Well I had a nice holiday week off, I hope you had the same. What’s new in the Top 10?

…m’kay. Sure, why not? Lil Wayne has had a prolific career; he started building a name for himself in rap/hip-hop circles in the early part of last decade, and finally started gaining mainstream success in 2007 when he started what I can only assume was an attempt at being featured in every hit in the top 40. Releasing the platinum selling Tha Carter III in 2008 only added to his fame, and thanks to that album (as well as “feat. Lil Wayne” almost being a prerequisite for a hit song), even people living under rocks knew his trademark death-rasp by the end of 2009.

However, Lil Wayne’s career came to halt in early 2010 when an assault weapons charge and releasing Rebirth were more than enough to earn him nine months of jailtime. Hell, Rebirth still makes me want to ask Ryker’s Island what their return policy is. Ah, well. “Six Foot Seven Foot” is his first post-prison release, so let’s take a listen, shall we?

“Six Foot Seven Foot” owes its production to Bangladesh, who also produced Wayne’s hit “A Milli”. And Bangladesh’s “vocal loop as a beat” technique that made “A Milli” a hate it or love it hit is present here; this time the sample comes from “Day-O (Banana Boat Song)”, a traditional Jamaican song. The song also uses a fairly standard booming bass and drums combo, which while it isn’t anything original, everything fits together really well. And hell, the point of this song isn’t the production, it’s Lil Wayne.

This might be one of Lil Wayne’s most crucial releases. Coming back from jail, promoting Tha Carter IV (Feb 2011), and reestablishing himself after Rebirth and I Am Not A Human Being, “Six Foot Seven Foot” had to show that he still had it. And the long and short is that he does; this song is nothing but rapid fire non-sequiturs delivered in his high-pitched cackle (and thankfully no Auto-Tune). Wheezy burns through his two verses with more energy, flow, and tenacity than most anyone else out there. Greatest Rapper Alive is a title no one should give themselves, but in “Six Foot Seven Foot”, Lil Wayne makes a case for being the most idiosyncratic rapper around.

Cory Gunz is one of the Young Money rappers that isn’t Lil Wayne, Drake, or Nicki Minaj, and thus doesn’t really matter. His verse isn’t bad (in fact, he hits a high point towards the middle), but running against an on-fire Lil Wayne is a tall order, and Gunz just can’t keep up.

I like “Six Foot Seven Foot”; the production’s not bad, the featured rapper does ok, and Lil Wayne is on top of his game here. But at the same time, the song doesn’t really make for a compelling listen. After a listen or two, taking a solid three minutes of Wheezy cranked up to 10 is a little grating, and while I can’t fault the production on being bad, it doesn’t do anything that makes me especially want to listen to it. A promising first single, but not a total homerun.