You might ask why I would listen to a Lil Wayne album in its entirety in 2020. Back in 2008, Lil Wayne would effortlessly drop mixtapes this size with not a single bar wasted, and to this day, maybe I’d like to pretend Lil Wayne will have a renaissance of sorts and drop a masterpiece that’s an hour plus that’s all killer with zero filler. This album is a nod to Kobe with a 24-song tracklist and as well as a 24-second moment of silence on track 8 and I do appreciate the reasoning behind such a long album. Unfortunately, despite sparse moments of brilliance in his features, gone are the days when Weezy could carry a project this long to greatness.
Deep down, I think we all know Weezy has fallen off long ago even if we catch glimpses of his former self in a few songs every now and then. It’s just that Weezy’s peak was so unbelievable that his valleys will naturally pale in comparison. But for the past few years, these valleys have stretched out longer and longer with countless phoned-in verses and mediocre albums. Funeral is no different in that it’s filled with forgettable hooks, boring features, and the occasionally grating production. In classic Weezy fashion, there are a couple of high points on Funeral like “Mahogany” and “Not Me” which are promptly followed by boring features from Adam Levine and Big Sean. Worse still, songs like “Wild Dogs” and “Get Outta My Head” sound completely removed from Weezy’s best abilities with mind-numbing repetition and zero chemistry with XXXTentacion. Much of the rest of the album feels like Weezy on cruise control with no interesting sound direction nor a semblance of the energy he’s renowned for. As always, there’s some creativity to the bars but the production is bland for the majority of the album and Lil Wayne sometimes doesn’t even sound like he’s trying with inaudible mumbling of choruses or repetitive lines.
On Funeral, Lil Wayne operates in the same way he has in the twilight years of his career with no intention of stepping out of his comfort zone. It’s a disappointing conclusion to the career of one of the greatest rappers to ever live but at the same time, it’s hard to blame the guy for his weak output. After all, he has reached his peak long ago and influenced an entirely new generation of rappers in Drake, Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, and more. For Lil Wayne, there’s nothing left to prove but in that same vein, I’d rather see him retire than release more albums like this down the line. Like his last album Tha Carter V, Funeral is yet another overly long project from Lil Wayne who no longer has the precision or energy he had ten years ago to make them work the way they should. By the time a few years have passed, there’s no doubt that Funeral will no longer be remembered by Weezy fans apart from a couple of select songs. Despite Lil Wayne’s impressive longevity over the course of his career, he has yet to reinvent himself in an engaging way, and Funeral is unfortunately just another notch in his massive catalog with very little replay value.
Favorite Songs: Mahogany, Not Me, Funeral
