While the world was watching Dirk Nowitzki best LeBron James, Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated MTV Unplugged performance was premiering over on MTV. And while the whole thing — featuring Wayne’s reliably spirited renditions of “A Milli,†“6 Foot 7 Foot,†and “Drop the World†— is probably worth your time, there are two moments that stand out. First: At eighteen minutes in, Wayne takes on Tupac’s “Hail Mary.†It’s notable enough because rappers almost never cover other rappers; also, it turns out that it’s really fun to hear Lil Wayne make “Hail Mary†sound like a Lil Wayne song (more covers, please, sir). Then, at 31 minutes in, comes the premiere of Tha Carter IV track “Nightmares of the Bottom.†Says Wayne as introduction: “Now, I had the choice to do any song off the album, and I said I figured I have a pretty intelligent crowd, so I’d rather not do nothing too hype, nothing too crazy. I wanted to do something that ya’ll can listen to and say, that [blank] actually said such and such. And I’m leave here and get that album where that [blank] said such and such.†Falling somewhere in between the slower moments on Tha Carter III and the later-career work of Common — and packing an ominously peppy keyboard line that will get stuck in your head — it’s a nice reminder as to why we’ve been so eagerly awaiting Carter IV.
