Crew Love
03:00PM ET December 23, 2009
Contributor: Mathis Bauchner
A Rocky Williform Company

It is truly rare for someone to possess enough cultural influence to make those around them famous. We're talking presidential fame. But if any hip hop artist, perhaps any artist period could do it, it would be Lil' Wayne.

Over the past few years, as he's risen from Hollygrove's finest to mainstream icon, Weezy's signing a plethora of artists to his Young Money label, mostly notably Drake, raps latest superstar. The YM umburella includes the veteran Jae Millz, from Harlem, Compton-native Tyga, Nicki Minaj, and the label's current president Mack Maine among others. With the introductory album, We Are Young Money, the crew attempts to introduce and in some cases reintroduce themselves to the world.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Drake, none are nearly as talented or as interesting as Wayne himself, but they do have a lot of sex. Starting with the hit single "Every Girl," the escapades of Weezy's boys take over the album thematically. To quick summarize: "Every Girl" is about fucking, well, every girl. The next track, "Ms. Parker," is about fucking Ms. Parker from the movie "Friday." Following that is "Wife Beater," which is about fucking one girl all day long. These songs have there moments. Mack Maine's line from "Every Girl, "In about three years holla at me Miley Cyrus," is brilliant, but overall they overdo it.

The rapping from everyone, excluding Drake, is mediocre, and Drizzy himself doesn't appear nearly often enough. He's on only 5 of 15 tracks, most notably "Pass The Dutch," which is a bit less sex-crazed than the rest of the album. The song features recent Young Money signee Short Dawg, and on his one appearance on the album he makes an impression. He's got a ton of swag and his verse is packed with enough witty metaphors and similes to make any Weezy aficionado proud.

Every Young Money artist, more or less, has adopted Lil' Wayne's taste for comparison-overkill. But while Weezy can giggle his way through verses likening himself to anything from a Martian to a cat, his costars stumble awkwardly with their wordplay. Hearing Mack Maine rhyme "parker," with "parka," with "park...UH" is painful.

But the production is solid, with two standout tracks from Chase N. Cashe, "Pass The Dutch" and "New Shit." The biggest name producer is David Banner, who turns in a wild horn-filled beat for "Streets Is Watchin,'" an otherwise pretty pedestrian track.

The biggest problem with the album is Young Money's lack of any feasible chemistry. Weezy appears on every track, providing the choruses for most, and his crewmembers pop in for verses. They attempt to standout as individuals, but their routine lyrics just end up blending together. If nothing else, the album reaffirms Drake's standout ability and Wayne's creative insanity. The rest of the squad has their moments, but they've got a lot of catching up to do.