Lil Wayne is now rap's big dog.

After two years of releasing online mixtapes, dozens of tracks and appearing in countless guest spots, Lil Wayne managed to capture the attention of the hip-hop masses. His new album "Tha Carter III" sold over one million copies in its first week of release, something unheard of in today's music industry. Many critics are ready to give the self-proclaimed best rapper alive that title after this release, debating the album's instant classic status. While "Tha Carter III" doesn't completely live up to that claim, it cements Lil Wayne as hip-hop's wildcard and most exciting MC.

While it's not a classic, it's obvious that Wayne is swinging for the fences, with producers like Kanye West and Swizz Beatz and A-List hip-hop and R&B artists like Jay-Z, Robin Thicke, Babyface and T-Pain. But no artist shows up Weezy, whose versatile, raspy goblin-esque flow gives listeners the feeling of riding a rollercoaster blindfolded; lots of twists and turns you don't see coming.

Weezy seems to be on a mission to inject equal parts energy and lyricism in hip-hop while declaring his greatness. He literally imagines it on "Dr. Carter," where Wayne cleverly visualizes rescusitating hip-hop over a swaggering Swizz Beatz blaxploitation groove. On "Mr. Carter," he wants his name to be mentioned with the greats and considering Jay-Z declares Weezy "his heir" in a guest spot, it may be worth considering.

Weezy switches up his delivery at random; Cajun drawl, singing, shouting, low-key growl and tracks like "Phone Home," where Wayne appropriately does his best monotone Martian impression.

The beats are all over the place too, whether it's the chopped-and-screwed bouncy loop on "A Milli," the vocodor vocal on the blatantly commercial "Lollipop" or "Let The Beat Build," where Weezy takes a Kanye West soul loop and takes his sweet time filtering in the drums. The song's title says it all, but you'll still be surprised at the outcome.

"Tha Carter III" has smooth R&B tracks that expose Wayne's serious side like "Comfortable" and "Tie My Hands," a track where he addresses the tragedy of post-Katrina New Orleans: "My whole city underwater/Some people still floating."

The album is mostly consistent, mixing bounce and groove. Wayne's voice is a heck of a thing to behold, as are his rhymes, which drip with wit, humor and confidence. However, Wayne would rather throw together some clever bars instead of paint streetscapes like The Notorious B.I.G., 2pac and Jay-Z, rappers he insists on having his name mentioned in the same breath with. But for that to happen, he would need to get rid of throwaway tracks like the playground screw-around "La La" or "Got Money," featuring a tired T-Pain chorus.

Lil Wayne may construct him a classic in the near future, but until then, he's keeping things original and very interesting. On the album's opening track "3 Peat," Weezy declares, "I control hip-hop and I'm going to keep it on my channel." It's a channel that we should all be tuned in to.