Rebirth should have been aborted

Turn on any rap radio station in the country these days, and you're guaranteed to hear Lil Wayne's voice in a matter of minutes.  Whether he's guest rapping for another artist, or scoring a hit on his own, Lil Wayne is everywhere. It should come as no surprise that Wayne has been flirting with rock music lately, first collaborating with Weezer and now making his official bid for rockstar status with his new record Rebirth.

We have seen rappers turn to different genres before (Nelly featuring Tim McGraw anyone?), but none as bad as this. Rebirth consists mainly of angsty breakup songs, while the remaining few tracks are filled with vapid lyrics sung to a 90's rock beat. Weezy may be rap royalty, but his failure as a rockstar is apparent in his lyrics, music and auto-tuned vocals.

The first track, "American Star" pays homage to President Obama in an unconventional way. Just as Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani taught us how to spell U.S.A. and bananas respectively, Wayne takes a similar elementary school spelling bee approach to his lyrics. "Born and raised in the U.S.A. and my president is B-L-A-C-K," sings the chorus.

Five of the 13 tracks highlight heartbreak, all perfect songs for a freshly dumped high school student. It is odd to hear Wayne, who dropped out of school at 14, sing "we used to be the cutest couple up in this class, but now she's kissing any motherf---er with a hall pass" in "The Price is Wrong."

Jay-Z announced the end of auto-tuned vocals as of June 2009 in his song "Death of Auto-Tune." Apparently, Weezy didn't get the memo. The only relief from Wayne's auto-tuned voice is when another featured artist grabs the mike for a minute.

Though the album sounds primarily like Garage Band rock, one song makes the pop music cut. "Still Raising"  is electronic, catchy and upbeat with a touch of drums and electric guitar, but the rest of Rebirth blends together and is easily forgettable.

With its combination of awful lyrics, dull music, and computerized vocals, Wayne's latest album gets a big thumb's down. Hopefully Lil Wayne gives up on being reborn as a rock star, and Rebirth becomes little more than an embarrassing reminder of an aborted career change.