Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Lil Wayne, July 2008 (by Gary Miller)

“Lil Wayne is in the building.” Those tired, repeated words were all the reassurance afforded the restless throng at the Travis County Expo Center in July of 2008. Hours later New Orleans’ most eccentric rapper delivered, by his own account, “a full-blown rock show,” complete with a brief guitar solo. Expect no less tonight.

Within months the Greatest Rapper Alive returned to a sold out AT&T Center in San Antonio and practically swept the Grammy awards. Yet, for an artist so inveterately established and universally championed, Dr. Carter had a surprisingly rocky end to 2009.

For starters, his perpetually delayed rock album, Rebirth, has been leaked online and by Amazon, months before its scheduled released. Last month, he was detained in Texas by U.S. Customs and Border Protection after marijuana was shockingly discovered on his tour buses, though he caught break on that one. Hell, Weezy is even having trouble unloading his South Beach apartment due to similar “chronic” concerns. With less hype or promotion than the release of one his countless mixtapes, Dwight Carter returns to the Expo Center tonight with Birdman, the Young Money Crew, and Chingo Bling. This will undoubtedly be the last chance to see him before his sentencing next month for attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

Cross your fingers, count your blessings, and repeat after me: “Lil Wayne is in the building.”