Lil Wayne’s ‘I Am Not A Human Being II’: Review Revue

Welcome to Lil Wayne‘s first album of his 30s. The prolific rapper, known these days more for his health scares than his musical output, released a whopping nine studio LPs during his teens and 20s, and now here we are with I Am Not A Human Being II, the sequel to 2010’s I Am Not A Human Being — an album released during Weezy’s imprisonment for drug and weapons charges.

So has Wayne matured, career-wise, since his early days (or even since his last album, Tha Carter IV)? Critics seem to think he’s now just shilling more of the same. Our own Patrick Bowman labeled the LP “something [Wayne] squeezed in between his many, many commitments.” Head below to see how the rest of the Internet weighed in on I Am Not A Human Being II, then let us know your own thoughts on Weezy’s new record.

:: The Los Angeles Times isn’t impressed by Weezy’s tough talk on the album: “The Lil Wayne of several years ago — the Dedication mixtapes and the 2008 commercial smash Tha Carter III — would never have let his gun talk for him. Where he once exercised hip-hop’s freakiest gift of gab, dominating the field by doing what no one else could, Lil Wayne on this album tries to project power by streamlining his eccentricities. The result is that he just sounds more like everybody else.”

:: Metro isn’t feeling it, either: “Once you’ve heard your zillionth simile about cunnilingus, you really don’t need any more. The record begins in atypical fashion with IANAHB, ditching fancy production for a simple layering of rap over rippling piano – it’s an opportunity to showcase, but lines such as ‘I had a dream that my dick turned to Megatron’ indicate the level we’re going to stay on.”

:: The Washington Post finds the album to be more of the same from the rapper: “Luckily for fans, he covers familiar territory with fresh, tweet-worthy punchlines. But if you’re looking for storytelling, look elsewhere. Wayne’s expertise is in lyrical zingers… Overall, Wayne meets expectations for Wayne these days — not saying much (of substance), but giving listeners plenty to talk about.”

:: The Versed doesn’t mince words: “To be blunt, it’s felt like Wayne’s been trying to skate by (literally and figuratively) on fads and musical trends more than anything else over the past three years or so… He developed a huge audience, and now he seems to be giving them exactly what they ask for. Unfortunately for his old fans, the larger music listening population isn’t asking for complicated flows, or truly witty wordplay.”

:: Rolling Stone echoes what all above are saying: “This is exactly the record you’d expect to hear from Weezy in 2013: a solid album by a brilliant MC who’s half-interested. He raps almost exclusively about sex, especially oral sex; there may be more cunnilingus metaphors in these 15 songs than in all previous pop music combined.”

:: USA Today seems to kind-of, sort-of be into it: “Wayne’s producers — including Cool & Dre, Detail, Juicy J, Crazy Mike and T-Minus — create a rangy sonic backdrop with everything from soul samples to sparse instrumentals to heavy metal for his musings. Guests 2 Chainz, Juicy J, Drake, Future and Big Sean have memorable moments, though the same can’t be said for Soulja Boy or Nicki Minaj. In any case, Weezy’s world is still like no other.”

:: Finally, the Montreal Gazette offers up this sad summation: “As the syrup-sipping rapper’s recent, much-publicized stay at a hospital emergency ward proved, he is in fact all too human; and as the formulaic tracks and one-track rhymes to be found herein prove, he is no longer the wild-styled alien MC of yore.”

Enough of the critics — what do you think of Weezy’s latest album? Let us know below, or by hitting us up  on Facebook and Twitter!