Tha Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on June 29, 2004 on Cash Money Records and Universal Records.

The album was the last featuring Cash Money's former in-house producer, Mannie Fresh before he split from the label. The album is based on Lil Wayne's last name, Carter. Tha Carter is generally considered as Lil Wayne's "break out" album, due to the maturity in both his subject matter, and delivery compared to his first three albums.^{[citation needed]}Tha Carter was the start of 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.

Tha Carter followed Lil Wayne's work in Da Drought mixtape. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200, 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 platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 1,272,000 copies in the US as of 29 February 2012.

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Byron O. Thomas, (born March 20, 1969) better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is currently an artist and hip-hop producer who records for Def Jam South and his own division Chubby Boy Records. He is probably most famous for his time producing tracks for Cash Money Records from 1993 to 2005, and one half of the hip-hop duo Big Tymers with Birdman.

Thomas began loving music at the age of nine as a local New Orleans DJ, playing songs at parties and clubs. In the late 1980s he began a partnership with New Orleans rapper MC Gregory D. They released their first album together Throwdown in 1987, with Mannie Fresh producing and MC Gregory D rapping. They would release two more records together in the late 1980s and early 1990s. After their last album together, in 1993 Thomas met Bryan "Baby" Williams who gave him an opportunity to become the in-house producer of his record label Cash Money Records. With Williams's help, Thomas made chart-topping albums for the Hot Boys, which was composed of Lil Wayne, B.G., Juvenile, and Turk, producing all of the group’s singles. He also produced all tracks on the members’ solo works as well. Later, Thomas formed the Big Tymers along with Williams, as Mannie Fresh and Birdman respectively, and released five albums. In 2004, he released his own debut solo album The Mind of Mannie Fresh, which consisted of 30 tracks and featured the single “Real Big,” which peaked at #72 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2005, he split from Cash Money for financial reasons, and later joined Def Jam South, to which he is currently signed. On October 27, 2009, Mannie Fresh released his second solo album, Return of the Ballin'. The album was entirely produced by Fresh himself and featured prominent guests Rick Ross and Lil Jon.

Love Me Not (Hangul: 사랑따윈 필요없어; Sarang ddawin piryo eopseo, literally "Love and Such Is Not Necessary") is a 2006 South Korean romance film directed by Lee Cheol-ha and starring Moon Geun-young and Kim Joo-hyuk. It is based on the 2002 TBS Japanese drama 愛なんていらねぇよ、夏 (Love isn't necessary, summer, transliteration: Ai nante iraneyo, natsu), featuring Ryōko Hirosue.

Julian has lived off with the money he lures from his rich female customers. But now he faces usurious debts from a hasty expansion of his business, and he will be killed unless he clears the debt in one month. The only way to save himself is to pretend to be the long-lost brother of an heiress and kill her to get her huge fortune. Min, the blind heiress, cold-hearted like Julian, slowly opens herself to him, and he, too, falls for her. But Julian has to pay his creditor and what makes it worse for him is that the illness that took Min’s eyesight relapsed, threatening her life. This story takes a terrible turn when Julian becomes guilty, and pained with guilt. The tearjerker moments of the ironic betrayal and innocent love will make your heart turn.

William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), better known by his stage name Rick Ross (often stylized as RICK RO$$), is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection. Ross founded the record label Maybach Music Group, on which he released his studio albums Deeper Than Rap and Teflon Don, Ross was also the first artist signed to Diddy's management company Ciroc Entertainment. In early 2012, MTV named Ross as the Hottest MC In The Game.

William Leonard Roberts II was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi. and raised in Carol City, Florida, near Miami. After graduating from Carol City Senior High School, he later attended the historically black college Albany State University on a football scholarship.

After being signed to Suave House Records, former label for rap duo 8Ball & MJG, he eventually signed a deal with Slip-n-Slide Records, which has been under the Def Jam umbrella since 2006. While signed to Slip-n-Slide, Ross toured with fellow rapper Trick Daddy and made guest performances on other Slip-n-Slide albums.