Tha Carter III | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 10, 2008. | |||
Recorded | 2006–08 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 77:04 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Lil Wayne chronology | ||||
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Singles from Tha Carter III | ||||
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Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money, Universal Motown & Young Money Entertainment. [3] It follows a string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists' albums. [4] The album features appearances from Jay-Z, T-Pain, Fabolous, Robin Thicke, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Babyface, Bobby V, and Kanye West, among others. It also features Static Major, who is credited posthumously following his death in February of that year.
Amid release delays and leaks, Tha Carter III became one of the most anticipated releases of 2008. [5] [6] [7] It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling over one million copies in its first week—which made it one of the fastest-selling albums in the US. [8] It reached sales of 2.88 million copies by the end of 2008 and produced four commercially successful singles on the Billboard Hot 100—"Lollipop," which peaked at number one, and the top-ten singles "A Milli" and "Got Money", as well as the top-20 single "Mrs. Officer".
Upon its release, Tha Carter III received widespread acclaim from music critics and has since been regarded as one of Wayne's best albums. It earned the rapper several accolades, including a spot on Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won for Best Rap Album, while "Lollipop" won Best Rap Song and "A Milli" won Best Rap Solo Performance. It has been certified octuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Lil Wayne stated that producers would include The Alchemist, Cool & Dre, Deezle, Jim Jonsin, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Mannie Fresh, The Runners, Timbaland, Danja, and will.i.am. [9] [10] [11] In an interview with HipHopCanada.com, Solitair of the Black Jays stated that he and Cipha Sounds produced a track called "Outstanding", which later eventually leaked. [12] The Runners have stated that they have produced three tracks for Tha Carter III. [13] Lil Wayne revealed that he has a track for Eminem, which he has yet to send to him. [14] He described this song as the "craziest". [14] Some believe that his request was turned down, but it most likely turned into "Drop the World" on his 2010 album Rebirth . [15]
The album features guest appearances by Fabolous, [16] T-Pain, Brisco, Bobby V, Babyface, Betty Wright, Static Major, Robin Thicke, Jay-Z, [17] Juelz Santana, [18] and Busta Rhymes. [19] MTV reported that Wyclef Jean worked on a couple of tracks for the album and that a song featuring Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, and Timbaland was likely to appear on the album. [14] [20] However, that Timbaland-produced track did not make the final cut. David Banner confirmed that he will be credited for five tracks on the final cut of Tha Carter III, but only one is featured on the album. [21] After the copyright controversy of "Playing with Fire", the track was later removed and replaced with another David Banner-produced track "Pussy Monster". Swizz Beatz stated he was also working on the album. [22] When asked about how many tracks Kanye West had contributed, he answered:
On the first visit he had five joints, on the second visit he gave me a CD with fifteen joints on it. I then told him to slow down and he left me alone, but we got a good three on the album. He confirmed that he had a few tracks on The Leak that are produced by Kanye West. [23]
Tha Carter III's lead single, "Lollipop", peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, staying at the top for three weeks. It was Wayne's most successful solo single in his career, winning one Grammy Award, a BET Award, and an MTV VMA. The song was praised as an "electro-bumpin'...infectious track", [24] perceived as more of a "bubblegum" pop track than rap. [25] The second track on the album, "Mr. Carter", was nominated for a Grammy while also peaking within the Hot 100. Jay-Z's guest verse on the song was praised, which was seen as him passing the throne to Wayne. [26] [27] The second single, "A Milli", was a top ten hit and was praised as one of the best songs of 2008. [28] The song garnered countless freestyles and remixes, while Wayne's original version was praised with "spectacular rhyme". [27] "Dr. Carter", the sixth track, was also praised for lyrical content and humor as Wayne took on the persona of a doctor performing surgery on various patients (a metaphor for Wayne resurrecting hip-hop [26] ). [25] "Tie My Hands", featuring Robin Thicke, was praised as a deep track featuring "political commentary" and "despair" with Thicke's performance being the most complementary to Wayne. [24] "Phone Home" also features various alien metaphors reminiscent of the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). [24] [25]
After most of the album leaked on the Internet in mid-2007, Lil Wayne used the leaked tracks, plus four new songs to make an album titled The Leak. [5] The Leak was to be officially released on December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until June 10, 2008. [29] When questioned about the unplanned leak, Lil Wayne said:
We have to find out exactly what's out there. I'll probably just [collect] all the songs that's floating around and make my own mixtape called The Leak since people want the music so bad. To tell you the truth though, there's a song I did with Kanye West out there—of course you want to save that for your album, but the rest of them songs probably wouldn't have made the album. There's a song floating around that says 'produced by Timbaland'. [30]
On May 24, 2008, 10-second snippets of multiple songs were leaked onto AT&T Media Mall. [31] On May 30–31, Tha Carter III was leaked internationally. The first of the leaks were distributed on May 30 at around 8pm where five songs from the track list were available on the internet. Hours later on May 31 at 12am-1am the whole album was leaked and posted on various websites for free download. The DJ responsible for the leaks was DJ Chuck T who retaliated for an interview conducted by Wayne, where he discredited all DJs and the mixtape scene days before.[ citation needed ] Lil Wayne later called DJ Drama's radio show Shade 45 Sirius Satellite Radio to explain that his comments were meant specifically for DJ Empire who leaked his materials periodically without his permission, consent, or knowledge; he also apologized for any misunderstandings between him and the numerous DJs that have aided him in the mixtape industry. He made it clear, however, that he wished for any feelings of dislike or resentment to remain. [32]
The album's lead single, "Lollipop", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for 5 non-consecutive weeks, making it Wayne's most successful single in his career. It features rapper Static Major. The album's second single, "A Milli", was another top ten. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also won a Grammy for Best Rap Song. The video for the second single, "A Milli", was set to be released in May, and has since been mainstreamed. Multiple versions of the track were to be included on the album as "skit-like" tracks, featuring artists such as Tyga, Cory Gunz, Hurricane Chris and Lil Mama. [33] Another artist, 13-year-old Lil Chuckee, was also set to appear on one of the "A Milli" skits. None of the skits made the final cut of the album. The third single is "Got Money", featuring T-Pain. It reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single is "Mrs. Officer", featuring Bobby Valentino. It made the Top 20 in just four weeks. "Comfortable" was sent to American rhythmic contemporary radio as the album's fifth and final single on September 29, 2008. [34] "Lollipop", "A Milli", "Got Money", and another track, "Mr. Carter", were nominated for a Grammy. Lil Wayne also performed "Tie My Hands" with Robin Thicke at the 51st Grammy Awards.
The album also featured the releases of promo singles. "3 Peat" peaked at number 66 on the Billboard 100. "You Ain't Got Nuthin" featuring Fabolous and Juelz Santana was released as a promo single, peaking at number 81 on the Billboard 100. "Mr. Carter", featuring Jay-Z, peaked at number 62 on the Billboard 100, number 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, and number 13 on the Top Rap Songs. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group in 2009.
On July 24, 2008, Abkco Music Inc. filed a lawsuit against Lil Wayne for copyright infringement and unfair competition, specifically referring to the track "Playing with Fire". [35] In the lawsuit, Abkco claims that the song was obviously derived from The Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire", to which Abkco owns the rights. [35] [36] Subsequently, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the track list of Tha Carter III on all online music stores and replaced with the David Banner produced track, "Pussy Monster". [37] [38] [39]
In March 2011, producer Deezle (Darius Harrison) sued Wayne and his parent labels Cash Money Records over unpaid royalties from Tha Carter III album. [40] In May 2011, producer Bangladesh also filed a lawsuit against Weezy & Co. over unpaid royalties. [41] In early June 2011, another producer named David Kirkwood filed a lawsuit against Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records on claims that the labels have failed to pay him over $1.5 million in royalties and production services for his work on the album, also including his songwriting on "Love Me or Hate Me", a bonus song featured only on the deluxe edition of the album. [42] Also in June 2011, Dallas producers Play-N-Skillz filed a lawsuit against him claiming Wayne owed them at least $1 million in unpaid royalties for "Got Money" from Tha Carter III. [43]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 84/100 [44] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [24] |
The A.V. Club | B [45] |
Blender | [46] |
Entertainment Weekly | B− [27] |
The Guardian | [47] |
Los Angeles Times | [48] |
MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A− [49] |
Pitchfork | 8.7/10 [50] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
Uncut | [51] |
Tha Carter III received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 26 reviews. [44] AllMusic editor David Jeffries praised Wayne's "entertaining wordplay and plenty of well-executed, left-field ideas". [24] The Guardian 's Alex Macpherson lauded Wayne's rapping, stating "Just trying to keep up with Wayne's mind as he proves the case is a thrill. He breaks language down into building blocks for new metaphors, exploiting every possible semantic and phonetic loophole for humour and yanking pop culture references into startling new contexts". [47]
Jonah Weiner of Blender called it "a weird, gripping triumph". [46] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen commended its themes and stated "This isn't a mixtape, it's a suite of songs, paced and sequenced for maximum [ sic ] impact." [25] Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that Wayne "has clearly worked to make 'Tha Carter III' a statement of its own: one that moves beyond standard hip-hop boasting (though there's plenty of that) to thoughts that can be introspective or gleefully unhinged". [52] Pitchfork 's Ryan Dombal stated, "he distills the myriad metaphors, convulsing flows, and vein-splitting emotions into a commercially gratifying package". [50] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau noted that "every track attends to detail" and quipped, "From the start you know this is no mixtape because it's clearer and more forceful." [49] Uncut stated that "the prince of hip-hop gets a blessing from the king." [51] Mosi Reeves of Paste gave it a favorable review and noted that the album "hearkens to when rap meant rapp: Isaac Hayes talking for days about some girl he broke with, or Bobby Womack signifying while strumming a blues guitar." [53] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called Lil Wayne "the man of the moment, but the disc's best moments strive for timelessness and attain it." [45]
The Washington Post 's J. Freedom du Lac commended Wayne for his "impulses to be outrageous and unconventional", calling him a "nonsensical genius", but found the album "uneven". [54] Tom Breihan of The Village Voice described it as "a sprawling mess, and it clangs nearly as often as it clicks" and "a work of staggering heights and maddening inconsistencies", but commended Wayne for his unconventional performance, stating "On paper, this is a textbook focus-grouped major-label hodgepodge, replete with girl songs and club songs and street songs. But every facet of the album comes animated and atomized by Wayne's absurdist drug-gobbling persona". [55] Drew Hinshaw of PopMatters stated "Tha Carter III is a monumental album full of powerful, self-defeating statements that obliterate rap's internal logic without offering too much more than indifferent bong logic in return. Judged, however, as a collection of singles and quotable verses—the criteria on which we've been grading hip-hop records since the end of disco—Tha Carter III is an agonizing piece of work". [56] Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times found it "scattershot", stating "When Wayne's mad alchemy works, Tha Carter III evinces shades of brilliance that merit the wild hype, but in its transparent attempts to define its era, it fails, falling victim to the imperial bloat of its big-budget mishmash of styles." [48] Jon Caramanica of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "this schizoid album [...] is alternately mesmerizing and inscrutable." [27] Slant Magazine's Dave Hughes viewed that it lacks a "focus" as an album, and stated, "while there are a lot of [...] great moments here, Carter III is not the definitive statement of Wayne's mastery that he clearly intended it to be." [57] Brandon Perkins of URB commented that "As a sum of its parts, Tha Carter III does not transcend, but a good number of those parts are otherworldly enough." [58] Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe said the album was "not an instant classic, but it is the best rap album since Kanye West dropped "Graduation" last year." [59] Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courant said of Lil Wayne, "If his raspy, cartoonish voice didn't mark him as different, his quick wit, offhanded wordplay and quirky subject matter should have in a genre populated largely by grim-faced imitators." [60]
Other reviews are average or mixed: Chase Hoffberger of The Austin Chronicle gave the album three stars out of five and said, "It's Wayne's personality that both floats and sinks TCIII." [61] Kilian Murphy of Hot Press also gave it a score of three out of five and stated, "Gifted MC loses the run of himself without Mannie Fresh." [62] Lewis P. of Sputnikmusic likewise gave it a score of three out of five and said the album "is scattershot, which oddly strengthens its faults, as if any lull in quality means that the next batch of producers can just reset the formula." [63] (However, nearly three years later, in 2011, Alex Robertson of the same website gave the album a score of four-and-a-half out of five and said it was "sort of a miracle: it's way too weird and confusing to be on the mainstream rap charts--to be that record that everyone knows about--but it is anyway. This album was in opposition to much of modern rap but somehow became popular and then proceeded to completely consume the genre and change its direction. [...] Tha Carter III is a contradictory, against-all-odds masterpiece, and Lil Wayne may never perfect this balance again. I sincerely question: will anyone?" [64] ) Ajitpaul Manjat of Tiny Mix Tapes gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five and stated that, "equipped with the stylish, but too-often substance-less Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne seems poised to flip the script on the "rapper racists" (radio stations, MTV) by evolving into the "biggest" rapper alive." [65]
Tha Carter III was ranked number one in Blender 's list of the 33 best albums of 2008. [66] Christgau ranked its deluxe edition as the second best album of 2008. [67] The album was also ranked number three on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2008. [68] It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, [69] and it won for Best Rap Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards, while "Lollipop" won for Best Rap Song and "A Milli" won for Best Rap Solo Performance. [70] Billboard magazine ranked the album number 103 on its list of the Top 200 Albums of the Decade. [71] In 2012, the album was ranked number 437 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, [72] upgrading to number 208 in 2020 revised list. [73] In 2012 Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade. [74]
With opening day sales figures of approximately 423,000 copies, [75] Tha Carter III debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 1,005,545 copies in its first week. [76] [77] This became Wayne's first US number one debut and his sixth top-ten album. [76] With its first week sales, it is the largest first week sales for any album in 2008 in the United States and the first album to reach the million mark in one week since 50 Cent's The Massacre (2005). [78] In its second week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, behind Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends, selling an additional 309,000 copies. [79] By the end of 2008, Tha Carter III had sold approximately 2.88 million copies and it was named the best-selling album of the year in the United States by Billboard . [80] On September 25, 2020, the album was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over six million units in the United States. [81]
Tha Carter III has also reached the top spot in the Canadian Albums Chart, selling nearly 21,000 units. Elsewhere, the album achieved moderate success, entering at only number 23 in the UK and number 34 on the Irish Album Chart.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "3 Peat" |
| Maestro | 3:19 |
2. | "Mr. Carter" (featuring Jay-Z) |
|
| 5:16 |
3. | "A Milli" |
| Bangladesh | 3:41 |
4. | "Got Money" (featuring T-Pain) |
|
| 4:04 |
5. | "Comfortable" (featuring Babyface) |
| West | 4:25 |
6. | "Dr. Carter" |
| Swizz Beatz | 4:24 |
7. | "Phone Home" |
| Cool & Dre | 3:11 |
8. | "Tie My Hands" (featuring Robin Thicke) |
| Thicke | 5:19 |
9. | "Mrs. Officer" (featuring Bobby V and Kidd Kidd) |
| Deezle | 4:47 |
10. | "Let the Beat Build" |
|
| 5:09 |
11. | "Shoot Me Down" (featuring D. Smith) |
|
| 4:29 |
12. | "Lollipop" (featuring Static Major) |
|
| 4:59 |
13. | "La La" (featuring Brisco & Busta Rhymes) | David Banner | 4:21 | |
14. | "Playing with Fire" (featuring Betty Wright) |
| Streetrunner | 4:21 |
15. | "You Ain't Got Nuthin" (featuring Juelz Santana & Fabolous) |
| Alchemist | 5:27 |
16. | "Dontgetit" |
| Rodnae | 9:52 |
Total length: | 77:04 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Pussy Monster" |
| Banner | 5:13 |
Total length: | 78:02 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
17. | "Lollipop (Remix)" (featuring Kanye West and Static Major) |
|
| 4:21 |
18. | "Prostitute 2" |
|
| 5:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I'm Me" | Carter, Lenny Mollings, Johnny Mollings | DJ Nasty & LVM | 4:55 |
2. | "Gossip" | Carter, L. Dozier, B. Holland, E. Holland, Warwar | Streetrunner | 3:25 |
3. | "Kush" | Carter, Brooks, L.L. McCall, L. McCall, D. Thomas | Maestro | 3:42 |
4. | "Love Me or Hate Me" | Carter | GX | 4:00 |
5. | "Talkin' About It" | Carter, Rodriguez | Infamous | 3:31 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Action" | Carter, Harrison | Deezle | 3:45 |
2. | "Whip It" | Carter, Harrison | Deezle | 6:01 |
3. | "I'm Me" | Carter, Mollings, Mollings | DJ Nasty & LVM | 4:55 |
4. | "Gossip" | Carter, Dozier, Holland, Holland, Warwar | Streetrunner | 3:25 |
5. | "Kush" | Carter, McCall, McCall, Thomas | Maestro | 3:42 |
6. | "Love Me or Hate Me" | Carter | GX | 4:00 |
7. | "Talkin' About It" | Carter, Rodriguez | Infamous | 3:31 |
Notes [82]
Credits for Tha Carter III adapted from Allmusic. [83]
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [112] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [113] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [114] | Gold | 207,969 [115] |
United States (RIAA) [81] | 8× Platinum | 8,000,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and is often mentioned among the greatest rappers of all time. Carter's career began in 1995, when he was signed by rapper Birdman to his record label Cash Money Records, becoming the youngest member of the label at age eleven. From then on, he was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records before ending his association with the imprint in June 2018.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. In its early years, the label signed and released albums for New Orleans-based musical acts Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Tha Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on June 29, 2004, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. The production on the album was mostly handled by Cash Money's former in-house producer Mannie Fresh, before Mannie left the label. A chopped and screwed version of the album was also released by Cash Money Records in 2004. The album spawned four sequels: Tha Carter II, Tha Carter III, Tha Carter IV, and Tha Carter V.
Like Father, Like Son is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Birdman and Lil Wayne. The album was released on October 31, 2006, through Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records. Guest appearances include Fat Joe, T-Pain, Rick Ross, Tha Dogg Pound and All Star Cashville Prince. Producers included Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released thirteen studio albums, one collaborative album, three compilation albums, five extended plays, and twenty-nine mixtapes. Wayne made his album debut in 1999, with Tha Block Is Hot, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His later albums, Lights Out released in 2000, and 500 Degreez, released in 2002, attracted minor attention. In 2004, he released the first of his infamous Carter series, with Tha Carter. In 2005, Tha Carter II was released. In 2006, Wayne released a collaborative album with rapper Birdman, titled Like Father, Like Son. In 2008, Wayne released his best-selling album so far, titled Tha Carter III. Certified triple platinum by the RIAA, Tha Carter III won the Best Rap Album award at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Lil Wayne founded record label Young Money Entertainment and released a collaborative album featuring rappers signed to the label, We Are Young Money, in 2009, followed by his debut rock music album Rebirth in 2010. While serving an 8-month prison sentence in New York he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being, in September 2010. The next addition to Tha Carter series, Tha Carter IV, was released on August 29, 2011. In 2013, Wayne released a sequel to his 2010 album I Am Not a Human Being, titled I Am Not a Human Being II, followed by two compilation albums with his labels, Rich Gang (2013), and Young Money: Rise of an Empire (2014). After years of legal battles, his 12th studio album Tha Carter V was released on September 28, 2018. Lil Wayne released another album, Funeral, on January 31, 2020.
"Lollipop" is a song by American rapper and singer Lil Wayne posthumously featuring fellow American singer Static Major, issued on March 13, 2008, as the lead single from the former's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008). The track, which heavily utilizes the Auto-Tune vocal effect, was produced by American record producers Deezle and Jim Jonsin.
"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released April 23, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.
This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.
"Got Money" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American singer T-Pain, released as the third single from the former's sixth studio album Tha Carter III (2008). Both artists use the Auto-Tune effect in the song. The single was released as a digital download on iTunes on May 27, 2008. Lil Wayne and T-Pain performed the song at the BET 2008 awards and the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards. MTV also ranked the song as the number 19 Hip-Hop song of 2008.
"Mr. Carter" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring fellow American rapper Jay-Z, released on July 1, 2008, as a promotional single from the former's sixth album Tha Carter III (2008). Produced by DJ Infamous and Drew Correa, the title refers to the two artists' shared surname, although the two are not related. In the song, Wayne borrows lyrics from Jay-Z's song "Lucky Me", from his 1997 album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1. Lil Wayne had said that this track is his favorite from Tha Carter III.
"Mrs. Officer" is the fourth single from Lil Wayne's album Tha Carter III. Its lyrics explore the tension between criminal suspects and police officers by portraying a relationship between Lil Wayne and a female police officer; it goes so far as to reference the famous N.W.A rap song "Fuck tha Police". The song features Bobby Valentino and Kidd Kidd, and is produced by Deezle. The Music video officially debuted on September 9, 2008 It was ranked the No. 25 Hip-Hop song of 2008 by MTV.
"I'm Me" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on December 24, 2007, as the second single from his first extended play The Leak.
Dedication 3 is a mixtape by Lil Wayne, hosted by DJ Drama. It is the sequel to its predecessors, The Dedication and the highly successful Dedication 2, becoming the third in Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" series. Lil Wayne also told MTV, "Tha Carter IV is nice but you need to be looking for Dedication 3". Although Dedication 3 was a major success, it failed to match that of its predecessors despite gaining some attention. Besides the interludes, a majority of the mixtape has Wayne using auto-tune and rapping alongside artists signed to his label, Young Money Entertainment.
"See You in My Nightmares" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, featuring fellow rapper Lil Wayne, from the former's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008). The song was written by West, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and Lil Wayne. with production from the former two. It was scheduled to be released as the album's third single on March 10, 2009, ultimately being canceled in favor of "Amazing". A club number with an electronic beat, it relies on strings and synths. Lyrically, West and Lil Wayne discuss relationship troubles.
Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, shortly after Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008) was released to strong sales and critical acclaim: however, the sessions were put on hold, as Lil Wayne claimed he did not want to follow an album he held in high regard so quickly with another, potentially inferior release. In the interim, Lil Wayne released his two other albums in 2010: the largely rock-themed Rebirth, and I Am Not a Human Being. The latter was reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions, as the album was released whilst Wayne served a prison sentence at Rikers Island prison for illegal possession of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant Tha Carter IV's recording sessions were once more put on hold.
"She Will" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring Canadian rapper Drake, released as the fourth single from the former's ninth studio album, Tha Carter IV. It was released as a digital download and was added to rhythmic radio stations on August 16, 2011 in the U.S. It was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 4 million units on September 27, 2022.
I Am Not a Human Being II is the tenth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on March 26, 2013, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Republic Records. Recording sessions took place during 2006 to 2012, with Lil Wayne serving as the records executive producers, alongside Ronald "Slim" Williams and Birdman, who enlisted a wide variety of record producers such as Cool & Dre, Mike Will Made It, David Banner, T-Minus, Diplo, Juicy J and Street Runner, among others. The album serves as the sequel to I Am Not a Human Being (2010), incorporating the elements of these hip hop styles. The album was supported by three singles: "No Worries" featuring Detail, "Love Me" featuring Drake and Future, and "Rich As Fuck" featuring 2 Chainz; the latter of which peaked at numbers 29, 9 and 38 respectively, on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was the last album Lil Wayne released under Cash Money Records.
Tha Carter V is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date commenced the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. The album's features include Swizz Beatz, Kendrick Lamar, Sosamann, Lil Wayne's daughter Reginae Carter, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Ashanti, Mack Maine, Travis Scott, Nivea, and the late XXXTentacion, with bonus tracks and the deluxe edition featuring additional appearances from Post Malone, Gucci Mane, Raekwon, and 2 Chainz.
American rapper Lil Wayne has released 285 singles including 19 promotional singles. Lil Wayne attained his first singles chart entry in 1999 as a featured artist on Hot Boys member Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. Wayne later released his debut solo studio album Tha Block Is Hot in November 1999. Its title track and lead single, which features B.G. and Juvenile, reached number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lights Out followed in December 2000 and produced the singles "Get Off the Corner", "Everything" and "Shine". "Way of Life", the lead single from Wayne's third studio album 500 Degreez, peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100 and became a top 20 hit on the Hot Rap Songs chart. In 2004, Wayne was featured on the single "Soldier" by American girl group Destiny's Child, which became his first top ten hit on the Hot 100 and enjoyed commercial success internationally.
YSIV is the fourth studio album by American rapper Logic, released on September 28, 2018, by Visionary Music Group and Def Jam Recordings. The album art, featuring a mugshot of Logic, is stylized similarly to the famous mugshot of Frank Sinatra and reminiscent of the artwork for Logic's second mixtape Young Sinatra, released in 2011. The album serves as a sequel to the mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome to Forever, released in 2013, and is the fourth and final installment of the Young Sinatra series. The album is notable for being credited as an album in the Young Sinatra series, as the previous titles were released as mixtapes. It features guest appearances from all living members of Wu-Tang Clan, Wale, Jaden, Ryan Tedder and Hailee Steinfeld, among others.