HOLD UP, LET ME FIX MY HAT

- Lil Wayne's "Hot Revolver" might just be my favourite pop single of 2009, if it continues to be as dull a year for those things as it has so far; at any rate, it's the best one so far. Why, exactly, is a bit hard to say but it comes down this: I really didn't think the guy could pull it off, and he did. When I first heard Wayne was making a "rock album" (which is now looking ever more elusive and nebulous), my first thought was "uh, why?" followed by "it'll probably be awful". And "Prom Queen", the album's first single, seemed to confirm my trepidation: "Prom Queen" is a horrifying car-wreck of a song; a pile-up of Wanye's auto-tuned gurgle, some of the most over-processed mall-rock guitar skronk I've ever heard, a hammering rhythm that plays to none of the guy's strengths as a vocalist, an abysmal attempt at a chorus, some really bad attempted-emo howls and a lyrical conceit that's both over-used (a girl turned you down and then later regretted it? You don't say!) and entirely removed from what Wayne is comfortable with (mostly making typical hip-hop sex/drugs/money talk interesting and funny via clever metaphors/jokes). It would be unlistenable if not for that fact that it's kind of fascinating in its way and speaks to the fact that Wayne, while I don't doubt his sincerity in wanting to make rock music, has a very warped and vague understanding of what he's trying to do. About the only thing I do like about "Prom Queen" is the music video, which gives us the image of nerd Lil Wayne, which is hilarious.

If "Prom Queen" fails because it can't reconcile what it wants to be (a rock song) with who its performer is (a rapper with a shaky understanding of rock, who can't sing that well), "Hot Revolver" succeeds precisely because it does reconcile those things. It does this by taking rap elements and rock elements and stitching them together in an interesting, and, more importantly, sonically tasty, way.

First, the rap stuff: the chorus isn't sung by Wayne, but rather by song producer Dre (not to be confused with Dr. Dre). This is very good because I really don't think Wayne's voice is made for hooks that aren't simple chants/repeated phrases; he's got too oddball of a vocal timbre to do that, but he's perfectly fine in the verses here, bobbing and weaving with the beat (more on that in a sec) in way that reminds you he's a rapper but isn't exactly rapping. The other thing about Dre chorus is how, in typical hip-hop fashion, it provides contrast. When a chorus in a rap song is sung by a person other than the rapper, it's usually because the chorus is a counter-point or a complimentary element, in lyrical terms, to what the rapper is rapping about. Usually, this means that the chorus is taken by a R&B guy or gal to more explicitly express whatever feeling that the rapper is talking about. But, here, its use is very interesting and plays into the lyrical conceit of the song in a more inventive way (the lyrics are something I'll talk about in detail later). The use of auto-tune also keeps this "rap", in a certain manner, as Wayne clearly, and justifiably, doesn't feel enough confidence to sing without it as a rock singer, even one who doesn't have a conventionally good voice, would. Thankfully, though, unlike "Prom Queen", he doesn't overdo the auto-tune to the point where he sounds like a robot , it just provides a slight trailing effect on his voice. In fact, at one point, Wayne does drop the effect entirely; for the second verse, the song dissolves into a a quick drum machine-lead portion, where he raps a quick bit before the guitars come back in and he goes into a semi-croon. It's a neat trick that shows his range in a way that doesn't draw attention to itself. There's some other little elements (e.g. the fact that Wayne's first words on the song are the quick "young moolah, baby" sonic signature he's been saying on every song in the past while, the use of the term "shorty") that remind us of the rap-roots, as well. Finally, the lyrics, which are the pivot point for the rap and rock elements, are pretty standard issue rap braggadocio, at first glance. Summary, Wayne's on tour and a fucks a girl who tries to make it more serious but he just wants a fuck-buddy. Sort of horrible, but nothing too out of the ordinary, right?

Well, here's where things gets interesting: where a rap song would stop there, because this is "rock", it doesn't (let's not get into why that is, exactly, because it could be an entire series of blog posts by itself). In the third verse, Wayne calls his lady friend and she won't pick up, so, he goes to her house only to find that she ended up "cheating" on him, leaving him hurt and angry. And that Dre chorus I mentioned earlier? It's kind of like Wayne's buddy going "dude, this girl's nice and really likes you, what the hell are you doing here? She's not gonna want to be with you at all if you keep being a dick like this". It's kind of boldly self-effacing and that's really cool because it cuts though the macho bullshit that's present in a lot of mainstream rap while not sacrificing swagger or a sense of fun. And Wayne, while not aloud due to format to be quite as zany with his lyrics, does get a little of his trademark zing in there (he calls his mode of transportation a "spaceship", for example).

Sonically, too, this thing just kicks. The beat is a bass-heavy bit of stiffed-legged new-wave-y rock, with little synth swirls puttering around at times and galloping guitar-crunch coming in for the chorus. Importantly, unlike the loudly pounding "Prom Queen", "Hot Revolver" knows how use both sonic space and dynamics for pop effect; the chorus wouldn't be half as catchy as it is if those guitars were there in the entire song.

In short, "Hot Revolver" deserves a much bigger audience than what it's got and I really can't see why it only peaked at #33 on the Billboard charts. Maybe it's excess ill will from "Prom Queen" or something but, still. This could cross Wayne over into even more markets, if promoted properly; it's catchy, brash and fun without being offensive (in fact, there's no cursing in the song other than two barely audible "ass"s and a "damn") and it's danceable without being just club fodder.

If Wayne can stick to material like this and stay away from more "Prom Queen"s then I'm really gonna love Rebirth. Strangely enough, the only other song to come off the album is "Fix My Hat" which is a pretty standard "Lil Wayne spazzing out" song that doesn't have a whole lot to do with rock (in fact, it has an 80's hip-hop feel with its basic, 808-heavy beat) but is still pretty good stuff. I don't claim to understand how that man works but he's capable of great things from time-to-time, so, let's hope he'll bring it all together here.