compare it to. This is just musicianship at it's finest. There's the part right around 1:45 where Wayne switches from his normal flow to free-association poetry and that's the part where, if your human, your mind has been blown and your bar for what makes a good rap song has been raised forever. -zolmes

2. "I'm Me" aka "1000 Degrees"
Heard on The Carter III Sessions | Download

I don't know which moment I like more in this song--the beginning, with a collection of greatest hits from Wayne or the first time he says "I'm me!" Because there's some things that need to be screamed, to be shouted out loud with thousands at a concert, and that's one of them. And that moment works because it's not as if Wayne is bragging, it's not as if you should feel bad for being "not me", it's more that Wayne just really, really loves who he is. And in that moment he gives you that love as well. Not just for him, but for yourself as well. For a truly selfish line, there's little as that's as affirming as it, little else that makes me feel like I can kick the world's ass. I'm not Wayne, and it's not fair, but when he challenges us with "who you?" he's not telling you to suck--he's telling you find your own way, you're own over-confidence. Wayne's egotistical, but he's not selfish and he wants everyone to feel the love for themselves the way he does. This song isn't just about him, it's about you, and how could you not want to shout that to the heavens? It's impossible not to. -zolmes

1. "Seat Down Low"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

This song is an absolute triumph for hip-hop music, a balls-out, 3-minute roller-coaster ride that finds Lil Wayne with the accelerator pushed completely to the floor. "Seat Down Low" is Weezy without mercy. He's on the battlefield and taking no prisoners. When Wayne starts off saying: "I guess I'll go head on and show these rappers what to do with one of the beats, man," he's not kidding. This is how you fucking rap. Take notes.


Beyond borrowing T.I.'s beat, Wayne takes the Atlanta native's rhyme scheme, and--in the grand tradition of rap remixes--re-engineers it into something far better than the original. Every line is a delight, and though it takes more than a few listens to grasp the entire thing, "Seat Down Low" is as good of a sing-a-long as any rap classic. As with most of the tracks on Da Drougth 3, Wayne has become immortal with these words.

Perhaps the greatest moment in "Seat Down Low" comes toward the end, when Wayne drops the following gem:

Candy arm candy nigga grippin' the grain
See I am the only fire that can live in the rain
I am so, so New Orleans
Like 1825 Tulane

It all comes back to Weezy's refusal to pander: here is the most cryptic of all rap lines, sure to perplex most any listener, and yet Wayne refuses to compromise. 1825 Tulane? Yeah, 1825 Tulane. As Wayne says, "You gotta be from New Orleans to know what the fuck I'm talkin' bout." (Well, not exactly, now that there's a little thing called the Internet). But this is his essence, and as he notes at the end, his greatest strength: "I say what I want." -bw

I'm not really sure why Wayne spends so much of the beginning of this track talking about/to T.I., but like BW's love of DJ Drama's presence on tracks, it's something that helps makes the whole thing for me. Rather than sort of normal studio chatter you get where Hay-Z constantly needs his headphone volume adjusted, Wayne just wants to talk about his friend and made a supremely lame .com joke. And then he goes on to murder the whole thing, his voice almost getting near singing, almost getting to the point where he might stumble over his works, like he's cadence might go on to eat itself. And then he ends it with something that really is a song, a shout-out to his city, an insiders note, just like whatever the thing with T.I. is. Wayne doesn't care if you know what's he on about, because what matters more is that you desperately want to know. -zolmes

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 60 - 51
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 50 - 41
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 40 - 31
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 30 - 21

20. "Beat Without Bass"
Heard on The Best Rapper Alive Vol. 3 | Download

Yeah, none of this song matters at all except for the part that disses Jay-Z so hard I yelled "oh snap!" the first time I heard it. Seriously, as strong as this track is, that is some cold, deadly, awesome shit right there. And, well, true. Hats off Wayne. -zolmes


Wayne's verse here is sickening--I can barely believe that he was allowed to spit for so long. This is a verse that ranks up there with "Ether." Weezy is cogent, angry and on some crazy numbers shit. We're loving every second of it, but pressing skip when his spot is done. -bw

19. "Sky is the Limit" aka "Ride 4 My Niggaz"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

Wayne loves you, he really does. He loves himself as well, but he loves you for loving him. This is clear to anyone who's ever been to one of his shows, but it's also clear on tracks like these. Because Wayne understands that rap is no longer confined to a small group of regional fans, but that a large majority of his audience are people like me--white kids from white cities. And so his chorus here isn't just a proclamation of his love for his friends and his city, though that's true, but that it extends beyond that, to everyone who listens.


No, maybe I'm just trying to make everything about me, but I don't think Wayne is limiting the sky to only N.O. citizens. He's riding for his city, sure, but that city is global now, that city has been taken around the world, and all of us who work, who believe possibilities--those are who should know the sky is limit.

But enough about half-baked theories--how epic is this track? I love it. I love that it's a movie soundtrack waiting to happen, the four horseman of the apocalypse upon us, and Wayne takes the time to name-drop the Gremlins. -zolmes

18. "It's Time to Give Me Mine"
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 4 | Download

Here again we have a track that was destined for C3 and the love of fans everywhere. Leaks, however, are a bitch.


On "It's Time to Give Me Mine," Wayne is at his finest. Every lyric on this track is brilliant. For three verses he tears the beat apart and affirms his position at the top of the game. The subject of the track makes it clear that Wayne had intended it as a major statement for The Carter 3, and the song probably would have showed up early on the disc. It's a reflection of his hard work in rap music, the dues he's paid and the respect he's owed.

The best part of "It's Time to Give Me Mine" comes at the end. Wayne starts with two flawless verses, but then switches his style for the third, delivering one immaculate minute of music that no one can hope to compare to.

Come and get it, anyone can get it
But since I'm the president I'd be a little more politic
I'm chillin' in the clinic
Cuz that's how many nurses I got workin' on my dizick
Snakes in the grass, rats, lizards
But round here snitches don't exist like wizards
Ho this ain't punch, I'm sippin on some syzzurp
I roll a fat junt and do my fingers like scissors

This verse--which continues--is really a thing of beauty. By the end, Wayne sums up the trajectory of his career in music, bringing the song full circle: "So say whatchu wanna say, I need to throw a cup of water in my face: FIRST PLACE!" This song is a fucking celebration. -bw

17. "I Feel Like Dying"
Heard on The Carter III Sessions | Download

Is this track intentional poignant? Sure we're suppose to love getting high during it, but the chorus hits me every time, this unexpected bitterness surrounded by a cloud of smoke. Maybe it's because I original misheard it as "hold my close/the drugs are done/I feel like dying/I feel like dying", but to me it allows for some complications in what otherwise whole-heartedly supports the consumption of as many drugs as possible.


And I'm not hating on drugs by any means, but that nuance is something that I love about this track. Drugs are great, but they aren't without their risks and heartbreak. As enthusiastic as Wayne is for them, he's aware of that as well.

Without the soap-boxing, the dreamlike state of this song is perfect. Wayne may be far too drugged out at times (including, ahem, recent interviews), but the sense of this track may be the perfect soundtrack to being high, the perfect sense of what it's like, of what, perhaps, Wayne is like. -zolmes

"I Feel Like Dying" was Wayne's first true foray into the realm of drug-music. It's unabashed fascination with death and depression opens the audience up to an entirely new side of Weezy. That's what made it so compelling upon first listen. Imagine your favorite rapper dropping something so revealing as this: the title seems weak, and yet by showing us so much Wayne is at his strongest. He's reflective, unapologetic and speaking for an entire generation of kids confronting similar feelings. -bw

16. "Oh Yeah" f. Juelz Santana
Heard on None Higher | Download

"Half a brick strapped to a baby" is an image that always causes me to smile. It's so ridiculous, so perfect. It's gangster, sure, maybe, but it's a note that maybe this gangster thing, maybe it's not something that has to be so much effort. Maybe it's something that can be fun. -zolmes


Wayne has always been a master of setting shit off, and the story is no different here. From the moment his voice drops it's apparent that shit is going to flow. This is one of the most listenable Wayne songs, but beyond simply being smooth, there are a couple unforgettable lines, such as:

Yes, and I be wit Midwest Chubbie
But I'm from the dirty keep it dirty like I'm playin rugby
Bitch ride me like an old-school Huffy
Lemme see you work your mouth like a fuckin' guppie.

Rugby, Huffy's and guppies. Fuck your favorite rapper. -bw

15. "We Come and See About It"
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 4 | Download

This song plays like an anthem for the life of a baller. No matter what your hustle, it's not hard to identify with Wayne's endlessly repeated mantra: "They just talkin' bout it, and I'm on the streets wit it!" This is truly a song for get-shit-done people: because where Weezy comes from, you gotta be about it. The verses are almost entirely exercises in self-aggrandizement, slammed in between a chorus that replays Wayne's history while rehashing his philosophy. The second verse finds Weezy at his best, completely controlling the opening bars:

There's been a murder!
Bitch I make a killing
Insurance papers in the safe
Money in the ceiling
I got a pillowcase full of pistols Come thru a nigga house and aim at the pillows

This was clearly a track intended for The Carter III, but unfortunately or not, it leaked to the net months in advance. Bad for Wayne, but great for the listeners. This gem is buried in the Wayne vaults, forgotten among so many other, more popular treasures, like Da Drought 3, for example. Perhaps the biggest tragedy of Wayne's career is that songs like "We Come and See About It" get next to no critical commentary due to the way they were released: lacking a coherent, definitive mixtape, songs like this tend to float in the hip-hop ether, ultimately to be forgotten and ignored.

If a nigga play wit family for that matter
I'ma smoke so many niggas I'ma catch cancer
And if I step up out this Benzo
You know I'm comin' with a gun like a Nintendo
They soft; them niggaz fallin' when the wind blow
And I'm rollin' up my window

In the collective memory of Wayne fans everywhere, "We Come and See About It" rests in a special place, somewhere between The Carter 2 and The Carter 3--not on the cutting room floor, but in a spot reserved for could-have's and should-have's. It's an accidental step-child of a song, but we still love it. -bw

14. "In The Hood" f. Brisco
Heard on Greatest Rapper Alive Vol. 2 | Download

It's no secret that this beat is fire, but Wayne makes sure to keep it gutter, and with a few opening sentences, spells out exactly what's up: "I gets gratefully honored, every second, minute and hour. I am the man of that... Im back!" I always enjoy these little opening vignettes that aren't rap but rather brash boasting set to music--it really sets the tone, and somehow makes verses (like the following) have an even more extreme impact:

I'm butter on a bread like Parkay
And I am all about me like Do-Ray
I'm in the hood in the hood like dope, yay
Nappy ass hair like Buckwheat, "Oh-tay!"


The joy of listening to Wayne is discovering these lines for oneself, the first time. His words never seem to get old, and each verse seems to get better. The nuance is deep, the pop culture references endless and Wayne's hunger for beats implacable:

Hollygrove, Eagle Street be my damn hood
Where you can get murdered for free like canned goods
I got twelve Barbaros under the Lam' hood
I can bring Kentucky Derby to the damn hood

This is the brilliance of Wayne: he rarely panders to his audience, and like all great artists assumes the intelligence of his listeners--he knows that we're right there with him the whole way. His metaphors and references are often so complex that it would not be strange if someone released an annotated volume of his lyrics. I mean, honestly: Barbaro? It's genius, and it only gets better with each verse:

Man I'm so Hollygrove
Stand strong in the water like a Commodore
Black holes in your white tee, dominoes
Me and Brisco, Cash Money carnivores

In case you don't know, a Commodore is a type of commissioned naval officer--if you didn't know, then you probably thought that verse was trash. Seems to be the common-thread among Wayne haters: lack of a proper education in words. Can't really enjoy what you don't understand, now can you? But hey, educated rappers attract educated fans, even if they are "In The Hood." Wayne's flow is truly out of this world: Weezy, time to phone home.-bw

13. "David Banner"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana 1 | Download

"David Banner" is a lyrical exercise for Weezy. It's one of those tracks that takes an active listener to disentangle--the complexity of the metaphors and references are mindboggling, but even more impressive is how long Wayne sustains it for. This has always been his forte: like a fuel-efficient vehicle, Wayne just never seems to run out of gas.

Chrome on the monster, leather intestines
With a top model, and the contestants
I'm a rotweiler, yes I'm a rock and roller
It's Weezy Fuckin' Baby, straight up out the stroller
I'm higher than the solar
System oughta twist em
I'm like MacAuly Calkin
I was rich when I was pissin
On myself I'm ballin; you niggaz hate-a-holics
I'm just the recipe, so you can save the garlic

It's really pointless to quote this track, because it goes on and on and on, and only gets better. Wait for the beat to switch, listen, then press rewind. -bw

12. "Pain"
Heard on Carter III Sessions | Download

Let's just all take a moment and pretend that Rick Ross had never done a remix of this song. Because that's all I have on my computer at the moment, and it makes me cringe every time. The first version I heard was just Wayne and it was just aamazing. Not that collaborations never add anything, but that more stripped down version was more driven, more intense, more heart-breaking.


Because this is a hell of a break-up song, and, at least in my estimation it's one of the most passionate ones I can think of. Not that rappers never let down their guards, but the emotions in this song are just so raw as to make one feel voyeuristic for hearing it.

Add that the great sample--a use of a sample rarely seen, where it interacts and builds on the song in a really clear and great way. It adds a bit of playfulness and creativity to an otherwise dense track. -zolmes

11. "Triggaman"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana 1 | Download

I wish Curren$y was still on Cash Money, because he interacts with Wayne in such a great way. I can't think of a single song they've done together that wasn't a joy to listen to, Triggaman being a great example.

So here we have some great representing of the south, of New Orleans, and of bounce music. And we also have some great slow, a crazy sick beat, and Wayne just going off on everything. Tracks like these made him and while his later work has matured and built on these themes, there's no denying the fun of hearing an earlier track like this, no denying the energy, the musicianship, and the ease in which it all comes across.

And, damn, seriously. That beat. Wayne, for all his ongoing troubles with DJs can really pick a beat to go over. -zolmes

This track is the old and the new together. There's really nothing to say about it: you simply must listen. -bw

Grab all the tracks from this edition of the C2C3 countdown in one zip pack.

Check back in another two days for the end of our countdown--and more importantly--the release of Lil Wayne's The Carter III. It's an exciting time in rap music. The alien, Weezy F. Baby is set for takeover.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 60 - 51
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 50 - 41
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 40 - 31

30. "Live from the 504"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

Apparently, according to a competing source, Wayne spit this as a freestyle in the booth of BET's Rap City. If that's true, then amazing, and if not, well the song still kicks ass. So keep leanin' Young Dro, cuz you can't stand straight with Wayne.


Weezy goes for two minutes, no break, no pause, on "Live from the 504," acknowledges his own crazy flow--"jumpin' like a bungee no rope"--his hunger for money, and shuts down the beef with Gillie da Kid while scaring off any of those small fish in hip-hop that blow:

I'm a shark in the water
Yep I swim with the bigs
so I dont have time to deal with Willie tha Squid
Li-li-lilipad niggaz l-l-look at the monsta
You u u dont wanna crash like La-la-la Bamba

Combine all that with Wayne contorting his voice like every other line, eating up hip-hop, poppin' a skittle and fuckin' "for a hour wit dat," acknowliding drugs kill but when he's "on da drugs he dont have a prolem wit dat" and you have a loaded track that shows off Wayne's skills and brains on pills.-logic

29. "Rider"
Heard on Bad Ass Grasshopper | Download

Easily one of this feminist's favorite Lil Wayne tracks, this song is on nearly every mixtape I have made for my female friends. That said, what's unique about the way Lil Wayne populates the landscape of his music is that he consistently presents characters—narrators or subjects, speakers or audiences—in infinitely varying degrees of roundness. Unlike the satirical awareness Weezy demonstrates in Ask Them Hoes (and consequently the flatly stereotypical narrator and his droves of dimes), in Rider Wayne playes an uncontrollably confessional champion of someone else: like all the best songs about girls, our attention here is divided equally by the singer's equal descriptions of the rare depth of one particular lady and the rare depth of his love is for her because of same.

With more filled out instrumentation than Wayne's more percussive tracks, Rider is constructed of New Orleans synths (high and low pianos, violins,), good ol fashioned snares and chord progressions you can find all over Wayne's stuff circa the Lil Weezyana and Dedication 2 mixtapes. Except for Wayne's half-belted half-rapped bluesy verses and not overly AutoTuned choruses, Rider is musically quite familiar for fans.

Similarly familiar is Wayne's compulsively uninhibited delivery. Perhaps my favorite part of the song is the bridge where Wayne's rhyming becomes increasingly shorter and closer, affectively speeding up his narration:

Shorty say she want a rider
I can be that and much more like a provider
I can provide her
And if you lookin for me I'm prob'ly inside her
You only like her
I'm tryna wife her
See I'm polite to her
And she's my buyer
See we are tighter
Than gripped pliers.
She gets me higher,
Higher than my purp.
Shorty so bright
When you look at her make your eyes hurt
You need a visor

His urge to list this girl's virtues actually intensifies the song, drives it. His building and ultimately climactic restraint in singing her praises, like flawless pop songs thoughout history, paints the picture of an ideally suited pair. Rider is straight up a special song because while it fits all of these tropes it also fits all of these tropes together as one track, wrapping up hip hop's brand of bad bitch feminism, American pop music's definition of romantic love, and the passionately genuine lyrics of lasting songwriting. A perfect example of Dwayne Carter further establishing himself as an artist with a complex understanding not just of rapping or even hip hop at large, but of the nature of music. From the technical and structural aspects of individual songs to the cinematic imagery of lyricism, and on into the way music—as an art form—can create new conversations. -JESS!CA


I'm a little beyond upset right now because Tha Carter III dropped, good news right? Nah, my Ipod-killer won't charge or handle any file transfers right now so I'll have to listen to Tha Carter II, or Dedication 2, or Da Drought 3, or the first Carter III, or maybe some of that Bad Ass Grasshopper vocoder heat while I workout. Yeah, I won't deny it. It's time to hit up the jumpoff.




Okay I'm lookin for a redbone
And when I get her I'm goin tap it like a Fed phone

That pretty much sums up "Rider" right there. Besides Wayne bringing up marriage. I'm not sure where that comes from, but I can't be mad at Gizmo for getting emotional and providing for the ladies.



Let me take one knee
And I said baby will you marry me
Live ever after happily
Just the way it's supposed to be
Just you and me, just you and me

When I listen to the B.A.G. Introduction I have to remind myself of where this shit came from. Wayne came out of nowhere with this concept, mentioning a new group he created focusiong on Rap, Rock and R&B during an interview, and then during the same interview (he had to leanin' like a three-legged lion at the time, right?) he says they'll go ahead and put out a mixtape to show off what they're about. I was already calling bullshit before I put down the headphones, but I'll be damned if Wayne didn't deliver, again.

Praise the lord Thor for this one. -logic

28. "Walk it Out"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

What is it about Kanye's ego that's irritating as hell, while I feel Wayne's might be large, but largely deserved. This here, this is a whole song about how Wayne is awesome. And really, what track of his isn't about that? And yet...Wayne is awesome. He has the talent to back his claims. Because this shit right here? This is probably something he busted out over a lunch break, for fun. Wayne doesn't so much make music as have it pour from his body and that was especially clear on the Drought 3, possibly one of my favorite albums of all time. So yea, Wayne can Walk It Out. He can find that married bitch. And, evem if you hate him, he's what we're talking about. -zolmes

27. "Pop Bottles"
Heard on 5 Star Stunna | Download

This is one of the few songs I associate with the music video, which makes me say this: Lil' Wayne should make a lot more music video. Everyone I can think of, he looks like he's having a hell of a good time--even if everyone else is involved, Lil' Wayne is just enjoying the hell out of life, making music fun, not a chore to work on. This enjoyment is a lot of what has gotten him to the point where people like us are willing to write so much about him--as BW noted the other day, he actually works. And more than that, he enjoys works.


So what is popping bottles? It's certainly a strong motif in Wayne's work, along with shitting/pissing on his competition. Popping bottles is, well, ejaculation. Celebration. Literally popping bottles. it's not a particularly elegant metaphor, but Wayne manages to make it fun. And when he apologizes to you (the You of any female), because he thought you were his other women? Even that's fun, an honest mistake, just another reason to sleep with him. And all this works best paired with the visuals. No one can smirk so coyly as Lil' Wayne, no one can make blowjobs so charismatic. No one else can outdo the other rappers looks bad just by standing next to them. -zolmes

"Pop Bottles" and the accompanying video may rank as one of the best party songs to drop in 2007. The off-beat chorus, delivered by Birdman is one that everybody in the club can sing, while Weezy's irreverent lines come one after the next:

If you can't swallow, shut up bitch, gargle
Straight up out that water with my Marc Jacob goggles


Hilarious imagery in the song combines with an equally ridiculous video to great effect. Picturing Wayne actually playing a fast-paced game of basketball is quite comedic, but when he lets his dreads hang after sinking the winning shot, it's clear that "Pop Bottles" is headed to classic status. -bw

26. "Ask Them Hoes"
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 4 | Download

Sometimes Wayne plays the cad like Bob Dylan, giving us a narrative in which he is a character about past romantic entanglements, giving us lyrical portraits of his subjects. This is not one of those times. And with some rappers this turns into trite chauvinistic self-aggrandizement with recycled imagery and rhymes my parents could come up with. For Wayne though objectification becomes a matter of wordplay and satire rather than actual sexism. He's still self-agrandizing, but it's more a matter of Weezy's construction of himself as an overwhelmingly confident narrator within his songs. Playing off the crisp production of Ask Them Hoes' claps, snares and half-speed drum fills, Wayne goes into annunciation mode and peppers his verses with the friction and rhythem of consonants:



I'm crack rock fresh baby I'm that boy

Now put me in the pot and watch I come back hard

Yeah put me on the block and watch I come back rich

She done put me in that pussy she ain't come back since.




And with his talent for infallibly hypnotic hooks this track gets signed sealed and delivered as another hilarious portrayal of a narrator so "married to the money, committed to the cash" that when he looks at the opposite sex all he sees is "pussy, titties and the ass" and when he looks in the mirror he sees a dollar sign. Lil Wayne is a master of the cult of personality and his lyrical commodification of identity parodies so many hip hop archetypes it's impossible not to laugh. Couple this kind of wit with a tightly constructed beat and sparse instrumentation and you've got an indestructibly entertaining rap standard. -name

25. "Bandana on the Right"
Heard on Purple Coedine Part 14 | Download

This is one of Weezy's best ever, the beat is utterly flawless and leaves Wayne in a situation to take absolutely no prisoners. Though he can be freehweeling and comedic at times, "Bandana on the Right" is Wayne with guns blazing for 2 minutes of straight-heat--in other words, it's reppin' time.

They talk a lotta shit but come and meet me boy,
Them niggaz scared, actin' like I'm a ouija board
Like "Lil' Weezy are you with me?"
One to your kidney,
comin' to your block, and neener will be with me

The grimy soundscape really sets everything up just right for Wayne to rip it proper: there's a piano loop, deep bass and a screwed-up chorus. This music could properly be described as a pre-driveby adrenaline rush. It's violent, brash and angry. Wayne gets gutter and it feels great.

Or at least put they ass up in the E.R.
Put that pump to they chest like CPR
We already got ours but we need ya'lls
I'm a beast and I hand with the Beastie Boys

Somehow I don't think he's talking about the Jewish trio from New York City--it's a safe bet that he's referencing a massive goon squad you don't want to see in a dark alley. -bw

24. "You Ain't Know"
Heard on Like Father Like Son | Download

What, you don't know Weezy's game yet? He's out for the paper, and on "You Ain't Know," he clears up any confusion about his intentions with a pair of verses that are straight fire. The airy, piano-backed beat doesn't hurt, either:

Put it on the hood, I'm Hollygrove to death
I'm already good, I'm open on my left
A jungle on my wrist, a circus on my neck
Don't forget the Baby, no don't forget the F


Wayne's flow is sweet here, and the video--while hardly high concept--has a nostalgic feel to it that suits the music perfectly. This is one of those songs I play in the car when on some solo shit--it just sounds like success. -bw

23. "Walk It Off"
Heard on Grand Closing | Download

As a gangster rap fan, I'm often called on by friends to defend my choice in music, and I often find myself at a loss to truly explain why I like something. But tracks like this give me no trouble whatsoever and Lil Wayne is a master of them. Tracks like these are, to me, gangster rap (or any rap) at it's finest--taking a somewhat absurd analogy and working the hell out of it. It's the way that hustling becomes something other than actually selling drugs, the way that is instead stands in for just rocking the hell out of life.


So right here Wayne's taking sports and applying it to everything else. And there's nothing particularly unique about that--hell, he already has a whole song about it--but, as I find myself saying a lot on this countdown, Wayne makes it work. And maybe I can't justify that with anything other than talent. Wayne is just a talented guy and he sells things that others can't. And that's usually the dividing line between genius and mediocrity and Wayne walks that line himself, but here it works completely. Wayne has always been a competitor and here he summarizes the effect of that on his whole life. It's biographical, in a way, but as in a lot of rap songs I like, it's also about you. It's universal.

Plus, how awesome is that David Koresh shout-out? Seriously, who the fuck else would do that?-zolmes

22. "We Takin Ova" (Original)
Heard on Greatest Rapper Alive II | Download

I considered just putting Wayne's entire verse here, because it's just so damn good. This song feels like it's from so long ago, from a time when Khaled wasn't a complete joke, a more humbler time of March of last year. And it's a good track, far less ridiculous than much of what Khaled is throwing out these days. But there's no doubt that Weezy owns this thing, taking just thirty seconds to show how completely he dominates the game. And the video emphasizes this, making Wayne larger than life, larger even than Rick Ross. Me? I just like that he throws some of his psychology degree in there. Just for kicks. Because this shit? This is nothing for him. -zolmes

21. "La La La"
Heard on The Carter III Sessions | Download

The first single off of the original Carter III, last year's Carter III, the feel-good joint of the year. Yet, this song didn't even make it onto the official Leak EP, which is apparently going to be a bonus disc for this year's Carter III, instead it was replaced by a couple of better but later-recorded tracks, "Gossip" and "Talkin about it." That's really unfortunate for those casual Lil Wayne fans out there who will miss out, and for Weezy too; where the cash at?


Wayne takes us back to his roots with "La La La" as he drops rhymes of childhood memories over the piano. He's told us before "And my hood love me, they tell me bring it home, that's why I holla Hollygrove on each and every song," and he doesn't disappoint:

I thank you New Orleans
Thank you Hollygrove
Thats been my hood since a snotty nose
I come through the hood suicidal doors
I used to come through the hood on the handle bars
Gat in my drawers
Money in my pocket
Crack in my jaws

And now I have to give some thanks to Dr. Carter. The man's lyrics stir up so many memories that I can truly listen to him spit it all day. Take this for example:

I used to have the Starter jacket with the logo
And the hat, me myself I had the N.O.

The Starter jacket with the logo! With the logo! Damn Weezy. For those who don't remember, or who are too young, there were two versions of the Starter jacket that kids wore. They were both the same; same colors, same logo on the back, same hood, same v-neck zipper. But the only difference, as far as I could tell, was seen when one kid with a 'cool' coat unzipped the v-neck and revealed a Starter logo while the other kids, with their lame jackets, were just sportin' plain black fabric (colors may vary by team).

Again, I'm disappointed this song doesn't make it onto any CD so download it now and make your own CD. Or, perhaps, we'll release the original Carter III CD at the end of this countdown. Then you can bump multiple Carter part 3's.-logic

I wish there could have been two Carter III's released--the original leaked version and the new leaked version. Because I would have bought the whole original album just for this track. It's sort of gangster, sort of adorable, sort of childish and all amazing. It reminds me of another track I love to bang--"Young Boy" by Clipse--because to me there's usually something wonderful about good rappers talking about their childhood, like finding out a friends favorite books from when they were a kid and suddenly understanding them on a whole different level.

Plus, this track, almost none of it having to do with the normal hood tropes, rep's New Orleans as well as more explicit songs in Wayne's catalog. It endears you to "the Zoo", makes it a place where a kid can grow up, have a skateboard, and be a lovebird. It expresses the great love that Wayne better than other tracks, not just proclaiming it, but showing you as well. It's hood as hell, despite the child's chorus. -zolmes

You can download all the files from this portion of the countdown in a zipped pack.

As some of you probably are aware, The Carter III leaked to the net this week. Whether or not it is a legit rip remains to be seen, but either way we will press on with the countdown which ends early next week, just before C3 hits stores on Tuesday! Expect a debut like you've never seen--Weezy's breathing new life into this thing.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 60 - 51
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 50 - 41

40. "Sports Center"
Heard on Dedication 2 | Download

Straight up, this way be one of my favorite tracks of all time. I mean, beyond it being a hell of a freestyle, I think it highlights a lot of not just what makes Weezy a good rapper, but what makes a good rap song in general. It doesn't go on to long, it's clever, but not forced, it's about sex and guns, but not really. And, ultimately, it's all about the ego, the awesome, the superiority of the MC who's "serving that track". It's hard for me to separate my enjoyment of this song from my overall enjoyment of Dedication 2, an album I find it almost impossible to not listen to the whole way through. That appeal comes from stuff like Sportscenter--tracks that just ooze cool and calm and complete and utter domination. On this track Wayne doesn't have to make a big show of being the best alive, because every second of it reinforces that notion. -zolmes

39. "I'm A Beast"
Heard on Carter III Sessions | Download

What is so appealing about Wayne's random associations? If any other artist started a track with a line like "rapping is my hobby/my house has a lobby" I'd assume they had just pulled out the rhyming dictionary and turn it off. But Wayne thrives on this sort of randomness, turning the fluff of his head into viable tracks. It doesn't--and shouldn't--work, but Wayne pulls it off (most) of the time whether through sheer talent or sheer insanity. His diversions work and become stuff like this track--maybe not an confirmation of the title, but something work singing along to every time. -zolmes

38. "Malcolm X"
Heard on Best Rapper Alive Vol. 4 | Download

What does it mean to compare yourself to Malcolm X is this day? Are you aligning yourself with radical Islam? Against the assimilation of the wider Civil Rights Movement? Tying your name to fallen heroes to proclaim yourself one? And if any of this is the case, why is that Lil' Wayne uses this track to affirm his life and then do none of the rest? Does it mean anything at all? or is the track just an introspective banger, something that rides on dark tones, enters your brain, and then leaves all too quickly. -zolmes

37. "Screwed Up"
Heard on Best Thang Smokin 2 | Download

Wayne drops a memorable verse here: starting with a recitation of the alphabet, Weezy proceeds to paint a gloomy streetscape over a beat that's as dark as his lyrics. The only thing is, he's not the shooter, he's is the bullet, with each line shredding the soft tissue between listener's ears.

I got a bitch named Nina, and Nina so slutty
Cuz she'll do him and everyone of his buddies

If it seems weird that a song featuring Trae made it this high on the countdown, then you should listen to the track again. Wayne's syrupy flow matches the name of the song perfectly. "Screwed Up" doesn't have much linking it thematically, but each line is an absolute delight. -bw

36. "Stuntin Like My Daddy"
Heard on Like Father Like Son | Download

I've often said that this is one of Wayne's most important efforts ever committed to wax. From verse to verse you can almost hear him transition into the freewheeling beat of an MC that he is today. The first verse is relatively tame compared to his second, a potato-chip-crunching set of lines that find Wayne shedding traditional rap conventions in favor of his own, unorthodox style. The Wayne we know today wasn't simply born, he is the product of years in the game. With "Stuntin' Like My Daddy," that growth is apparent in two quick verses, a microcosm of Weezy's career. Plus, the beat bangs. -bw

35. "Money In The Bank"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana Vol. 1 | Download

From the opening line, "Thank God I'm a millionaire!" it is clear that Wayne isn't here to take Lil Scrappy's track for a test drive; he came for the takeover, and generally succeeds.

Fuck wit me mama, I know you want a G
And I'm a Real Blood, If you want R and B

As with most of his best efforts, the lines are infinitely repeatable and in many cases unforgettable ("Nigga I can look into the sun's eyes!"). Listening to this for the first time is like having the light turned on in a dark room: Weezy exposed Scrappy's failure on the beat, and showcased the kind of high-caliber raps that this production can support. -bw

34. "Navigator Man"
Heard on Bad Ass Grasshopper | Download

"Navigator Man" is one of Lil Wayne's greatest accomplishments: at first obnoxious and perplexing, a track that barely qualifies as rap music morphs into a catchy, fantasy-journey bursting with navigation-related sexual euphemism. If the listener can suspend all incredulity at Wayne's asinine lyrics and simply commit to having a good time with him, then "Navigator Man" is sure to be stuck on repeat for days. To put this another way, "Navigator Man" is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. It combines tremendous orchestration with a ridiculous, sing-a-long chorus that feels great to belt out and yet demands some degree of embarrassment from even the most unabashed fan.


Wayne, however, isn't embarrassed in the slightest. The studio must have been a blast for this one. With Weezy's first words, "Buckle up, sweetheart," it's clear that the listener is in for some type of ride. No, there's nothing new lyrically here, but musically speaking, "Navigator Man" is one of Weezy's greatest experiments and it succeeds on pretty much every count--not the least of which is that he somehow sustained an five-minute sexual metaphor involving GPS and OnStar without breaking character. -bw

33. "Vans"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana Vol 1 | Download

Wayne's foray into whispering raps is super. Short, sweet and repeatable, Weezy kills the beat with a flow that sounds like it could have been put down on the first take and doesn't feel as sleazy as the Ying Yang Twins. Where that duo's music smacks of a cheap strip clup, Wayne's flow is refined, high-quality and something that the audience can actually whisper along with. -bw

32. "100 Million"
Heard on 5 Star Stunna | Download

When stuck on a posse track of this caliber, how does one MC separate himself from the next? With the Runners on production, Khaled on the hype and a host of A-list rappers contributing lyrics, it's easy for the mediocre MC to get buried underneath it all--it's also easy for the veterans to drop a weak verse and bank on Cool & Dre's hook. The key to success on a track like this lies in distinguishing oneself. No one will ever forget Wayne's verse on "We Takin' Ova," and though his effort here on "100 Million" isn't on that level, it's different and a step above the others. "100 Million" finds Wayne operating at his most unorthodox: he abandons the obvious metaphors in favor of something much more cryptic. Wayne asserts his hood status differently than the rest:

I wish I could quit, I don't know how.
Blood gang swarm like a red ant pile
Mean mug, like I can't smile
Like my grill didn't cost me a hundred-thou

Weezy is on some other shit here. It's a short verse that won't make everyone's list of favorites, yet it deserves a nod here. There are probably about a hundred million ways to approach a track like "100 Million" as a rapper, yet Weezy manages to do the unexpected. This is the secret to his staying power: he keeps fans guessing and other MCs watching. Birdman, Jeezy and Rick Ross spit exactly what you'd expect, but when Wayne drops in the status quo is out the door. -bw

31. "Hood Shit"
Heard on I Can't Feel My Face (The Prequel) | Download

Though I campaigned to have this song placed in the top ten, it landed here at position number 31. Realistically it's not a top ten track due to the lack of any coherent theme, but Wayne's flow is truly top notch--the perfect example of a lazy flow, Wayne destroys the beat and it hardly feels like he lifted a finger.

I got a lot but I can never get enough
Man, them 26 inches got the low-low sittin up
Mama I can fix you so you need to hook it up
Rocky Marciano how I beat the pussy up
You not a Soprano play pussy get fucked
Hit a nigga from a hundred yards like *cluck*

I'm honestly tempted to just print the entire verse in lieu of any review. The truth is that--like most of Wayne's work--it can't be dismantled and broken down line-by-line, but instead must be appreciated as a whole.

These niggas air soft
Yeah, soft shell taco. Mild sauce
Move the Ferrari like a wild horse
Or I get chauffeured like a mob boss

"Hood Shit" is one of the best collabos between Santana and Wayne, just after "Nothin." Together, these two tracks make me wish that a studio version of "I Can't Feel My Face" would actually come out. Unfortunately, that album may rank as one of Wayne's few broken promises to his fans. We'll just have to wait and see. I think we all want more tracks like this one. -bw

There's less than two weeks until The Carter III drops. Expect sales like you've never seen before, and expect another the countdown to continue right to the wire. Grab all of this week's tracks in a zipped pack. See you again soon.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 60 - 51

50. "Donks"
Heard on Lil Weezy Ana 1 | Download

There's a lot of Lil' Wayne's. His more recent relseases have been divisive because they're a little more experimental, a little more free-falling, a little more crazy. "Donks", on the other hand, represents a very different Lil' Wayne. I hesitate to use the word conventional, because I feel that any Wayne track we throw on this list is anything but, but it's maybe a little more typically Wayne. Stripped down beats, ladies, money, sound effects, and some lines so clever you might actually laugh out loud ("So fly got wings tattooed on me/the gun glued on me/but I pop you in your stomach/now I got ya yesterdays food on me/now that was real rude homie")--if this isn't Weezy at his finest, than it's certainly him at his most solid. -zolmes

49. "Higher Than a Kite" f. Nicki Minaj
Heard on New Orleans Nightmare Vol. 10 | Download

It seems like Wayne will work with anyone because he probably will. But if you couldn't tell from his Hot Boys beginnings, 2006's Like Father Like Son (this album will be two years old this fall, believe that), or more recently his side project, B.A.G., Lil Wayne knows how to share when it comes to those he's closest to. His role on Nicki Minaj's mixtapes, Playtime's Over (2007) and Sucka Free (2008), demonstrate his dedication to collaboration but they also offer an artistic chemistry between lyricists that isn't just rare in music.

You heard them together first on the Drought III's "Can't Stop Won't Stop" last summer. And Weezy fans saw him in the studio working on two songs on her most recent Sucka Free mixtape on The Come Up Vol. 17 DVD (which you can catch in five installments on YouTube starting here). Overall on the tape Wayne's got features on three tracks—"Sunshine", "Higher Than a Kite", and "Big Spender". Wayne also lends the tape skits, intros and the beats from previous songs "Lollipop", "Sweetest Girl", and "Pussy MVP", top that off with Nicki's claws out cover of Trina's "Baddest Bitch" and the allegiance between the Cash Money Prez and Nicki Lewinski is clear.

On "Higher Than a Kite," Nicki murders the first verse delivering as many tight rhymes, rhythmic repetitions, onomatopoeia, jokes and culturally literate references as we've come to expect from her Young Money boss. The overall song quickly finds its footing a decadent drug number and this isn't new for Weezy fans, but the way both players trip in and out of verses which have nothing to do with drugs highlight their similar abilities to incorporate incredibly disparate subject matter to fill bars more with their own dynamic personalities than any one message or genre.

The chorus is not that far from any of Wayne's other listener-conscious virtual-reality ride anthems through the territory of drugs, sex, money, or general bad-assery, with Minaj singing:

Sniffin on some good blow/is like sippin on the tempo
And I can't come down now/Cause I'm higher than, higher than, higher than a kite.

But the cleverness here is not so much in the song structure or production, but in the verses. Wayne's rhymes are as eclectic as ever—from "let a man run a errand/I'ma hit 'im like hank"—and his sense of the songs inherent rhythms are impeccable, welding his pows, duhs, and impossibly varied pronunciation to the beat. If you want a more narrative duet check out Sunshine. If you want high gloss horns, whistles, and chipmunk backup vocals check out Big Spender, my current ringtone. But this duo works the mic with the delicacy, quickness, confidence and exuberance of Astaire and Rogers. -JESS!CA

48. "Dipset"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

God DAMN this is a catchy beat. It makes me want to storm the streets, put a spotlight on my car, and yell. And god DAMN if Wayne doesn't murder this. This song is some eminently quotable I don't know if me blathering on about the damn thing will mean anything. Instead I will say that if you can't fall in love with Wayne after hearing the line "I got a great idea/We should have sex"--because there's everything in that delivery and that's everything about Wayne--than you only exist to be a hater. -zolmes

47. "Scarface"
Heard on The Carter 3 Sessions | Download

This countdown is proof of Wayne's sheer prolificness, the immense output of songs that have helped to make him famous, but tracks like these really show that. This track song pours out of Wayne, as it was unstoppable, as if he couldn't stop it once he started.


And the track is dark. One thing this countdown has helped me realize is just how well Wayne's beats match the mood of the song. This track is dark and lonely--"Protect Me From My Friends/I can take care of my enemies"--and that sense is put forth in the very first seconds of song, as the beats build and the outpour starts. -zolmes

46. "Party Like a Rockstar (Remix)"
Heard on album | Download

Although there's nothing necessary to say about this song beyond: "Remix bay-bee!!" I'll still try to present some coherent commentary. Wayne's verse is one of his shortest ever, and yet each line packs some inventive punch. Despite the brevity of Wayne's blessing, I think most listeners will agree that this beat (and song) is hardly worth spending more than 45 seconds on. A good intro, a few slick rhymes, and we're ready for the skip button--sorry, Shop Boyz.

I don't have to force 'em
They just do what I say Jack, like Wheel of Fortune

Wayne starts the verse with an explicit proclamation of the gulf that exists between himself and the rest of rap: "We are not the same, I am a martian, it's young Weezy F. Baby no abortion." Indeed, many rap pundits would be quick to agree that Wayne's flow--if not Wayne himself--certainly appears to have origins in another galaxy. More than anything, though, "Party Like a Rockstar" isn't about lyricism, it's about two chantable words that will forever be part of hip-hop's ever-evolving lexicography: Wayne brought us "bling-bling," and here he brings us, "Remix baybeee!" -bw

45. "Burn This City" f. Twista
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 4 | Download

Leave it to Weezy to flow over a Franz Ferdinand sample set to heavy bass. I was a huge fan of the song this samples--"This Fire"--and so when I first heard the beat for "Burn This City," I was slightly skeptical. But as usual, Wayne delivers a strong performance. Many fans will testify to Weezy's ability as the anchor on a track, but here he demonstrates his power as an opener--a spot where I feel his talents are most appropriately used. I mean, why put Wayne at the end of a song? So we can scan through all the other rappers? No, put him at the beginning and let him set the bar.

Stop playin' with me cannon in my hand
And I'll be damned if any man disrespect me on my land

These few two lines are astounding. Wayne opens his mouth and immediately shows us the direction he is headed: multi-syllabic, off-beat rhyming unlike much else going on in the industry. Pay attention to his enunciation and liquid use of "an," a sound that helps tie the flow together. For "Burn This City," Weezy reverts to his fireman persona--appropriate, considering the track's subject--and takes a lyrical detour back to The Carter II.

My pencil pump liquor I'm a special ass nigga,
No frontin', I'm in front of these extra-last niggaz
I'm a extra-bad nigga, I'm a sideways shooter
Open up the Maserati, fuck a highway trooper


For all the MCs looking to learn some breath control, "Burn This City" might make for a nice study. Wayne rips it over one of the most unexpected beats of the year. I think a lot of people in rap took a second look at Wayne after hearing him over this one--it signals a rejection of limits and bolsters a general Weezy mantra, that the future is more important than the past. -bw

44. "How You Like Me Now?" aka "Smokin"
Heard on The Carter 3 Sessions | Download

From the opening bass hit and ensuing chorus, it's clear that "How You Like Me Now" is a triumph for Wayne--playful, irreverent and heavy, this song is a tribute to the Highest Goddess in Wayne's life, marijuana.

Buck 60 on the dash, I'ma do two,
Captain Crunch, these niggaz is fruit loops!
That's why your girl wanna fuck me and my group too
And I'ma make her back it up like 'whoop whoop'

"How You Like Me Now" feels like a smoke session, which is why it is so great. Wayne just lets the words go, whether or not they make a whole lot of sense. At first it's almost confusing trying to determine where the fine line between metaphor and nonsense lies; after getting lifted with Wayne, however, the song becomes what it's meant to be: a good time. Don't overthink this one, just turn the bass up, sit back, and blaze.

Buck 40 on a ring that I don't really wear
But I bet it light up the night like the city fair
The shit ain't fair I didn't have to go there
But all this ice got me feelin' like a polar bear.

Other winning snippets: "Please, crackers with cheese," and "I'm like a turtle when I smoke the purple." Wayne is, above all else, completely unique. He makes music for the listener's pleasure, and "How You Like Me Now" perfectly illustrates this. Every line is a delight, and Wayne addresses the haters in a single sentence: "I don't know what you on, but I'm on some new shit." Indeed. -bw

43. "American Superstar" ft. Flo Rida
Heard on Mail on Sunday | Download

Look at me bitch! Look at me bitch! What Wayne, who's the superstar?

'Rida and Wayne must have been blowin' trees when they put this chorus together. It's almost as if they both forgot what the song was about for a moment. Almost.

I got guns for the snitches
And roses for the bitches
Hoppin out the whip
paparazzi takin pictures

One definitely can't get more American than guns n' roses, but the line seems to be describing Jay's American gangster, the one who's puttin' down a snitch and sending roses to the widow (read: bitch), more than it's describing an American superstar. Nevertheless, hopping out of the whip to the paparazzi flashing their cameras is definitely superstarrish. Put the two together and like Batman, pow! Wayne's an American superstar.

got two bitches one peanut butter, one jelly
I'm a oven make it gangster already

Awww yeah, Wayne can't leave out the food. That must be why I love him so much. He's always talking about food and I'm one of those guys who can just eat, eat, eat. Must be sublimininal messages or something, cuz Wayne-related satisfaction always ends the hunger.-logic

42. "World of Fantasy"
Heard on The Carter 3 Sessions | Download

Wayne doesn't tackle serious issue that more, or at least not in such a deadly serious way. Which isn't to say that this song lacks humor, only that it' darkness is clearer, it's lightness hidden against the backdrop of the rough beat and rougher stories. And once again, for me, it's all about a single line, a single intonation that sells the whole tale for me--in this case, when Wayne says "He could see the devil, see the devil in my features", a small aside that tells the whole story. Wayne may be a freestyler, a pot-head, a joker, but he's also, ultimately, a writer. -zolmes


I once described to a friend, on the way to see Weezy in concert while we listened to Da Drought 3's "Seat Down Low," how I pictured Wayne's brain working. I told him that I imagined a collage of sorts, a massive three-dimensional painting, a visual representation of every thing Wayne could think of, that he could see in front of him and manipulate always. Think interactive Imax screen. Think Wayne's World of Fantasy.


Because that's what he's living in; a World of Fantasy.

In the song, however, Wayne dedicates the last half of his verse to his mother. After telling her that he loves her, Wayne reminds her who has always been looking out. He reminds her who raised him, saying that while her second husband sees the devil in his features, she sees herself in Weezy's face.

'Member when your pussy second husband used to beat ya
Remember when i went into the kitchen got the cleaver
He aint give a fuck, I aint give a fuck either
He could see the devil, see the devil in my features

And for his mother, Wayne represents:

I am her voice and the World is my speaker
I'm speakin'

-logic

41. "California Love" f. Tyga
Heard on Various | Download

Lil Wayne absolutely wrecks this track with a sing-song flow that exists in symbiosis with the faux-romantic beat. As with so much of Wayne's music, the vocals seem to have co-evolved alongside the track, resulting in an extremely rewarding listening experience. There's a tremendous amount of lyrical experimentation going on here, and yet instead of sounding edgy, the entire production comes off feeling fun and easy, like it was no problem for Wayne whatsoever.

Speedin' like a cop behind me
Tryin' to catch up with this girl like some 57 Heinz
And you deserve lobster mami,
So how bout I make reservations at crustaceans?

The production on "California Love" sounds like something that might have been rejected from an Outkast album--it's not brilliant musically, but is catchy enough to allow Wayne some freedom with his voice and the auto-tune. And though the sound may not be on 'Kast's level, Weezy's flow aspires to Andre 3000, and ultimately succeeds in surpassing 3 Stacks on every count: from listenability to free-wheeling spontaneity and storytelling, Weezy rips it. As a bonus, "California Love" is one everybody can learn the words to, and feel great about.

Then I took her to Rodeo
She shopped all day-oh,
Then I fucked her Hollywood ass like she was from Vallejo

His flow is hardly gangster, but it can't appropriately be called love ballad crooning, either. Instead, "California Love" feels like the hazy day after; a breezy three-minute memory of the Golden State and its accompanying girls. It's nostalgic--a one-night-stand of a song. -bw

That's it for today! You can download all the mp3s from today in a zipped file. We'll be back with more of the C2C3 Countdown later this week. It's almost June, which means The Carter III is almost here. Word.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously:
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71
C2C3 Countdown, tracks 70 - 61

60. "One Night Only"
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 4 | Download

A heightened mournful melodic sample loops as the introduction and chorus and serves as the foundation for the for the song's rythms which are further articulated by flat, crisp percussion. Fleshing out the song's driving, building throb are foreboding piano and strings tracks. Above the layers of production Wayne's rap has the long-shot narrative effect of the Berlin School films, stretching the content over an ambiguous landscape of one night stands and road-narratives. Conflating the vocalist loop with his own story, the repitition of the phrase "one night only" fills in intentionally theatrical breaks. Overall the song feels like riding a bike up a steadily-increasing incline for two miles, an endurance that fades out of the frame rather than portray its implied climax. -JESS!CA

What IS this track? A love song? A comment on groupies? The realities of womanhood? Wayne is rarely not a hero in his song, but in this track he plays an ambiguous role--he's a hell of a good lover, but the poor fan who's in love with him has to accept terrible circumstances for the relationship. He can make her love him forever--but he's gonna leave you. Is he worth it? I'm not going to say Wayne is a rapper who is able to tell ladies stories, but here, as in songs like "Prostitute Flange", he works the other end of the love story, the other end of being a groupie, of his love 'em and leave 'em life. It's a flip of perspective, a wry smile, a sort of sadness. -zolmes

59. "Poppin (Remix)" with Cassidy
Heard on Wayne's World Vol. 5 | Download

With the vocal focus largely on Cassidy, rather than Lil Wayne, this is a mild introduction to a series of new material. Redundant in both instrumentation and rythm, the first two-thirds of the track have the resulting effect of chant only distinguishable as verse or chorus. In this regard at least the attention is, as usual, drawn to Lil Wayne's gymnastic mastery of the four-four time signature. His verse, both visibly showier and more conversational than the previous two rappers, serves almost as the song's detractor on the whole as splitting the song into a version of itself that wouldn't include him and would itself be forgettable, but at least not disjointed and the current manifestation with an imbalanced distribution of talent and objective. -JESS!CA

58. "N.O. Nigga"
Heard on Da Drought 3 | Download

"N.O. Nigga" is one of those extraordinary tracks on which Lil Wayne claims complete ownership of the beat. Originally produced by the Runners for Young Jeezy, "Go Getta" was a smash hit--it even featured R. Kelly on the hook--but that initial recording is quickly forgotten in the wake of Weezy's verbal onslaught, an effort that erases any memory of Kels and Jeezy. That quality--of being able to redefine a song on the strength of one's words alone--is seen throughout Da Drought 3, and has always been Wayne's strong suit.

that red dot cover your nose like a clown bitch
so don't run cuz I'ma gun you down bitch
bitch, don't I smell don't I sound rich?
I'm like stunna, I'm blowin out the pound bitch
I don't need help I ain't gon' drown bitch
cause in the pool I'm on the ball like the round tip
Yeah, 8 ball side pocket, I leave the club with two bitches in my pocket.

Though laced with sick lyrics ("They share me like oxygen!"), the song is more than a bunch of fun wordplay. Wayne takes a track that is solidly club and transforms it into a street anthem to represent his hood--something slightly more concrete than R. Kelly's crooning in the club, and something much heavier than the original. The bottom line is that Wayne sounds at perfectly at home on this track, which is what makes it so rewarding; with lines like, "Now pack ya'll K's and leave ya'll knives! This is the life for us, gorillaz! Coke dealers! Dope dealers!" it's clear who Wayne's audience is. -bw

57. "S On My Chest" with Birdman
Heard on The Best Rapper Alive Vol. 3 | Download

This is a sing-a-long track. Wayne's flow drifts back from his more esoteric efforts into a straightforward, traditional Birdman-Weezy duet that bangs. "S On My Chest" also provides two of Weezy's most classic lines: "I'm a let the Big Mac whap ya, boy!" and "Weezy baby, cayenne pepper, no salt." This song is a chest-thumping good time that just happens to sound perfect on any car stereo--straightforward, memorable and carried by Weezy's confident flow. -bw

56. "3 N Morning"
Heard on Weezyaveli (Weezy F Baby Part 3) | Download

Clearly a track that was leaked from the original Carter III recording sessions, "3 N Morning" starts with Wayne instructing a mock crowd to: "Put your 3's up!" and continues with a few quick, emotional verses on Wayne's favorite subject, women. "3 N Morning" isn't about shaking ass or popping bottles in the club, rather it finds Wayne focusing on relationship struggles. This was a theme that Lil Wayne explored with some depth on many of those first C3 recordings: the dichotomy between the rap life and real life, between real relationships and what happens backstage. On "3 N Morning," Wayne reveals a few things to his audience, but unfortunately for most fans, the track has been forgotten--as happened with other leaks from the Carter III, rap pundits feigned ignorance while heads were left to sort things out for themselves. Of all the artists rapping today, Weezy certainly has more "lost" tracks than anyone, and two decades from now I can guarantee that there will be 10 and 15 CD sets for sale celebrating these hidden gems. Think of the way that Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan box sets line the aisles in Best Buy. Tough for the haters to stomach, I'm sure. -bw

55. "Workin' Em"
Heard on Dedication 2 | Download

It's Gangsta Grillz, you bastard. When I heard Dedication 2, it was the first time I'd listened to the lil' gremlin since I bought burned copies of Tha Last Meal and Lights Out back in 2000 at five bucks for the set. Fuck if Weezy didn't change my opinion immediately with Drama. I heard Workin 'Em first, and that's a hit. It was during some lunch break at the start of summer and I couldn't believe it. That's Weezy? What the fuck man.




Weezy f Baby, the motherfuckin' Carter
bitches on my stick, but my name aint Harry Potter

I'll call him Ron Weezy instead. Cuz that boy's a musical magician. I still don't know who lends his voice to the chorus on this one, but it sounds like an angry Cube. I can feel the spit splashin' on my face each time the chorus goes pimpin', listen:

I be pimpin' them hoes
pimp, pimpin' them hoes

Wayne's been doin' it. Believe that you camel-dick riders.-logic

54. "No Other" f. Juelz Santana
Heard on Dedication 2 | Download

Listening to "No Other," you can hear that Wayne's not quite to excellent yet. His words come off as slurred and that results in a convoluted delivery. His rhyme schemes in "No Other" seem rudimentary compared to the free verse he's mastered in his most recent efforts. But by comparing this song to those of today, off of all the mixtapes and the Carter III sessions, one can precisely gauge the level that Wayne has elevated himself to. And I'm dumbfounded by the elevation. Juelz, on the other hand, sounds the same on this track as he does now. Get your ass in the studio Santana.

Favorite line:
"Bitch Katrina turned my city to a sea shore."

Next:
"Pump put a hump in your back, they call it Igor."

And:
"Your bitch come at me for wood, and I'm the lumber jack."

They're so simple, his ideas. But the delivery, the way he words all of those drug-induced ideas and then links them, cannot be easily duplicated. Although, as I mentioned above, the ideas behind his lyrics for "No Other" and other Gangsta Grillz tracks are not up to par with his current skill level. Still, they are great songs. And this song deserves to be on the countdown. But the differences found when comparing this to recent tracks are profound. It's not apples to oranges, it's more like comparing apples to Maybachs. I doubt that many rappers, or musicians, could change their approach so drastically and expect to match the success Wayne has achieved. Practice, practice makes better than perfect? Is there such a thing? Wayne is that thing. I can't wait for Tha Carter V.

I gotta cut this short; I can't feel my face.-logic

53. "Step Back" with Freeway
Heard on Various Mixtapes | Download

Don Cannon absolutely rips the production on this one--it's one of those beats that comes in hard and makes the hair on your neck stand up in anticipation; it's a feeling every true Wayne fan has had once or twice. When Weezy isn't given the opening verse of a new track, that first listen can be exhilarating as the beat bangs and fans suffer through a mediocre rapper or two, all the while wondering in excitement, "What the fuck is Weezy going to do with this shit?!"


In the case of "Step Back," Wayne comes in for the second verse and takes complete command with a series of brilliant lines that are flawlessly tailored to Don Cannon's heavy-beat production:

Out in the desert you're not worth the effort as I Hefner
Hugh, do like you, who? Not me, never. Ever.
Never never have I ever met the devil
But spit like I got a 'fevver,' I mean fever, whatever
It's whatever, I got several black loaded pieces of metal

Not the most enlightening few bars, and yet when set to music they flow like liquid, inseparable from the soundscape. This is the difference between Wayne and Your Favorite Rapper: the Carter gives himself to every piece of music he encounters, internalizing it and then inserting himself so appropriately that other rappers on the track become irrelevant. Sorry, Freeway--we love you but wish it had been Wayne for every second of this one. -bw

52. "Love Me or Hate Me"
Heard on Weezyaveli | Download

This song is epic. Wayne is like an ultra-vulture. He don't even write--no author. So harder, so smarter, all about a dollar like four quarters.


"Love Me or Hate Me" sounds like something that had been slated for C3 and then leaked--which is terribly unfortunate, because leakage tends to relegate songs (even the best ones) to a world of obscure mixtapes inaccessible to mainstream listeners. "Love Me or Hate Me" is no exception to this, and feels a lot like buried treasure. The track is unconventional, defying traditional hip-hop song structure and relying on a tremendous orchestration that is nothing short of royal. "Love Me or Hate Me" opens with one minute of near-acapella, word-association rhyming that builds to a statement of what must be Wayne's central thesis: "My future will be better than my past. You can love me or hate me, I swear it won't make me or break me." No doubt.

Baby I am the real deal no pickle
Spit sickle cells, like O
I go off like a motherfuckin' rifle
and I'm from the underground baby like a pipe hole
I will stand tall like light poles until the lights blow

The lyrical experimentation going on here is pretty much unprecedented, a fact that most critics refuse to acknowledge. Rap has always been about bringing a unique style--the innovators are praised, the biters shunned. In this context, Wayne certainly stands at hip-hop's frontier, injecting new blood into a genre increasingly characterized by stale lyrics, derivative songs and soporific themes.

I'm just trying to stay ahead of my shadow
Man, I'm floating like a boat and a paddle
Alligators and rattlesnakes, but I promise I will take a nigga off like a Saturday
Got money to validate, I'm icy like carrot cake
Different colored diamonds make me look like a sack of grapes
I'm straight out the alleyway, it's the nigga your daddy hate
Weezy F. Baby, great.

That's the main point that Weezy's fans have been trying to make for years now: he has brought fresh blood to a game that Nas correctly identified as dead. When everyone is doing the same shit, what's the point? Wayne does what he wants, and for that, you can love him or hate him.-bw

51. "Pussy, Money, Weed"
Heard on Drought is Over pt.4 | Download

I'll do all I can to not quote this entire song, but I'm not making any guarantees. It's that good. PMW is a love song to Wayne's perfect woman, the lady he loves as much as pussy, money, weed. With Weezy, we know that's got to mean true love. Wayne starts this joint off by paying homage to outkast and then starting into his ostensibly unconnected flow, going from a doctor prescribing himself as medicine to a religion, then a dresser(a clothier), to his woman's feathers all in . Oh yes, Lil Wayne gives her wings, not Red Bull.

Oh yes I love her like Egyptian
Want a description? her body's sickenin
I can be her prescription, I can be her physician
Sexual healing, I can be her religion
And now shes kneeling, praying to the ceiling
I bless her as if she sneezed
Must be the weather, I dress her, I am her sleeves
I am her feathers, shes fly,
Flyer than you, flyer than me,

But on closer inspection, Lil Wayne is laying out all of his emotions in PMW. I don't know if she has a face, or if he's just describing his model woman, but it's obvious Wayne has been deeply in love before. And he's not afraid to profess it.

I love her, she loves me too
I love her three..times more than her mom
Time will tell that im the nigga
That she should, we should
Be wherever she wanna be

And no, Wayne doesn't miss out on a chance to get in his ob--so fucking--scure reference, "Shes poison and I am Michael Bivins."

That's only the first verse. Jesus. As Wayne, and the song, moves on, he looks to the future, beyond his wedding day, to a place in time where there are five little Carters running around his mansion. Don't miss that John Paxson reference; swoosh.

Oh yes I love her like I ought too
I see you at the alter Mrs. Carter
I see you with me daughter
Or son, more than one
Maybe five like the Jacksons
Or John Paxson

There's no passion, nor lyrical creativity, lacking as this make-believe relationship comes back to the present at the close of the second verse. Do read into it, but definitely listen to the song, because I cannot give it enough praise.

Got her wet like shes sweating out a fever
Leave her to me and she'll be smiling
Every single time you see her
From ear to ear
I wanna be beside her when she sleep and she lay
Or we can stay awake and watch the next day
Clothes are overrated, panties are debated
Einstein--her head is the greatest

Brilliant. And as if some of us weren't completely sure, or don't quite believe what Wayne is talking about in PMW, each verse is separated by a chanting reassurance that's similar to the variations that start each verse.

(oh yes I love her like) pussy, money, weed
pussy money weed, pussy money weed


Wayne starts to show off his ridiculously wide range in Pussy, Money, Weed. He can do it all, just as his always-improving approach to music has proven. His talent is unsurpassable.

I'll leave the third verse for everyone to explore for themselves. As a sidenote, this song is definitely in my top ten Weezy tracks. So cop it. Now.-logic

That does it for this installment of the C2C3 countdown. From here it will only get better as we explore the top 50 songs that Wayne put together between The Carter 2 and his forthcoming Carter III album.

Grab all ten tracks (60 - 51) instead of downloading them individually. We'll be back later this week with more Weezy. Stay tuned.

"Whatever's Good, Weezy's Better: The C2C3 Countdown" is a list of the top 80 tracks that Lil Wayne released between The Carter II and The Carter III. Each week, we'll post between 10 and 15 tracks--with mp3s and reviews--and on the Monday before C3 drops, we'll drop the top 10.

Previously: C2C3 Countdown, tracks 80 - 71.

70. "9MM" with Akon, David Banner, Snoop Dogg
Heard on The Greatest Story Ever Told | Download

This is one of those songs that has a line so memorable we couldn't omit the track from our list:

I got a girl you wanna meet her?
Her name is nine millimeter!!

The rapper is insane, flowing like a mad river. Indeed, Weezy's verse is short but incredibly sweet. He keeps the number nine as a central theme and has--by far--the most interesting section of the track. -bw

69. "Nike Boots" with Wale
Heard on The Drought is Over Pt. 5 (Grand Closing) | Download

I once read a piece that talked about Wayne's break-out track, "Tha Block Is Hot". It mentioned that Wayne's theatricality was showing even at that young age, because he chose to whisper the chorus, where others would have yelled it. It concluded that Wayne understood the power of messing with the expected.


The beat to this song is brash and droning and, yet, still energetic. But Wayne approaches it from left field--he slows it down. He drawls. he draws on his Vocoder obsession. I can't say that this better than Wale, and Wayne's lyrics are the sort of thing that are great for rap, but only good for him. But the slowing entices you, it changes up the expected. It experiments. And, besides getting head and money, musical experimentation has come to define Wayne and shows his desire to move beyond the standard. He's already flyer than the rest of em--now he's trying to surpass everyone. -zolmes

68. "Army Gunz" with Birdman
Heard on Like Father, Like Son | Download

In the intro to this track, Wayne states: "I'm bout to murda this shit!" and he's not lying. Though "Army Gunz" is a track with a tongue-in-cheek title and an almost cartoony hook ("Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! I got Army Gunz!!"), Weezy's flow is anything but a joke. I've often commented that much of Wayne's work on Like Father, Like Son is transitionary, displaying a move from straight-laced, formulaic rhymes to the more abstract and experimental lyrics that he is known for today. "Army Gunz" is no exception to this:

But dem niggaz won't touch not a part of me, bet on it
Dem niggaz belong in a sorority, ain't that a bitch?
Burn they bodies up for the authorities, no evidence
You gon' stop fuckin' with them warriors from New Orleans


When reading those lyrics on paper, the words feel disconnected and stale, but on the track, Wayne brings them alive and makes rhymes appear where none were before--this is what it means to have a 'flow', a word that is often applied incorrectly. To remember just what it means, have a listen to Weezy's three verses on "Army Gunz."

His most important line: "You niggaz is scared of the southern part of America." Word. -bw

67. "Sweetest Girl" with Wyclef
Heard on Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant | Download

"Sweetest Girl" is like a lot of songs, including Wayne's own "Good Girl Gone Bad," as such, the subject matter isn't ground-breaking and, therefore, neither are a lot of lyrics. However it does have several things going for it strong enough to warrant its inclusion here. The first is the strength of its beats and backing--there's no denying Niia's beautiful singing throughout the track and the catchy-as-hell chorus. Second, is the way that a song about a prostitute becomes a sweeter song, a tale of childhood love gone wrong. Lastly, there's just something about the way Wayne says "she used to be the sweetest girl" that breaks my heart every damn time. Seriously. Going to show you that, more than a gangster or a thug or a hustler, Wayne is a lover, a sweetheart first. -zolmes

66. "Let's Pray" f. Juelz Santana
Heard on Lil Wayne and Friends 3 | Download

Here again, Lil Wayne demonstrates his superb ability at making the traditional rap hook interesting. He's got short verse, but his croak (and here it truly is a croak), never fully disappears from the track; in fact, it holds the thing together.

I anticipate that this pick will be pretty controversial: the mainstream blogs panned "Let's Pray," dismissing the song almost immediately after devoting a token post to it. (Is this an acknowledgment that as much as the blog hate Weezy, he generates mega-hit counts for them??) In any case, Wayne adapts his voice perfectly to this beat--his forte--and drops an unforgettable first line:

Like I dropped straight from Heaven
Five strong words Rest In Peace Lil Kevin
And this ain't how I was born, but this is how I live
So that's how I'll die and do not close my eyes
Cuz when you see me in the casket I'ma look right back at you.

Is anyone else worried about Weezy dying? If anything, this song might be encouraging us to pray for him: the amount of drugs he does is absolutely mind-bending, and the promethazine and codeine mix he is so fond of has claimed more than a few lives. Weezy has always seemed resigned to his rockstar lifestyle, come what may. On this track, he expresses that sentiment one more:

I represent that Saint's sign
I'm so high I can paint signs
And if she ain't fine, she ain't mine
Thank God I'm alive
But if we end it all today
I have done more than I can say
Amen

No one can really argue with that last line: he has indeed done more than he (or any of us) can say. This countdown is one testament to that tremendous body of work that Wayne has given fans of good music everywhere (for free, I should add). It's true, this is a short song, but I have a feeling more than a few Wayne-heads are listening to it on repeat. -bw

65. "I Took Her"
Heard on The Drought Is Over Pt. 4 | Download

Lil Wayne likes bitches, and this song is a self-aggrandizing, misogynistic romp through Wayne's world of women and money. The beat sounds like something that didn't make the cut for 5 St