Tha Carter

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 album was mostly produced from Cash Money's former in-house producer Mannie Fresh, who had worked with Lil Wayne before Fresh left the label. The album is based on "The Carter", the empire crack house from the 1991 movie New Jack City, and his last name.

Singles

The album's lead single, "Bring It Back" was released on April 10, 2004. The song serves its production and as a featured guest vocals from then-Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh.

The album's second single, "Go D.J." was released on October 5, 2004. Mannie Fresh's production were featured on the song; the same producer, who recently produced the song "Bring It Back", in which latter released as his first single.

The album's third single "Earthquake" was released on November 16, 2004. The production on the song and as a featured guest vocals was from Jazze Pha.

Commercial performance

Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money and Universal Motown. 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 Nas's Illmatic (1994) and Notorious B.I.G.'s 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 universal acclaim from music critics and earned Lil Wayne several accolades, including a spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It has been certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold 3.6 million copies in the United States.

Tha Carter IV

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.