There are moments of fun and promise on his subsequent solo discs, but like his other early albums, it's little more than a historical curiosity. 

 An unpolished effort, highlighted by "Hit U Up." 

 "Look At Me" is one of few standout tracks here, which hint at the potential of what was to come. 

 Lil Wayne's first taste of wide critical acclaim came with Tha Carter, on which he welcomed listeners into his aural crackhouse mansion and spun well thought-out, tounge-twisting rhymes over tight Mannie Fresh production. 

 With its arty cover (a pointed contrast with the radiant cheapness of Cash Money packaging), Tha Carter II is his great leap forward. A raft of producers give Wayne spare, humid funk beats to skate over, often rooted in classic samples that extend well outside the usual N.O. sound. 

 Earlier in '05, Wayne released Dedication, his first mixtape with Atlanta's great DJ Drama, beginning an astonishing run of official and unofficial mixes.  

 Dedication II overflows with crazy lines but the real heart-stopping moment is the seven-minute "Georgia Bush," where Wayne tears the 43rd President a new one over a Ray Charles sample: "The white people smiling like everything cool / But I know people that died in that pool." Gulp.  

 A face-melting tour de force. The lyrics are often standard gangsta rap stuff, but the psychedelic flourishes are amazing. As a pure expression of genius for it’s own sake, it's one the best rap record of the 2000s. 

 After a flurry of mix-tape activity, Wayne delivered an “actual album” that showed he could work in the whole-world-in-his-hand tradition of Biggie and Jay-Z. After a decade of MCs who ruled with ruthless cool, a little surreal slapstick was liberating. 

 Wayne spent most of 2009 cameo-ing with anyone who could get him on the phone, dealing with a gun possession charge, and threatening a rock record (his only official mixtape of the year was the rotely awesome No Ceilings).  

 Even geniuses make mistakes, and Rebirth is clearly the work of an insulated star who thinks he rules the world. He seems to think he's nodding to the Beastie Boys and Bad Brains, but he ends up with a disc of angry, turgid rap-rock that sounds like Limp Bizkit with intelligent lyrics.