Released October 31, 2006,
on Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group.
In 2006, long before their falling-outs, Lil Wayne and Birdman are very fond of each other. Extremely fond, in fact, judging by an old photograph that resurfaces that same year, showing the two of them kissing, dressed all in white against a mobster-style backdrop. Asked about it, the Birdman is unfazed. He simply points out that he regards young Dwayne Carter as his son. It is an odd explanation, since kissing one’s children on the mouth is not exactly standard practice. Still, that father-son relationship does seem to lie at the very heart of their story.
That is what their joint album emphasizes. Like Father, Like Son, it is meant to showcase Birdman’s devotion to his protégé, and Lil Wayne’s gratitude toward his boss, mentor, and surrogate father. That is the theme of the title track. Lil Wayne professes his admiration for his protector, while Birdman solemnly dispenses lessons in gangsterism. At times, it is painfully hollow, as on the opening “Loyalty.” Over music reminiscent of Scarface, this first in a series of interludes, delivered by a bargain-bin mafia don, piles up grotesque clichés about loyalty to the gang. But while Birdman, as insufferable as ever, punctuates his usual gangsta-hypocrite routine with seagull squawks, Lil Wayne seems to believe every word of it. He is ecstatic, possessed, brimming with a youthful enthusiasm that proves highly infectious.
Truth be told, he is almost all you hear. The album’s great advantage is that it catches him at the absolute height of his powers: between volumes two and three of the Tha Carter series, when he is on fire both on his countless guest appearances and across his mixtapes. The result is an album packed with bangers, offering all the benefits of a major-label release – a sturdy T-Mix production job, with contributions from Scott Storch, and a first-rate guest list including Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Tha Dogg Pound, and Starlito – with virtually none of the detours designed to please every possible audience: no syrupy R&B numbers, no politicized excursions in the vein of “Georgia… Bush,” the Dedication 2 track that had the Mormons of respectable rap swooning.
Quite the opposite. With its bright, buoyant sound and exuberant tracks (heralded by the swirling synths of hit single “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy,” the proud organs on “Over Here Hustlin’” and “All About That,” the funky guitars of “1st Key” and “Leather So Soft,” the carnival trumpet on “Know What I’m Doin’,” the ersatz strings of “Get That Money,” and all of the above at once on “No More”) and with its familiar subject matter (money, luxury, success, a little sex, and marijuana on “High” and “Cali Dro”) this is Cash Money through and through. Pure Southern rap, real New Orleans music, delivered by its finest representative.
And it is so consistently good that today, sitting squarely between Tha Carter II and Tha Carter III – and perhaps even above them – Like Father, Like Son deserves to be regarded as a classic, and to occupy a place of honor in Lil Wayne’s vast and remarkably deep discography.
