The Leak | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | December 25, 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2007 | |||
Genre | Southern hip hop | |||
Length | 19:29 | |||
Label | Cash Money, Universal Motown | |||
Lil Wayne chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Leak | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
DJBooth | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10) [2] |
Rhapsody | (favorable) [3] |
The Leak is the first extended play (EP) by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on December 25, 2007, under Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records. [4] The five songs on the EP were recorded by Lil Wayne during Tha Carter III sessions. The songs were ultimately leaked online by an unknown source, Wayne later compiled the songs and called the project The Leak. Lil Wayne decided to put out The Leak for his fans, so that they could have CD-quality versions of the songs. The EP was later used as a bonus disc for the deluxe edition of Tha Carter III (2008).
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. 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. He was signed by American rapper Birdman to his record label Cash Money Records at age eleven, becoming its youngest member. In the following years, he emerged as 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 "Birdman" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans-based musical acts including 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.
Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on December 6, 2005, by Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Records. Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with Birdman and his brother Ronald "Slim" Williams serving as the record's executive producers. Additional producers on the album included The Runners and The Heatmakerz, among others. The album serves as a sequel to his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), and was supported by three singles.
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. It follows a string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists' albums. 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.
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.
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires — and Republic Records until 2018, after which the label operated severally as an imprint of latter. Wayne's longtime affiliate, rapper Mack Maine was appointed the company's president in 2009.
"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.
"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.
"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.
Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. The album's production was primarily handled by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ Nasty & LVM, Kevin Rudolf, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Rebirth was promoted as Wayne's rock music debut, though it includes some hip hop tracks. The album features guest appearances from Eminem, Kevin Rudolf, Shanell and Nicki Minaj.
No Ceilings is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was scheduled to be released on October 31, 2009, but was leaked before the official date. No Ceilings was officially released on October 31, 2009, with 4 additional tracks. The mixtape is available as a free and legal download and it received widespread acclaim from critics. An abridged version was officially released to streaming services on August 28, 2020, excluding ten songs.
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.
I Am Not a Human Being is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010, and on compact disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Motown. It was recorded before Wayne's eight-month prison term for criminal possession of a weapon. Production for the album was by Wayne and several record producers, including Boi-1da, Cool & Dre, Streetrunner, Noah "40" Shebib and DJ Infamous.
Sorry 4 the Wait is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, named as an attempt to apologize for the continued delay of his ninth album, Tha Carter IV (4). Wayne said the mixtape would have about ten songs and be similar to No Ceilings, with him using other artists' tracks and making a cover track. It was released for digital download on July 13, 2011, and received generally positive reviews from music critics.
"Mirror" is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne featuring American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. The second bonus track on the deluxe edition of Tha Carter IV (2011), was released to Urban contemporary radio stations as the sixth and final single on September 13, 2011, through Young Money, Cash Money, and Universal Republic Records. The artists wrote the song alongside Phillip Lawrence and producer Ramon "REO" Owen of the Soundkillers, with co-production from the Smeezingtons. The song was produced three years before its release. Owen, with Mike Caren's help, was able to get the track to several rappers, who rejected it. Lil Wayne liked the song after hearing it, however, and his verses were added to Mars's hook vocals already on the track.
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.
Jeffery Lamar Williams, known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop and trap music, and a pioneer of the mumble rap microgenre. Williams embarked on a musical career in 2011, releasing a series of mixtapes beginning with I Came from Nothing. In 2013, he signed with fellow Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane's 1017 Records and gained further attention and praise for his debut mixtape with the label, 1017 Thug, released in February of that year.
Free Weezy Album is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on July 4, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records, exclusively on TIDAL. It was released on Spotify and Apple Music on July 3, 2020, to commemorate its fifth anniversary, though some samples were changed due to clearance issues, and some tracks are absent completely.