Rick Ross and his Maybach Music Group collective just put a new album out. Young Jeezy has a mixtape on the way this weekend. And it even sounds like Drake could be putting out his sophomore album, Take Care, sooner than later. But, c’mon: Lil Wayne’s post-prison release, Tha Carter IV, is still the album on everyone’s mind right now.

It sounds like it’s on the way, too. The album’s first single, “6 Foot, 7 Foot,” has done remarkably well at radio all throughout the spring. Wayne’s vocals are all over Kelly Rowland‘s current Billboard No. 1 hit, “Motivation.” And Mr. Carter just dropped another brand-new single of his own, “How To Love,” that he’s hoping will be the crossover record that’ll take Tha Carter IV from a heralded rap album to the top of the Billboard charts. It’s got us excited for the album to drop this summer.

But, um, how can we say this nicely? “How To Love” was not what we were expecting from Wayne at this point in his career. It sounds like something that’s more suited to the American Idol crowd than something that we’ve come to expect from the self-proclaimed Best Rapper Alive. And it’s got us more than a little worried about exactly what we should be expecting from Tha Carter IV. So with that in mind, we put together a list of the five reasons that Tha Carter IV might not turn out to be as great as we’d initially hoped. Let’s just hope we’re dead wrong!

1. Wayne is still clearly infatuated with the idea of singing on his songs.

We thought Weezy was just going through a phase when he recorded Rebirth and was suddenly in the mood to sing all of his lyrics as opposed to rapping them. But after hearing “How To Love,” we’re really not sure what to think anymore. The guy either loves singing or is getting bored with rapping. Either way, we hate it! The song isn’t terrible—and we’re pretty sure it’ll do big things for Wayne’s career—but we really hope Wayne’s not gonna be as sappy as he sounds on “How To Love” all throughout Tha Carter IV. If so, we’re definitely blaming Drake…

2. He appears to be starting up a new romantic relationship.

Speaking of sappy, let’s talk about these photos of Weezy and his new significant other, Dhea, that showed up on the ‘net this week. We haven’t heard anything from Wayne about whether or not she’s officially his Mrs. Carter right now, but we have to assume that she’s playing some type of role in his life if he’s confident enough to let the paps catch him with her all over town. We just hope it doesn’t get in the way on his recording process. Like a boxer who refrains from sex for weeks before a big match, rappers should refrain from falling in love when they’re passionately recording a new project. We’re just sayin’.

3. He has recorded a lot of tracks for Tha Carter IV while he’s been out on tour.

We get the feeling Wayne could probably record a track in an airplane bathroom and have a hit of his hands. But anytime an artist is recording an album, you want them to be focused in on it. Really focused on it. And Wayne’s had to split his time recently between recording Tha Carter IV and doing shows all across the country on the “I Am Music 2″ tour. Maybe it won’t make a difference…but maybe it will.

4. He’s 100 percent sober right now.

Wayne appeared to be getting a little out of control with the drugs prior to doing his time on Riker’s Island. So we’re glad to see that he’s cleaned up his act. But we’ve also never heard a 100-percent sober Wayne put together an entire album. Was that part of the magic Wayne made on all of the Carter albums, as well as the mixtapes he put out over the years? Or can he recreate that magic without the drugs? We don’t know yet, but we’re sure hoping he can.

5. He hasn’t really proven he’s the same artist he was before going to prison yet.

We’ve heard Wayne kill some records in bits and pieces since getting released last November—”6 Foot, 7 Foot,” for instance—but we’ve also heard him blend into the crowd at times as well (his verse on “I’m On One” wasn’t anything to write home about). Tha Carter IV will provide a definitive look at where Weezy stands in his career. Is he still the Best Rapper Alive—or does someone else deserve the crown? Two years ago, we wouldn’t have even had to ask. And now that we do, we’re a little worried. Either way, Tha Carter IV can’t come soon enough.

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