Lil' Wayne's Rebirth album has been discussed more this year than Drake's debut LP (a hard feat to achieve). After many delays and rumors about whether the album is truly a rock effort, Wayne has come forward to personally address the speculation and clear the air about what fans can really expect.
On the word of Wayne during an interview with Billboard magazine, the album is a honest musical interpretation of his inner rock star.
"Yes, the album is still rock," he explained. "I play guitar on 80 percent of the songs, and there's a lot of rock influences and rock beats. I also have Travis Barker on the album. But I don't want people to think I'm trying to do something I can't do. Don't think you're going to put on the album and hear me screaming and singing. ... Don't worry about that. [Laughs.] When people hear me say rock, they may get a little scared like, 'Oh, God. What is he going to do?' When I said I was doing a rock album, it was about doing a freedom thing. This album isn't hip-hop. When I do my Carter albums, I know I've got to rap, I know I've got to spit. I know the words I've got to say and the subjects I've got to talk about. I also know the things I shouldn't say, the things I shouldn't talk about. There's none of those limits on this album. I say what I want, how I want. That's what this album is: a freedom album."
Wayne also offered what some consider an explanation for the album's many delays, adding that he had to change things up once some tracks began to leak online.
"I had to add new cuts, because a lot of things leaked, making people think they had an idea of what I was doing with Rebirth and what it would sound like," he said. "And I hated that, because I never want anybody to think they know what I'm doing until I present it. So what I did was make it totally different. I flipped it."
Wayne also revealed that he would be dropping Rebirth and the Young Money compilation album on the same day, hopefully December 15.
- By Erin T. McMillon
