Maps of Music
Tha Carter III (2008)
Where the lyrics of Tha Carter III take you, and where it was really made.
The album's tracks leaked in mid-2007 and its release was pushed to June 2008, yet it debuted at number one and sold over a million copies in its first week.
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Overview
- Tha Carter III: sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne
- Released June 10, 2008 by Cash Money, Universal Motown and Young Money Entertainment
- Follows a string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip-hop and R&B artists' albums
- Guests include Jay-Z, T-Pain, Fabolous, Robin Thicke, Busta Rhymes, Juelz Santana, Babyface, Bobby V and Kanye West
- Static Major is credited posthumously after his death in February 2008
- Amid release delays and leaks, it became one of the most anticipated releases of 2008
Background
- After most of the album leaked online in mid-2007, Lil Wayne used the leaked tracks plus four new songs for a mixtape titled The Leak
- The Leak was set for December 18, 2007, while the album itself was delayed until June 10, 2008
- In a June 2008 Billboard interview, he said unauthorized releases led him to release mixtapes rather than albums between Tha Carter II and Tha Carter III
- Producers named by Lil Wayne include The Alchemist, Cool & Dre, Deezle, Jim Jonsin, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Mannie Fresh, The Runners, Timbaland, Danja and will.i.am
- A copyright dispute over "Playing with Fire" led to its removal and replacement with the David Banner produced track "Pussy Monster"
Cover
- Cover shows a photo of Lil Wayne as a baby, tattooed
- Follows the cover style of Nas's Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | 3 Peat | 3:19 |
| 2 | Mr. Carter | 5:16 |
| 3 | A Milli | 3:42 |
| 4 | Got Money | 4:05 |
| 5 | Comfortable | 4:25 |
| 6 | Dr. Carter | 4:24 |
| 7 | Phone Home | 3:12 |
| 8 | Tie My Hands | 5:19 |
| 9 | Mrs. Officer | 4:47 |
| 10 | Let the Beat Build | 5:09 |
| 11 | Shoot Me Down | 4:30 |
| 12 | Lollipop | 4:59 |
| 13 | La La | 4:21 |
| 14 | Playing With Fire | 4:21 |
| 15 | You Ain't Got Nuthin | 5:27 |
| 16 | Dontgetit | 9:52 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Career
- Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans; signed to Cash Money Records at age 11 after being discovered by Birdman in 1993.
- Early career as B.G.'z and then Hot Boys (formed 1997) with Juvenile, B.G. and Turk; the group reached mainstream success with Guerrilla Warfare (1999).
- Solo breakthrough with Tha Block Is Hot (1999), certified platinum within a month of release.
- Tha Carter III (2008) sold over 1 million copies in its first week and won the Grammy for Best Rap Album; its single "Lollipop" topped the Billboard Hot 100.
- Founded Young Money Entertainment in 2005; the label signed Drake, Tyga and Nicki Minaj.
- Has sold over 120 million records worldwide and won five Grammy Awards.
- Released Tha Carter VI in 2025 and was named the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley in Hot 100 entries.
Legacy
- Often described as one of the most influential artists of the 21st century.
- His style and use of Auto-Tune influenced modern hip-hop, especially the development of trap.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Metacritic average of 84 from 26 reviews, indicating universal acclaim
- Blender's Jonah Weiner called it a weird, gripping triumph
- The Village Voice's Tom Breihan called it a sprawling mess that clangs nearly as often as it clicks, while praising Wayne's unconventional performance
- Hot Press gave it three out of five
- Sputnikmusic gave it three out of five, calling the album scattershot
Reappraisal
- Ranked number 437 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012, rising to number 208 in the 2020 revised list
- Complex named it one of the classic albums of the last decade in 2012
- Billboard ranked it number 103 among the Top 200 Albums of the Decade
- Ranked number one on Blender's list of the 33 best albums of 2008, and number three on Rolling Stone's top 50 albums of 2008
Records
- Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 1,005,545 copies in its first week, Wayne's first US number-one debut
- Dropped to number two in its second week with an additional 309,000 copies
- Sold approximately 2.88 million copies by the end of 2008 and was named the best-selling album of the year in the US by Billboard
- Reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart with nearly 21,000 units
- Entered at number 23 in the UK and number 34 on the Irish Albums Chart
- Certified six times platinum by the RIAA on September 25, 2020
- At the 2009 Grammys, nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Rap Album
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Static Major, who died in February 2008, is credited on the album posthumously
- David Banner was to be credited for five tracks, but only one appears on the album
- "Playing with Fire" was dropped after Abkco Music Inc. filed a copyright lawsuit on July 24, 2008
- "Phone Home" contains alien metaphors reminiscent of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org