Lil Wayne
I Am Not A Human Being
Young Money

Somewhere deep within Rikers Penitentiary, Lil Wayne is laughing. You’d laugh too, if — like Weezy —you could release anything (even behind bars), regardless of quality, and still sell millions of copies.

Lil Wayne’s new EP, I Am Not A Human Being, can easily give off a half-assed vibe. But while a lot of the music initially sounds uninspired, you still can’t deny that Wayne is one of the most inventive lyricists around.

Exhibit A: “And when I came/ She caught me like the common cold,” Wayne asserts on the standout Drake track “With You.” Yes, his rhymes are still hilarious, disgusting and sometimes brilliant.  Exhibit B: “Pussy in the bedroom,” Weezy raps on “Hold Up,” “pass that bitch down like an heirloom.” It comes off as absurd, but with his signature raspy delivery, the rhyme almost sounds genius.

Other highlights include “I’m Single” — a bleak examination of the pratfalls of relationship status — and the bizarrely straightforward Nicki Minaj track, “What’s Wrong With Them.” Despite such gems, the album lacks some of the magic that made Tha Carter III so refreshing.

Most of the tracks are listenable, but some, like the rock-leaning title track, are just plain bad. Though not as embarrassing as anything off Rebirth (Weezy’s regrettable attempt at rock music), it still leaves you wishing you could prevent Wayne from ever discovering guitars in the first place.

Wayne’s rhymes still harbor the maniacal glee that made his previous albums such a delight, but he just seems slightly off his game. His flow is lazier than usual, and his similes and puns are a shade less clever. Unfair as these high standards may seem, for someone like Lil Wayne — who has proven himself as a dynamic performer before — this lack of attention is unforgivable.

But a sub-par Lil Wayne album is still a Lil Wayne album, and we’ll take what we can get. (6/10)