The year was 2007. Snap music dominated the radio, Jay-Z just emerged from retirement, and whispers of hip-hop’s death were all over the blogs. Rap needed a savior and found one in Dwayne Carter. Fresh off the heels of the monstrous Carter II album Wayne showed listeners that he was energized and more than willing to carry the entire cash money umbrella by himself. His ascension was something hip-hop had seen coming for a while. If The Carter II wasn’t enough, Dedication II served as a warning shot that Lil Wayne was hip-hop’s guy; He was the best rapper alive.
Listening to Da Drought 3 for the first time was like Lebron in Game 7 against the Warriors. You see him pin the shot, get the steal, and pull up from 3 but you’re still asking yourself “How the f*ck is he doing it all?!”
D3 showed listeners that Wayne could hop on anybody’s beat no matter the genre, at any time, and dominate it with minimal effort. While rumors of ghostwriting haunted the rollout of Tha Carter II, Drought 3 proved Wayne’s mastery of lyricism could erode any effort to damage his credibility as a top tier rapper. If you don’t believe me, just listen to what’s arguably the most raved about freestyle of the Da Drought 3, Upgrade You:
If ever someone from Gen Z were to ask about Wayne’s impact, they should look at their favorite artist.
A whole generation of rappers yet to come have all used his cadences, rhyme patterns, style of dress, and even album names to some extent in an effort to emulate Lil Wayne. While Gangsta Grillz mixtapes were the gold standard of promo during that era, Lil Wayne x DJ Drama projects marked a special occasion; a special vibe that fans were blessed to receive only so often, and when the albums dropped the blogs went into a frenzy.
The perfect way to sum things up would be to say that although it was named The Drought, Wayne actually proved the very opposite to the hip-hop world. The culture was flourishing, and very much alive. Where New York rap flailed, and southern rap had yet to really assert their complete dominance Wayne stepped up and took the crown for himself. And from that day we were in Wayne’s world.
-SnobHop