Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter IV (Album Review)

     Lil’ Wayne’s new album Tha Carter IV is the hot new thing out in the world of rap these days. This album review will give a detailed description of each delightful song. The album starts off with an intro that is probably the most inappropriate thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Themes that emerged from the intro and would continue to make their presence known throughout the album were sex and drugs. The first full song “Blunt Blowin’” has a very dark feel to it. All Wayne seems to talk about is haters and drugs with lots of violent undertones. This album is already well on its way to making an excellent impression on the younger generations. The second song, “MegaMan”, is absolutely about nothing other than haters, hookers, and money.

     Apparently Lil’ Wayne has his “swagga down pat” in “6 foot 7 foot”. In this lovely song, with an even lovelier beat, he talks about how he is the hottest thing in the world, hookers, and haters. The song “Nightmares of the Bottom” begins with a pleasant piano melody but as expected the rap and beat quickly wipe all those pleasant feelings into the abyss. “She Will” has music that sounds like it’s straight out of a Halloween soundtrack. This one is about haters, hookers, and how he is boss. There is definitely a recurring theme in this album. “How to Hate” is a slight change of pace with some new singers introduced in a frenzy of auto-tune. This song really shows off the true talent of these ‘singers’ with its message of hating girls that cheat on you.

     “The Interlude” is just a bit of filler with someone else rapping about how great Wayne is. The song “John” took on the UFO theme in its music (which I find highly unoriginal). The song is definitely the cheesiest song on the album and it’s about sex and jail, such a wonderful combo! “Abortion” just sounds like a good song from the beginning. Wayne starts off with some incessant gurgling noises and then breaks out into song with messages of drugs, haters, and how great he is. All I can say about “So Special” is that John Legend should never stoop to Wayne’s level again. “How to Love” is the only song with an actual melody and real instruments (well, just one, a guitar). Unfortunately the message to this song is nothing new and has been heard before in countless other mainstream songs. “President Carter” is about money and how haters don’t faze him. Hopefully Lil’ Wayne understands that he is not actually the former President Jimmy Carter and will never come close to being president. “It’s Good” has a very soulful beginning but as usual when the rap came in the whole song was ruined. “The Outro” was the same exact music as the intro with a rap that was slightly different. It was by far the most original piece on the album, not!

     Oh did I mention that Lil’ Wayne lights up a joint 4 times before a song in this particular album? Maybe that’s why he is so weezy, sleazy, and bad. I fear for the future generation of young adults in this world because the message is this album is rather frightening and bad. 

Chris Jones, Staff Writer

The Help - Movie Review

      There is obviously a reason why this movie came in fourth at the box office this weekend.  Based on the 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett and directed by Tate Taylor, this story is about African- American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s. This well put together cast includes Allison Janney, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Bryce Dallas Howard, just to name a few. The plot revolves around a young woman named Eugenia ‘Skeeter’ Phelan (Emma Stone) who has just graduated from college and begins to write a tell-all book about the wealthy families of Jackson, Mississippi. In doing so, she interviews Aibileen Clark, (Viola Davis) a middle-aged woman who has been working as a maid since she was fourteen, raised seventeen white children and been more  a mother figure to Elizabeth Leefolt’s  (Ahna O'Reilly) children than just a maid. Skeeter also interviews Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) another maid in the house of Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) a bratty, rich and spoiled racist woman. These women work perfectly together on screen while telling their stories.  They touch your heart, cause a few tears and a lot of laughs. With every word they say, the viewers learn more and more about their sometimes heartbreaking stories.  This is so much more than just another movie describing the sixties. It makes you feel like you’re there living it with them. Even though the movie lasted two hours and seventeen minutes, viewers remained entertained throughout the entire movie. 

Lyndsay Johnson, Staff Writer