However, it’s hard to get much worse than the worst of the tracks on this effort. The best of the songs have a catchy danceability and allow for repeated spins of the disc. As with any collaboration, Like Father, Like Son poses an odd conundrum. Having listened to Lil Wayne and enjoyed his work from back in his Hot Boys days, I really wanted to like this album. Known more for his business acumen, flashy style, clothing and sneaker endorsements than his music, Birdman’s spots and rhymes on the album are nowhere near as good as those of his protégé. The resulting collaboration isn’t nearly as heartwarming as it initially sounds.Įven though the album is a collaborative effort, Lil Wayne still takes center stage, which is a testament to Birdman’s business savvy. Don’t expect, however, to hear a male, hip-hop version of that wedding reception staple, “Butterfly Kisses” on this joint venture. During his tenure with the Hot Boys, in addition to his burgeoning solo career, Lil Wayne made a habit of inserting “drop it like it’s hot” into songs long before Snoop made it a household phrase.įast forward to the present: Like Father, Like Son combines the talents of rapper Lil Wayne and his adoptive father, sometimes-rapper and constant-capitalist Birdman. He went on to become a member of rap supergroup the Hot Boys, an outfit that also launched the career of Juvenile. Even more astoundingly - stepping up to the plate for Carter’s own absentee father - Birdman took the 12-year-old under his proverbial wing, adopting Lil Wayne as his own son.īy the time he was 13, Lil Wayne was recording albums and tackling subjects of a more adult nature than those of his more pop-friendly peers, Lil Bow Wow and Lil Romeo. In what sounds like an urban Cinderella story, Birdman soon signed the pre-teen, who then took on the moniker Lil Wayne. However, Carter’s persistence, in the form of frequent visits to Cash Money headquarters and leaving messages spinning even more rhymes on Williams’ answering machine, eventually paid off.
At first Williams balked at signing a performer so young to his label. The young Carter impressed the entrepreneur with writing and rapping skills well beyond his years. In the impoverished Hollygrove district of New Orleans, circa 1993, a hungry and aspiring 11-year-old rapper by the name of Dwayne Carter met Brian “Baby” Williams - AKA Birdman - the perpetually scowling mogul at the helm of Cash Money Records.