If you don’t know about the documentary known simply as The Carter, it’s time you became familiar.  The movie, which screened at this year’s Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals (among others) to rave reviews, gives fans and foes an inside look at the mind and the day-to-day world of what it’s like to be Lil Wayne.  The movie will be released next week on DVD, giving anyone willing to pony up $15 a chance to see for themselves what goes on behind the scenes. If you didn’t trust me before, now y’all will know — it’s not easy being Weez. It’s all there — the drugs, the excess, the fights, the drama — exposed for all the world to see in a way you probably never imagined Wayne would even allow.

Variety has said about this movie, “‘The Carter’ is the ‘Don’t Look Back’ of rap” — a comparison who’s fairness I look forward to testing on my own.  Whether you like, love, dislike, or hate Lil Wayne, you cannot ignore his presence as a force in music and culture.  There’s a realistic fear on Wayne’s part that this movie might ruin his image and his career, but I’m pretty sure that his folk anti-hero status is well-secure in the modern era.   I can’t think about all of that — I’m ready to pop the popcorn and chill out at home for the night to learn more about one of the most important and polarizing figures in modern music.

Pre-Order The Carter on DVD by clicking here.