| I Am Not a Human Being | ||||
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| Studio album by Lil Wayne | ||||
| Released | September 27, 2010 (see release history) |
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| Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:42 | |||
| Label | Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown | |||
| Producer | Lil Wayne (exec.), Cortez Bryant (exec.), Ronald "Slim" Williams (exec.), Birdman (exec.), Kane Beatz, DJ Infamous, Drew Correa, The Olympicks, Cool & Dre, Jahlil Beats, StreetRunner, Infamous, Drew Correa, Noah "40" Shebib, DVLP, Boi-1da, Mr. Pyro, Mike Banger, Matthew Burnett | |||
| Lil Wayne chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Am Not a Human Being | ||||
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I Am Not a Human Being is the eighth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released digitally on September 27, 2010. Its physical version was released on October 12, 2010. It was recorded in 2010 prior to Wayne's nine-month prison term for criminal possession of a weapon. Production for the album was handled by Wayne and several record producers, including Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, StreetRunner, Noah "40" Shebib and DJ Infamous, among others.
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, based on its first-week digital sales alone. Following its physical release, it featured an increase in sales and topped the chart, becoming Lil Wayne's second US number-one album and the first studio album since Tupac Shakur's Me Against the World in 1995 to reach the top slot on the Billboard 200 while its artist was jailed. Its lead single "Right Above It" became a top-ten hit in the United States. Upon its release, I Am Not a Human Being received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. The album has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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On August 4, 2010, Billboard announced that Lil Wayne would release an EP called I Am Not a Human Being and would have a single from the EP called "Right Above It". The single debuted on DJ Funkmaster Flex's show, which Lil Wayne called and gave an interview. The album is a prelude to Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter IV.[1]
"I'm putting out a [Wayne] album called I Am Not a Human Being and I'll probably drop it on his birthday, September 27...I'm not even putting it out in stores. We just gonna put it out virally and maybe package it up for Christmas. Give 'em a hard copy later for fan appreciation."[2]
Drake, Jay Sean, Lil Twist, Nicki Minaj, Jae Millz, Tyga, Gudda Gudda, Lil Chuckee and T-Streets are all guests who are featured on the album.[3][4]
Vibe Magazine spoke with DJ Scoob Doo about Tha Carter IV and I Am Not a Human Being. This is what Scoob Doo had to say:
"I got videos for the Carter IV and the I’m not a Human Being EP all ready. I can’t say the name of the song but Wayne was singing on the hook, but they’re getting Drake to re-do it and it’s off the Human Being EP,” Scoob Doo says. “Carter IV is probably the best album I’ve heard in the last decade, but Wayne is such a different artist now that he wants to record new music when he comes home. The stuff he’s talking about now is just on another level. That’s why a lot of the songs on the EP were originally taken from the Carter IV.”[5]
Lil Wayne’s manager Cortez Bryant told SPIN that that I Am Not a Human Being would actually be a full length album. Initially, the tracks were to be appear on Tha Carter IV, but Wayne decided to put the old tracks on the album so new music could be recorded for Tha Carter IV.[6][7]
He uses no autotune on the album: according to Birdman, it's just "raw rap".[8] The production to bonus track "YM Salute" was originally recorded by Young Jeezy and Ester Dean as potential material for Young Jeezy's forthcoming album TM 103.
The last three tracks featured on the album's physical CD release, "YM Banger", "YM Salute", and "I Don't Like The Look Of It", were not initially included on the digital download version of the album:[9] however, after the physical CD version was released, the tracks were added to the digital version of the album.
The album's lead single, "Right Above It" featuring Drake, was released to iTunes on August 17, 2010. The song debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, and at number one on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart.
"What's Wrong With Them" recivied strong download sales in the UK during the albums release and as such, the track charted on the UK R&B Chart at a peak of 27.[10]
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week digital sales of 110,000 downloads.[11] In its second week, it dropped to number 16 on the chart and sold 23,000 digital copies.[12] Following its CD release on October 12, the album sold 125,000 copies and moved up to number one on the Billboard 200 in its third week.[13] It became Lil Wayne's second number-one album and seventh top-ten album in the US.[14] As of November 18, 2010 the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[15] As of September 5, 2011 the album has sold 953,000 in the USA.[16]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [17] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (C)[18] |
| Los Angeles Times | [19] |
| The New York Times | (mixed)[20] |
| The Observer | (favorable)[21] |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.7/10)[22] |
| Rolling Stone | [23] |
| Slant Magazine | [24] |
| Spin | (6/10)[25] |
| USA Today | [26] |
I Am Not a Human Being received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics.[27] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 65, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[27] Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss noted a "creative languor" and stated "Wayne reveals he’s mortal after all".[19] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal stated "We get Wayne spouting classic Weezy-isms—explicit sex, cartoonish gunplay, and allusions to the intricacies of the digestive system abound—over at-least-decent original beats", but noted that "there's a lingering sense that the rapper is not in top gear; his flow is often slow and static, his wordplay lively yet less energized than what we're now used to".[22] Entertainment Weekly's Brad Wete called the album "stale" and wrote that "none of the new songs on this set hold a candle to [No Ceilings], much less... Tha Carter III".[18] Sean L. Maloney of American Songwriter gave it 2½ out of 5 stars and called it "a completely superfluous release that lacks the relevance and immediacy of his mixtape works and the quality-control of his albums".[28] Andy Gill of The Independent gave it 3 out of 5 stars and called it "a perfunctory affair".[29] The Boston Globe's Julian Benbow wrote that "the sharper moments [...] are drowned out by the redundant ones".[30] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "an uncentered collection of odds and ends", writing that "Too often Lil Wayne lapses into predictable flow structures, quick ideas paired with built-in rejoinders: 'They say money talks/ but it’s my spokesperson,' and so on".[20]
Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo perceived "half-assed rhyme work" from Wayne and called it "kind of a crummy album, rife with laziness and repetition ... It may have a decidedly lazy presentation, but I Am Not a Human Being inevitably succeeds at what it sets out to do: remind us of Wayne's artistic validity and whetting our appetite for more".[24] Ben Detrick of Spin gave I Am Not a Human Being a 6/10 rating and found its production "unfashionable", but stated "Though this is a flawed and scattershot project, Wayne remains an artist who makes music like a pâtissier–his songs are frivolous, delicious, and meant to be relished for just a moment".[25] Allmusic writer David Jeffries gave it 3½ out of 5 stars and stated "This is too short and scattered to put on his top shelf, but it comes awfully close, which is downright astonishing considering the circumstances".[17] Luke Bainsbridge of The Observer called the album "a return to classic Weezy".[21] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen commended its "unadulterated fun" and Wayne's "irrepressibly wacked-out spirit", writing that the album "has the loose-limbed feel of the rapper's many mixtapes".[23] Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album 3 out of 4 stars and stated "he has enough hits here to make sure he's not missed much".[26] Despite viewing its tracks as inconsistent, Vibe's Chris Yuscavage wrote that the album is "enough to hold diehard Weezy fans over until Tha Carter IV hits".[31]
The track listing was confirmed by iTunes, Pinto and Rap-Up.[32][33]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Gonorrhea" (featuring Drake) | Dwayne Carter, Jr., Daniel Johnson | Kane Beatz | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Hold Up" (featuring T-Streets) | Carter, Jesse James, Keith Miller, Brian Parker, David Stokes, Brian Wicker | The Olympicks | 4:11 |
| 3. | "With You" (featuring Drake) | Carter, Aubrey Graham, Nicholas Warwar | StreetRunner | 3:49 |
| 4. | "I Am Not a Human Being" | Carter, Andrews Correa, Marco Rodriguez-Diaz | Infamous, Drew Correa | 4:05 |
| 5. | "I'm Single" | Carter, Graham, Noah Shebib, Sidney Brown, Christopher Gibson, Matthew Samuels, Dalton Tennant | Noah "40" Shebib, Omen (co.) | 5:33 |
| 6. | "What's Wrong With Them" (featuring Nicki Minaj) | Carter, Onika Maraj, Bigram Zayas | Develop | 3:31 |
| 7. | "Right Above It" (featuring Drake) | Carter, Graham, Johnson | Kane Beatz | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Popular" (featuring Lil Twist) | Carter, Christopher Moore, Marcello Valenzano | Cool & Dre | 4:40 |
| 9. | "That Ain't Me" (featuring Jay Sean) | Carter, Warwar, Kamaljit Jhooti, Roger Pasco, Michael Aiello | StreetRunner | 4:03 |
| 10. | "Bill Gates" | Carter, Matthew Samuels, Matthew Burnett | Boi-1da, Matthew Burnett (add.) | 4:19 |
| 11. | "YM Banger" (featuring Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz and Tyga) | Carter, Carl Lilly, Jarvis Mills, Michael Stevenson | Mike Banger | 3:55 |
| 12. | "YM Salute" (featuring Lil Twist, Lil Chuckee, Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz and Nicki Minaj) | Carter, Maraj, Moore, Lilly, Mills, Rashad Ballard | Mr. Pyro | 5:14 |
| 13. | "I Don't Like the Look of It" (featuring Gudda Gudda) | Carter, Lilly, Jahlil Orlando | Jahlil Beats | 3:18 |
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Total length:
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55:42 | |||
• (co.) Co-producer
• (add.) Additional production
Credits for I Am Not a Human Being adapted from Allmusic.[34]
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| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[35] | 60 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[36] | 4 |
| UK Albums Chart[37] | 56 |
| UK R&B Chart[38] | 8 |
| US Billboard 200[14] | 1 |
| US Billboard Digital Albums[36] | 1 |
| US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[36] | 1 |
| US Billboard Rap Albums[36] | 1 |
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 21[39] |
| Preceded by Bullets in the Gun by Toby Keith |
US Billboard 200 number-one album October 30, 2010 |
Succeeded by The Incredible Machine by Sugarland |
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 27, 2010[32] | Digital download | Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown |
| October 12, 2010[40] | CD | ||
| United Kingdom | October 18, 2010[41] | CD | Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Island |
| October 22, 2010[42] | Digital download |
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