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I Am Not a Human Being II (2013)

Where the lyrics of I Am Not a Human Being II take you, and where it was really made.

This sequel was first planned for fall 2012, was pushed back several times, and was finally released in March 2013.

Key places

Recording location credited to The Hit Factory Criteria (2013)

Recording site Criteria Studios — The studio is listed as a recording location for this album in the candidate data. The article itself does not describe the studio or its role in the sessions. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• I Am Not a Human Being II: tenth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne
• Released March 26, 2013 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records
• Sequel to I Am Not a Human Being (2010), carrying over its hip-hop styles
• Three singles: "No Worries", "Love Me", "Rich As Fuck"
• Last album Lil Wayne released under Cash Money Records

Background

• Birdman confirmed in January 2012 that production was underway for the sequel
• Wayne said he finished the album with greater quality control than its predecessor
• Wayne said he had to rush it to completion before serving jail time after a weapon possession sentence
• Some unused material from the Tha Carter III and IV sessions was included
• First planned for fall 2012, then delayed to a February 19, 2013 target, then set for March 26
• Included in "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists, including MTV's, and placed twelfth on XXL's list

Recording

• Recording sessions took place from 2006 to 2012
• Lil Wayne, Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman served as executive producers
• Producers included Cool & Dre, Mike Will Made It, David Banner, T-Minus, Diplo, Juicy J and Street Runner

Cover

• Cover art and packaging designed and directed by Kanye West and Joe Perez of DONDA
• Released January 30, 2013: a red moth spread across a black background

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans; signed to Cash Money Records at age 11 after being discovered by Birdman in 1993.
• Early career as B.G.'z and then Hot Boys (formed 1997) with Juvenile, B.G. and Turk; the group reached mainstream success with Guerrilla Warfare (1999).
• Solo breakthrough with Tha Block Is Hot (1999), certified platinum within a month of release.
• Tha Carter III (2008) sold over 1 million copies in its first week and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album; its single "Lollipop" topped the Billboard Hot 100.
• Founded Young Money Entertainment in 2005; the label signed Drake, Tyga and Nicki Minaj.
• Has sold over 120 million records worldwide and won five Grammy Awards.
• Released Tha Carter VI in 2025 and was named the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley in Hot 100 entries.

Legacy

• Often described as one of the most influential artists of the 21st century.
• His style and use of Auto-Tune influenced modern hip-hop, especially the development of trap.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Mixed reviews from music critics overall, who criticized its production and panned Wayne's lyrics
• Metacritic: average score 51 out of 100 from 23 reviews
• Rolling Stone (Jody Rosen): Wayne is "half-interested" and lacks the "exhilarating surprise" of his earlier work
• Los Angeles Times (Mikael Wood): the album shows Wayne "streamlining his eccentricities"
• Pitchfork (Jayson Greene): panned the lyrics as undifferentiated and unfunny
• The Guardian (Alex Macpherson): found his metaphors laboured, tired or offputting
• The A.V. Club (Evan Rytlewski): accused Wayne of bad taste
• The New York Times (Jon Caramanica): less manic, less experimental and less consistent than his drug-era work
• NME (Al Horner): tired punchlines and lazy hooks replaced earlier hits' imaginative Auto-Tune
• Spin (Brandon Soderberg): a continuation of Wayne's steady creative decline
• PopMatters (Dean Van Nguyen): found the beats dispensable
• The Boston Globe (Ken Capobianco): apart from "Gunwalk" and "No Worries", numbingly haphazard and inconsequential
• AllMusic (David Jeffries, positive): an indulgent jumble of a sideline release, but Wayne is in fine form
• USA Today (Steve Jones, positive): solid and often entertaining in a crass, lewd way
• MSN Music (Robert Christgau, positive): described the sexual content as progress

Records

• Debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 217,000 copies in the first week
• Wayne's tenth US top-ten debut
• Second week: number five, 68,000 more copies
• Third week: number eight, 42,000 copies
• Fourth week: number eight, 31,000 copies
• As of July 30, 2013: 529,000 copies sold in the US
• Certified double platinum by the RIAA on September 25, 2020 for over two million combined sales and album-equivalent units in the US

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Kanye West designed the cover art and packaging; Wayne said West approached him about it
• Complex ranked the cover at number 27 among the best album covers of 2013 in December 2013
• DONDA released an animated version of the cover on the album's release day
• A European tour with Mac Miller and 2 Chainz planned for March 2013 was postponed to October 2013
• "Rich As Fuck" leaked as an unmastered version on January 6, 2013 before being released as a promotional single

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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