Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Tha Carter III
type	studio
artist	Lil Wayne
cover	CarterIII.jpg
released	June 10, 2008
recorded	2006–08
genre	Hip hop
length	76:31
label	Cash Money, Universal Motown
producer	Birdman (exec.), Ronald "Slim" Williams (exec.), The Alchemist, Bangladesh, Cool & Dre, Andrews "Drew" Correa, David Banner, Deezle, D. Smith, DJ Infamous, Jim Jonsin, Kanye West, Maestro, Play-N-Skillz, Robin Thicke, Rodnae, Swizz Beatz, StreetRunner
Last album	''Tha Carter II'' (2005)
This album	''Tha Carter III'' (2008)
Next album	''Rebirth'' (2010)
Misc	}}

''Tha Carter III'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 10, 2008 on Cash Money Records. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B; artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream. The album's cover art features a baby picture of Wayne and is similar to covers of hip hop albums such as ''Illmatic'' (1994) and ''Ready to Die'' (1994). Amid release delays and leaks, ''Tha Carter III'' became one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.

The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 1,005,545 copies in its first week. It reached sales of 2.88 million copies by the end of 2008 and produced four singles that achieved chart success, including the international hit "Lollipop" and ''Billboard'' hits "A Milli", "Got Money", and "Mrs. Officer". Upon its release, ''Tha Carter III'' received general acclaim from most music critics and earned Lil Wayne several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 51st Grammy Awards. It has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States.

Recording

Lil Wayne stated that producers would include The Alchemist, Cool & Dre, Deezle, Jim Jonsin, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Mannie Fresh, The Runners, Timbaland, Danja, The Sjkid,Arash, and will.i.am. 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. The Runners have stated that they have produced three tracks for ''Tha Carter III''. Lil Wayne revealed that he has a track for Eminem, which he has yet to send to him. He described this song as the "craziest". However, it is thought that Eminem turned down the request.

Collaborators include Fabolous, T-Pain, Brisco, Bobby Valentino, Betty Wright, Static Major, Robin Thicke, Kidd Kidd, Jay-Z, Juelz Santana, and Busta Rhymes. 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 is likely to appear on the album. 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. After the copyright controversy of "Playing with Fire", the track was later removed, replaced with another David Banner produced-track "Pussy Monster". Swizz Beatz had stated he is also working on the album. When asked about how many tracks Kanye West has contributed, he answered: "On the first visit he had 5 joints. On the second visit he gave me a CD with 15 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.

Music

''Tha Carter III''s lead single, "Lollipop", peaked at #1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 - staying #1 for 3 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", perceived as more of a "bubblegum" pop track than rap. The second track on the album, "Mr. Carter", was nominated for a Grammy while also peaking within the Hot 100. It was praised for featuring Jay-Z, which was seen as Jay-Z passing the throne to Wayne. The second single, "A Milli", was a top ten hit and was praised as one of the best songs of 2008. The song garnered countless freestyles and remixes, while Wayne's original version was praised with "spectacular rhyme". "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). "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. "Phone Home" also features various alien metaphors reminiscent of the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982).

Release and promotion

Leaks

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''. ''The Leak'' was to be officially released on December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until June 10, 2008. When questioned about the unplanned leak, Lil Wayne said:

On May 24, 10 second snippets of multiple songs were leaked onto AT&T; Media Mall. On May 30-31st, ''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. 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.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Lollipop", topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 5 non-consecutive weeks, making it Wayne's most successful single in his career. It features the late Rap singer Static Major. The album's second single, "A Milli", was another top ten. It reached #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. 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 #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The fourth single is "Mrs. Officer", featuring Bobby Valentino. It made the Top 20 in just 4 weeks. "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 #66 on the ''Billboard'' 100. "You Ain't Got Nuthin'" featuring Fabolous and Juelz Santana was released as a promo single, peaking at #81 on the ''Billboard'' 100. "Mr. Carter", featuring Jay-Z, peaked at #62 on the ''Billboard'' 100, #27 on the Hot R&B;/Hip Hop Songs chart, and #13 on the Top Rap Songs. It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or a Group in 2009.

Lawsuit

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". In the lawsuit, Abkco claims that the song was obviously derived from The Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire", to which Abkco owns the rights. Subsequently, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the tracklist of ''Tha Carter III'' on all online music stores and replaced with the David Banner produced track, "Pussy Monster".

Reception

Commercial performance

With opening day sales figures of approximately 423,000, the album sold 1,005,545 copies in its first week in the United States. 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). ''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. In the album's second week, it sold a reported 309,000 copies, helping ''Tha Carter III'' towards becoming Lil Wayne's most successful selling album to date.

''Tha Carter III'' had sold approximately 2.88 million copies in 2008, after selling another 985,000 and 964,000 in two week span week June 24–July 8 and well over 697.000 the following week in a 7 day span, becoming 2008's best-selling album. By the end of 2008, it was named the best-selling album of the year in the United States by ''Billboard''. On February 12, 2009, the album was certified triple platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following sales in excess of 3 million copies. As of July 2011, it has sold over 3.6 million copies in the U.S.

Critical response

''Tha Carter III'' received general acclaim from most 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, which indicates "universal acclaim". ''The Source'' gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 mics. ''Rolling Stone'' writer Jody Rosen gave it 4½ out of 5 stars and praised its production and thematic structure. Allmusic's David Jeffries gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and praised Wayne's "entertaining wordplay and plenty of well-executed, left-field ideas". ''Entertainment Weekly'' writer Jon Caraminca gave the album a B- rating and wrote that it catapults Wayne into part of "rap's elite". Giving it 5 out of 5 stars, ''NOW'' commended him for his energy and called ''Tha Carter III'' a "sub­versive masterpiece". ''The Guardian''s Alex Macpherson gave it 4 out of 5 stars and praised Wayne's rapping and lyrical ability, 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". ''Blender'' writer Jonah Weiner gave it 4½ out of 5 stars and called it "a weird, gripping triumph".

''The Village Voice'' writer Tom Breihan called the album "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". Despite viewing it as "uneven", ''The Washington Post''s J. Freedom du Lac commended Wayne for his "impulses to be outrageous and unconventional" and called him a "nonsensical genius". Jon Pareles of ''The New York Times'' praised the album's production and Lil Wayne's lyrical maturity, stating "he 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". Drew Hinshaw of PopMatters gave it an 8/10 rating and 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".

Accolades

''Tha Carter III'' was ranked number one in ''Blender''s list of the 33 best albums of 2008. It was also ranked number three on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the top 50 albums of 2008. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, 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. ''Billboard'' magazine ranked the album number 103 on its list of the Top 200 Albums of the Decade.

Track listing

;Bonus tracks ;Notes

¹ Kidd Kidd is uncredited for his work on "Mrs. Officer"

² "Playing with Fire" was replaced on later pressings with "Pussy Monster" due to an ABKCO Records lawsuit

"A Milli" contains samples of "Don't Burn Down the Bridge" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Vampire Mix)" by A Tribe Called Quest.

"Comfortable" contains samples of "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys and "Player's Ball" by OutKast.

"Dr. Carter" contains a sample of "Holy Thursday" by David Axelrod.

"Let the Beat Build" contains a sample of "Day by Day" by Eddie Kendricks.

"Dontgetit" contains a sample of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Nina Simone.

"Action" contains a sample of "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled.

"I'm Me" contains samples of "Go D.J.", "Fireman", "Hustler Musik", and "Cash Money Millionaires" by Lil Wayne, "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" by Moby, and "Rubberband Man" by T.I..

"Gossip" contains a sample of "Stop in the Name of Love" by Margie Joseph.

"Kush" contains a sample of "Honey Wild" by Con Funk Shun.

Personnel

Credits for ''Tha Carter III'' adapted from Allmusic.

Angelo Aponte – engineer

David Banner – producer

Joshua Berkman – digital editing

Miguel Angel Mendoza Bermudez – mixing assistant

Sandy Brummels – creative director

Katina Bynum – project manager

Gloria Caldwell – composer

Ludas Charles – keyboards

Andrew Dawson – mixing

Jim Jonsin – producer

Jonathan Mannion – photography

Fabian Marasciullo – mixing

Sol Marcus – composer

Vlado Meller – mastering

Sha Ron Prescott – vocals

Pro-Jay – engineer, musician, producer

James Scheffer – composer

Miguel Scott – engineer

Swizz Beatz – producer

Robin Thicke – musician, producer

Julian Vasquez – engineer

Gina Victoria – engineer

Kanye West – producer

Charts and certifications

Charts

! Chart (2008)	! Peakposition
Canadian Albums Chart	1
Dutch Albums Chart	21
French Albums Chart	25
German Albums Chart	29
Irish Album Chart	34
UK Album Chart	23
	1

Year-end charts

!Chart (2010)	!Position
US ''Billboard'' 200

Certifications

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Region !class="unsortable"|Certification(s) |- |Canada |2× Platinum |- |United Kingdom |Gold |- |United States |3× Platinum |}

Chart procession and succession

References

External links

''Tha Carter III'' at Discogs

Category:2008 albums Category:Albums produced by Bangladesh Category:Albums produced by Kanye West Category:Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Category:Albums produced by Cool & Dre Category:Albums produced by David Banner Category:Albums produced by The Alchemist Category:Albums produced by Jim Jonsin Category:Cash Money Records albums Category:Lil Wayne albums Category:Universal Records albums

da:Tha Carter III de:Tha Carter III fr:Tha Carter III it:Tha Carter III no:Tha Carter III pl:Tha Carter III pt:Tha Carter III ru:Tha Carter III simple:Tha Carter III fi:Tha Carter III sv:Tha Carter III tr:Tha Carter III

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Tha Carter
type	studio
artist	Lil Wayne
cover	Lil Wayne - Tha Carter.jpg
released	June 29, 2004
recorded	2003–2004
genre	Hip hop
length	79:07
label	Cash Money, Universal
producer	Mannie Fresh, Raj Smoove, Batman, Leslie Brathwaite, Jazze Pha
reviews	* Allmusic [ link] RapReviews (7.5/10) link Rhapsody (favorable) link ''Rolling Stone'' link ''Sputnikmusic'' link ''XXL'' (XL)
last album	''500 Degreez''(2002)
this album	''Tha Carter''(2004)
next album	''Tha Carter II''(2005)
misc	}}

''Tha Carter'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 29, 2004.

The album was produced by Cash Money's former in-house producer, Mannie Fresh. This was the last album from longtime in-house producer Mannie Fresh before Fresh split from the label. The album is based on his last name Carter. ''Tha Carter'' is generally considered as Lil Wayne's "break out" album, due to the obvious maturity in both his subject matter and delivery compared to his first three albums. ''Tha Carter'' is the start off to a highly successful album saga for Wayne. The album has spawned three sequels, ''Tha Carter II'' which was released in 2005, ''Tha Carter III'' which was released in 2008, ''Tha Carter IV'' which was released in 2011. A chopped and screwed version of the album was produced by Michael 5000 Watts and OG Ron C. "Gillie Da Kid" claimed to be Lil' Wayne's ghostwriter, and claimed to write most of Tha Carter. Later, Gillie and Lil' Wayne would beef, causing Gillie to drop out of Cash Money records

''Tha Carter'' followed Lil Wayne's work in ''Da Drought'' mixtape. The album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and number two on the Billboard Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart with 116,000 copies sold in its first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold 878,000 copies in the United States to date.

Track listing

{{tracklist | extra_column = Producer(s) | writing_credits = yes | title1 = Walk In | writer1 = Dwayne Michael Carter, Byron Thomas | extra1 = Mannie Fresh | length1 = 3:04 | title2 = Go D.J. | writer2 = Carter, Thomas | extra2 = Mannie Fresh | length2 = 4:41 | title3 = This Is the Carter | note3 = featuring Mannie Fresh | writer3 = Carter, Thomas | extra3 = Mannie Fresh | length3 = 4:36 | title4 = BM J.R. | writer4 = Carter, Thomas | extra4 = Mannie Fresh, Batman | length4 = 4:58 | title5 = On the Block #1 | writer5 = | note5 = skit | length5 = 0:18 | title6 = I Miss My Dawgs | note6 = featuring Reel | writer6 = Carter, Thomas | extra6 = Mannie Fresh, Raj Smoove | length6 = 4:35 | title7 = We Don't | note7 = featuring Birdman | writer7 = Carter, Thomas, Bryan Williams | extra7 = Leslie Brathwaite | length7 = 4:09 | title8 = On My Own | note8 = featuring Reel | writer8 = Carter, Thomas | extra8 = Mannie Fresh | length8 = 4:28 | title9 = Tha Heat | writer9 = Carter, Thomas | extra9 = Raj Smoove | length9 = 4:36 | title10 = Cash Money Millionaires | writer10 = Carter, Thomas | extra10 = Mannie Fresh | length10 = 4:42 | title11 = Inside | writer11 = Carter, Thomas | extra11 = Mannie Fresh | length11 = 1:30 | title12 = Bring It Back | note12 = featuring Mannie Fresh | writer12 = Carter, Thomas | extra12 = Mannie Fresh | length12 = 4:21 | title13 = Who Wanna | writer13 = Carter, Thomas | extra13 = Raj Smoove | length13 = 4:32 | title14 = On the Block #2 | writer14 = | note14 = skit | length14 = 0:23 | title15 = Get Down | note15 = featuring Birdman | writer15 = Carter, Thomas, Williams | extra15 = Mannie Fresh | length15 = 4:32 | title16 = Snitch | writer16 = Carter, Thomas | extra16 = Mannie Fresh | length16 = 3:55 | title17 = Hoes | note17 = featuring Mannie Fresh | writer17 = Carter, Thomas | extra17 = Mannie Fresh | length17 = 4:32 | title18 = Only Way | note18 = featuring Birdman | writer18 = Carter, Thomas, Williams | extra18 = Mannie Fresh | length18 = 4:33 | title19 = Earthquake | note19 = featuring Jazze Pha | writer19 = Carter, Phalon Alexander | extra19 = Jazze Pha | length19 = 5:16 | title20 = Ain't That a Bitch | writer20 = Carter, Thomas | extra20 = Mannie Fresh | length20 = 4:17 | title21 = Walk Out | writer21 = Carter, Thomas | extra21 = Mannie Fresh | length21 = 1:08 }}

Chart positions

Chart (2004)	Peakposition
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References

Category:2004 albums Category:Lil Wayne albums Category:Universal Records albums Category:Cash Money Records albums Category:Albums produced by Mannie Fresh

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