I Am Not a Human Being

I Am Not a Human Being
Studio album by Lil Wayne
Released September 27, 2010 (2010-09-27)
(see release history)
Recorded 2009-10
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, 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
Rebirth
(2010)		 I Am Not a Human Being
(2010)		 Sorry 4 the Wait
(2011)
Singles from I Am Not a Human Being
  1. "I'm Single"
    Released: May 10, 2010
  2. "Right Above It"
    Released: August 17, 2010

I Am Not a Human Being is the eighth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010[1] and on Compact Disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown. It was recorded prior to Wayne's eight-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.

Upon its release, I Am Not a Human Being received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who drew comparisons to Wayne's earlier works. The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, based on its first-week digital sales alone. Following its physical release, it 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. The album has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Background

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.[2]

"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."[3]
Nicki Minaj was featured on the songs "What's Wrong with Them" and "YM Salute"

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.[4][5]

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.”[6]

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.[7][8]

He uses no autotune on the album: according to Birdman, it's just "raw rap".[9] 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.

Release and promotion

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:[10] 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" received strong download sales in the UK during the album's release and as such, the track charted on the UK R&B Chart at a peak of 27.[11]

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week digital sales of 110,000 downloads.[12] In its second week, it dropped to number 16 on the chart and sold 23,000 digital copies.[13] 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.[14] It became Lil Wayne's second number-one album and seventh top-ten album in the US.[15] In November 2010, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[16] As of September 4, 2011, the album has sold 953,000 in the US.[17]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[18]
The A.V. ClubB–[19]
Entertainment WeeklyC[20]
Los Angeles Times[21]
NME7/10[22]
Pitchfork Media6.7/10[23]
Rolling Stone[24]
Slant Magazine[25]
Spin6/10[26]
USA Today[27]

I Am Not a Human Being received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 17 reviews.[28] Allmusic's David Jeffries 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."[18] Luke Bainsbridge of The Observer called the album "a return to classic Weezy".[29] 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".[24] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club commented that, "though Human Being feels more like a mix-tape stopgap than a proper album, it's nevertheless full of intriguing experiments and infectious tracks."[19] Ben Detrick of Spin 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".[26] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention (), picking out three songs from the album ("I Am Not a Human Being," "Popular," and "I'm Single"), and said of Lil Wayne, "His throwaways beat their keepers, from solitary yet, but the true classics are all in the middle and the Young Money promos are filler."[30] Uncut gave the album four stars out of five and called it "a far superior effort [than Rebirth]."[31] Billboard gave it a score of 77 out of 100 and said it was "not as experimental as the rapper's previous rock-tinged "Rebirth" set that arrived earlier this year, and most fans will likely appreciate this."[32] Wilson McBee of Prefix Magazine gave the album a score of 7.5 out of ten and said that "For most of [the album], it seems like Wayne has forgotten how to write a verse. He's all about couplets now."[33]

Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss noted a "creative languor" and stated "Wayne reveals he’s mortal after all".[21] 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".[23] 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".[20] Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album three stars out of five and called it "a perfunctory affair".[34] The Boston Globe's Julian Benbow wrote that "the sharper moments [...] are drowned out by the redundant ones".[35] 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".[36] 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".[25] David Pott-Negrine of Drowned in Sound gave it a score of six out of ten and said that "It may not be a great or even particularly good album, but it does at least tide us over until Weezy become[s] a free man, and the much talked about Tha Carter IV finally sees the light of day."[37] Sean L. Maloney of American Songwriter gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five and said of Lil Wayne, "he's just killing time with sub-par versions of his far more popular songs – this is a completely superfluous release that lacks the relevance and immediacy of his mixtape works and the quality-control of his albums."[38]

Track listing

The track listing was confirmed by iTunes and Rap-Up.[39][40]

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Gonorrhea" (featuring Drake)Dwayne Carter, Jr., Aubrey Graham, Daniel Johnson, HideKane Beatz 4:22
2. "Hold Up" (featuring T-Streets)Carter, Jesse James, Keith Miller, Brian Parker, David Stokes, Brian WickerThe Olympicks 4:11
3. "With You" (featuring Drake)Carter, Graham, Nicholas WarwarStreetrunner 3:49
4. "I Am Not a Human Being"  Carter, Andrews Correa, Marco Rodriguez-DiazInfamous, Drew Correa 4:05
5. "I'm Single"  Carter, Graham, Noah Shebib, Sidney Brown, Christopher Gibson, Matthew Samuels, Dalton TennantNoah "40" Shebib, Omen (co.) 5:33
6. "What's Wrong with Them" (featuring Nicki Minaj)Carter, Onika Maraj, Bigram ZayasDevelop 3:31
7. "Right Above It" (featuring Drake)Carter, Graham, Johnson, Andrew CantonKane Beatz 4:32
8. "Popular" (featuring Lil Twist)Carter, Christopher Moore, Marcello ValenzanoCool & Dre 4:40
9. "That Ain't Me" (featuring Jay Sean)Carter, Warwar, Kamaljit Jhooti, Roger Pasco, Michael AielloStreetrunner 4:03
10. "Bill Gates"  Carter, Matthew Samuels, Matthew BurnettBoi-1da, Burnett (add.) 4:19
11. "YM Banger" (featuring Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz and Tyga)Carter, Carl Lilly, Jarvis Mills, Michael StevensonMike Banger 3:55
12. "YM Salute" (featuring Lil Twist, Lil Chuckee, Gudda Gudda, Jae Millz and Nicki Minaj)Carter, Daen Simmons, Maraj, Moore, Lilly, Mills, Rashad BallardMr. Pyro 5:14
13. "I Don't Like the Look of It" (featuring Gudda Gudda)Carter, Lilly, Orlando TuckerJahlil Beats 3:18
Total length:
 55:42

 • (co.) Co-producer
 • (add.) Additional production

Personnel

Credits for I Am Not a Human Being adapted from Allmusic.[41]

  • Alton Bates, Jr. – Recording Assistant
  • Joshua Berkman – A&R
  • Boi-1da – Composer, Producer
  • Cortez Bryant – Executive Producer
  • Matthew Burnett – Additional Production
  • Michael "Banger" Cadahia – Engineer, Mixing, Producer
  • Noel Cadastre – Mixing Assistant
  • Dwayne "Tha President" Carter – Executive Producer
  • Ariel Chobaz – Engineer
  • R. Cobbs – Composer
  • Cool – Producer
  • Andrews Correa – Engineer
  • Drew Correa – Producer
  • DJ Folk – Production Coordination
  • Elizabeth Gallardo – Mixing Assistant
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – Mastering
  • I.L.O. – Additional Production, Keyboards
  • DJ Infamous – Producer
  • J. James – Composer
  • D. Johnson – Composer
  • Kane Beatz – Producer
  • Edward "Jewfro" Lidow – Recording Assistant
  • Mack Maine – Executive Producer
  • O. Maraj – Composer
  • C. Moore – Composer
  • Mr. Beatz – Producer
  • Mr. Pyro – Producer
  • The Olympics – Producer
  • B. Parker – Composer
  • T. Prashad – Composer
  • Fareed Salamah – Digital Editing
  • Noah Shebib – Engineer, Mixing, Producer
  • D. Stokes – Composer
  • Streetrunner – Producer
  • M. Valenzano – Composer
  • N. Warwar – Composer
  • J. Calder – Composer
  • Finis "KY" White – Engineer
  • Bryan "Baby Birdman" Williams – Executive Producer
  • Ronald "Slim Tha Don" Williams – Executive Producer
  • Kevin Zulueta – Engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[42] 60
Belgium Albums Chart (Wallonia)[43] 99
Canadian Albums Chart[44] 4
French Albums Chart[45] 167
Swiss Albums Chart[46] 46
UK Albums Chart[46] 56
UK R&B Chart[47] 8
US Billboard 200[15] 1
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[44] 1
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 1
US Rap Albums (Billboard)[44] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
US Billboard 200[48] 60
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[49] 20
US Top Rap Albums[50] 10
Chart (2011) Position
US Billboard 200[51] 47
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[52] 13
US Top Rap Albums[53] 9

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[54] Gold 953,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States September 27, 2010[39] Digital download Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown
October 12, 2010[55] CD
United Kingdom October 18, 2010[56] CD Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Island
October 22, 2010[57] Digital download

References

  1. ↑ I Am Not A Human Being album
  2. ↑ Ziegbe, Mawuse (2010-07-09). "Lil Wayne Dropping New EP In September – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  3. ↑ Harper, Rosario (2010-07-09). "Lil Wayne Putting Out "I'm Not A Human Being" EP On 27th Birthday". Sohh.Com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  4. ↑ "Birdman Speaks On 50 Cent, Turk & Lil Wayne | Down-South.com – Mixtapes, Music, Videos & More". Down-South.com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  5. ↑ "Daily News – : Lil Twist Talks New Album, Career, Friendship With Justin Bieber". Allhiphop.com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  6. ↑ "DJ Scoob Doo Speaks On Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV & I'm Not A Human Being". Lil Wayne HQ. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  7. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Preview Lil Wayne's New Album". SPIN.com. 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  8. ↑ "Lil Wayne EP Now Full LP". Rap Radar. 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  9. ↑ Vasquez, Andres (2010-09-27). "Lil Wayne Drops Vocoder and Returns to "Raw Rap," According to Birdman | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  10. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (2010-09-27). "Lil Wayne's I Am Not A Human Being: Otherworldly Flows And STDs – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  11. ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 2010-10-16. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  12. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 6, 2010). "Kenny Chesney Claims Sixth No. 1 Album with 'Hemingway's Whiskey'". Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-10-11.
  13. ↑ Jacobs, Allen (October 13, 2010). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/10/2010". HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-10-21.
  14. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 20, 2010). "Lil Wayne's 'Human Being' Leaps 16–1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-10-21.
  15. 1 2 Lil Wayne Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-11-21.
  16. ↑ "I Am Not a Human Being certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  17. ↑ "Week Ending Sept. 4, 2011. Albums: Weezy Does It - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2011-09-07. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  18. 1 2 Jeffries, David (October 4, 2010). "I Am Not a Human Being - Lil Wayne". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  19. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan (November 9, 2010). "Lil Wayne: I Am Not A Human Being". The A.V. Club. Chicago. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  20. 1 2 Wete, Brad (October 15, 2010). "I Am Not a Human Being Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  21. 1 2 Weiss, Jeff (October 12, 2010). "Album review: Lil Wayne's 'I Am Not a Human Being'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  22. ↑ Cashmore, Pete (October 9, 2010). "Review: I Am Not a Human Being". NME. London (40): 41.
  23. 1 2 Dombal, Ryan (October 5, 2010). "Lil Wayne: I Am Not a Human Being". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
  24. 1 2 Rosen, Jody (September 29, 2010). "I Am Not a Human Being". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  25. 1 2 Cataldo, Jesse (October 14, 2010). "Lil Wayne: I Am Not a Human Being". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  26. 1 2 Detrick, Ben (September 30, 2010). "Lil Wayne, 'I Am Not a Human Being' (Cash Money)". Spin. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  27. ↑ Jones, Steve (September 28, 2010). "Lil Wayne, I Am Not a Human Being: On a Planet All His Own". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  28. ↑ "Critic Reviews for I Am Not a Human Being". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
  29. ↑ Bainsbridge, Luke (October 2, 2010). "Lil Wayne: I Am Not a Human Being". The Observer. Retrieved on 2010-10-03.
  30. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Lil Wayne". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  31. ↑ "Lil Wayne - I Am Not A Human Being". Uncut: 84. February 2011.
  32. ↑ "Lil Wayne, 'I Am Not a Human Being'". Billboard. October 22, 2010. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  33. ↑ McBee, Wilson (October 4, 2010). "Album Review: Lil Wayne - I'm Not a Human Being EP". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  34. ↑ Gill, Andy (October 15, 2010). "Album: Lil Wayne, I Am Not A Human Being (Island)". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  35. ↑ Benbow, Julian (October 18, 2010). "Lil Wayne, 'I Am Not a Human Being'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  36. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (October 10, 2010). "New CDs (Lil Wayne: 'I Am Not a Human Being')". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  37. ↑ Pott-Negrine, David (October 28, 2010). "Lil' Wayne - I Am Not A Human Being". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  38. ↑ Maloney, Sean L. (October 12, 2010). "Lil Wayne: I Am Not A Human Being". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
  39. 1 2 "I Am Not a Human Being – Lil Wayne (album)". iTunes. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
  40. ↑ "Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being (Tracklist & Album Cover)". Def Pen Radio. 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  41. ↑ Credits: I Am Not a Human Being. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-10-13.
  42. ↑ "I am Not a Human Being-Lil Wayne", ARIA CHARTS
  43. ↑ "Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being", ultratop.be
  44. 1 2 3 4 "I am Not a Human Being-Lil Wayne", Billboard
  45. ↑ "Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being", lescharts.com
  46. 1 2 "Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being", acharts
  47. ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. 2010-10-16. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  48. ↑ "2010 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  49. ↑ "2010 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  50. ↑ "2010 Year-End Charts – Billboard Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  51. ↑ "2011 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  52. ↑ "2011 Year-End Charts - Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  53. ↑ "2011 Year-End Charts – Billboard Rap Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  54. ↑ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  55. ↑ "I Am Not A Human Being: Lil Wayne: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  56. ↑ "I Am Not A Human Being: Lil Wayne: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  57. ↑ "I Am Not A Human Being: Lil Wayne: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-02-23.

External links

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