(Cash Money) www.cashmoney-records.com

Jay-Z has made a career off of naming himself hip-hop’s best and brightest, but with Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne makes a solid swipe for the king’s crown. The long-awaited album (which has been pushed back for months because of a number of leaked tracks and Lil Wayne’s own drug problems and guest-starring roles on other people’s work) has finally arrived, and feel free to rejoice – it was worth the wait.

Overflowing with Lil Wayne’s bizarre, tongue-twisting, controversial and often hyper-sexualized (read: kind of disgusting) lyrics, the album’s 16 tracks shine, benefiting greatly from Lil Wayne’s own genius and an Ocean’s Eleven-like ensemble of guest stars (T-Pain, Babyface, the late Static Major and even Shawn Carter himself) and producers (Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, David Banner and others). Lil Wayne spits rhymes about everything and anything – from beating up his enemies’ grandmothers (“3 Peat”) to literally fucking the police (“Mrs. Officer) to resuscitating ailing rappers from their lack of flow (“Dr. Carter”), and that’s just the beginning. Don’t let “Lollipop” fool you – there’s more to Lil Wayne than just candy-as-sex (see: Marcy Playground) puns. In fact, there may be enough here to name him the new best rapper alive.

Standout Tracks: “3 Peat,” “Let the Beat Build” ROXANA HADADI