MUSIC

Lil Wayne

Tha Block is Hot

Cash Money

Just when you thought New Orleans couldn't put out another formulaic, nah-nah-neh-nah album. This time the culprit is Lil Wayne, a fiercely tattooed, $15,000-watch-wearing 16-year-old out of the Big Easy's PJs. But this time, Master P and his gold-tanked army can't claim responsibility. Tha Block is Hot is the latest in a torrent of albums from newcomers Cash Money Records, the same crew that dropped Guerrila Warfare, the much-lauded Hot Boyz album, earlier this year. But this album might have come too soon after the diminutive Wayne, himself a Hot Boy, ran taunting jabs on that blowup wax. Other than the chantworthy tag lines of tracks like "Fuck Tha World" and "Watcha Wanna Do," there is little in the lyrics department worthy of the rewind button, although dwell on the bounce beat in the background and everything will be all right. A notable exception is "Drop It Like It's Hot," which you've heard if you've made it to any decent hip-hop clubs. It's obvious that even Lil Wayne knew he was better off as part of the flaming ones. Of the album's 17 tracks, 12 feature pairings with the rest of the Hot Boyz--Juvenile, B.G. and Turk. The four should have just gotten together for another group project; their stuff (or at least Lil Wayne's) just isn't that good alone. C+