Understandably, the combination can be abhorrent. According to Wayne, rock music combines the coked-out idiocy of Sunset Strip hair metal with the processed rage of Bizkit-ed headbanging.

Instead of next-level clever punchlines-inside-of-punchlines we get pure high-school inanity or swear parades deserving of a soapy mouthwash. So instead of rapping we get gurgled Auto-Tune chirps and squeals that often nullify his one-in-a-billion elastic croak. 'Drop the World' also contains another key lyric from Wayne: 'The spot get smaller and I get bigger/ Tryin' to get in where I fit in, no room for a nigga.' The lines hint at the notion of Rebirth being something of a cop-out, i.e., if he can't top himself, he's just going to scratch away everything that makes him great. The closest he comes to an answer to that question is on 'Drop the World', where he combats paranoia by threatening to 'pick the world up and drop it on your fuckin' head!' It's a hilarious image that would serve as an incredible exaggerated parody of Linkin Park angst if the song wasn't dead serious- a fact confirmed by a martyr-me guest shot from Eminem, who himself still sounds like he's coming to grips with the fact that he'll never be as famous as he once was. 'Call me crazy, I've been called worse/ It's like I have it all, but what's it all worth?' asks Wayne on 'Paradice', a Miltonian epic about the trappings of super stardom that aims for Axl Rose, Use Your Illusion-style heights. He may never have a single as big as 'Lollipop' or reach the level of universal relevancy to warrant another prime time interview with Katie Couric.

Although his recent mixtape was dubbed No Ceilings, the pressure of success and the idea that he'll never top the million-in-a-week phenomenon that was Tha Carter III is naturally weighing on Wayne. That flip says as much about hip-hop's current state of evolution (shaky) as it does about Lil Wayne's current commercial predicament.

Now, one of the world's biggest rappers is using the same tools to make a niche record only a diehard could truly love. used distorted guitars and stadium-rock drums to help break hip-hop into the mainstream.

Lil wayne rebirth 2 tracklist