Lil Wayne's 'Rebirth' Album Might Suck, but People will Buy it Anyway

With Lil Wayne releasing his autotune-heavy rock debut...eventually...there has been a lot of talk about how much it is probably going to suck - which, it probably will. When Kanye West released 808s & Heartbreak last year, the main thing that saved it was the fact that he knew he couldn't sing. He used his strength as a producer to turn the autotune from a would-be crutch into a musical instrument.

From what I've heard, no amount of autotune is going to save this album. Maybe it's because of poor implementation, or maybe it's the signature weeziness of his voice, but it just doesn't sound right when he does it and it's hit-or-miss at best.

With that being said, people are going to buy it anyway. Some people are going to like it, and I may download a few tracks myself. Hell, this guy could rap the phone book and people would buy it.

Look up in Da Stars (or lack thereof)

Kid Cudi is set to release his debut studio album, The Man on the Moon: The End of Day on September 15th, and the track list that has been revealed so far looks (and in some cases sounds) promising. In the tracks that have been either released or leaked, Cudi demonstrates a sing-songy flow over unique beats to provide a breath of fresh air.

The only thing that's really missing is a slew of featured guests. You can say all you want about how too many stars will outshine the newcomer, but the fact is that having too few will also plunge him into darkness. So far, only a few featured artists are revealed to be on the album - Kanye West, Common, Snoop Dogg, MGMT, and Clipse. The former two are featured together on one track, while the latter three are spread thin with one song apiece. The only other guest is Ratatat (eh...who?).

The question remains whether this will be enough to broaden Cudi's audience when his album drops in September, because the popularity he gained off his two mixtapes and the strong following he has in the U.K. might not be enough on it's own. The reason for this is because Jay-Z is releasing his long-hyped The Blueprint 3 at around the same time.

As any market analyst can tell you, the first week of sales for anything is very important, because the initial popularity will propel it in sales even further. While it's quite possible that some people will buy both, the chances are good that most seeing one next to the other will reach for the Jay-Z album and ignore the weakly supported new guy. On the other hand, if Jay was featured on Cudi's album as well, then that might compel those people to get both.

What do you guys think? How do you think this David vs. Goliath scenario will play out, and who else would you feature on Cudi's album?