Tha Carter III

Lil' Wayne (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 10, 2008)
• Original Release Date: June 10, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cash Money Records
• ASIN: B0013ABI48
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (186 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,235 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Unquestionably Cash Money/Universal Motown Records recording artist, Lil Wayne will go down in history as the best rapper of his generation. Indeed he may go down as one of the best artists in hip-hop period. One look at Lil Wayne's impeccable track record will convince even the most ardent skeptic that the New Orleans born lyricist is a strong contender for the crown of "Greatest of All Times."

In the span of his 13-year career, Lil Wayne has sold over six million units, including his magnum opus, The Carter II (2005) which sold over 2.5 million units. He has been featured on numerous high profile singles including Fat Joe's Grammy nominated single "Make It Rain," and in the past two years, Lil Wayne has recorded over 1,000 songs and freestyles. According to MTV, Lil Wayne has released more music in the last two years than the legendary Tupac Shakur.

Now with his highly anticipated sixth and arguably his best album The Carter III, Lil Wayne's career and legacy is set to climb to even greater heights. "I made The Carter III so that whatever song is on, it will stick with you forever," says Wayne. "That's why I took my time with it. I wanted it to be a classic."

A classic it will truly be. With production by Alchemist, Cool & Dre, David Banner, Kanye West, and Jim Jonsin, to name a few, and guest appearances by some of today's premiere recording artists including T-Pain (Got Money), Bobby Valentino (Mr. Officer), Babyface (Comfortable), Juelz Santana & Fabolous (Ain't Got Nuthin) and a special guest appearance by the legendary R&B singer Ms. Betty Wright (Play With Fire), Tha Carter III is an eclectic collection of 15 songs that range from simply brilliant to sheer genius.

The first single from the Tha Carter III, "Lollipop," featuring Static Major is the bubbling lead single that has Wayne delivering his clever lyrics laced with racy double entendres over a funky slow burning beat. Lil Wayne's second single, "A Milli"which was produced by Bangladesh (Ciara & Ludacris), is a booming 808 laced track augmented by a tight rhythmic snare, accented by handclaps and a sample that matches Wayne's staccato flow perfectly. In "Mr. Carter" featuring Jay-Z, we find the two trading introspective lyrics about their lives and legacy in the rap game with Wayne at his lyrical best dropping stream of conscious gems like: "I got the flo', I'm tryin' to see the roof/Didn't wear a bulletproof so I got shot, you can see the proof/Blind eyes can look at me and see the truth/Wonder if Stevie do?"

Born DeWayne Michael Carter, Jr. and raised in New Orleans infamously poor Hollygrove neighborhood, Lil Wayne was discovered by Cash Money CEO Brian "Birdman" Williams

when a mutual friend introduced him to the pre-teen rapper. The Birdman immediately saw a spark in the youngster's eyes and took him under his wing. In 1993, Lil Wayne and fellow Cash Money rapper B.G. came together as a duo called The BGs and released their debut EP True Stories. In 1997, a 15 year old Wayne joined forces with BG, Juvenile and Turk to form The Hot Boys for their debut album Get It How U Live. The record sold over 400,000 copies independently. The Hot Boys sophomore LP Guerilla Warfare (1999) went platinum and earned Wayne critical acclaim. That set the stage for his platinum selling 1999 solo debut Tha Block Is Hot. The album yielded a number one single with the title tune and was certified double platinum.

The following year Wayne released his sophomore LP Lights Out, which reached gold status and in 2002, Lil Wayne dropped his third solo LP 500 Degrees. It too went gold. Two years later Wayne released The Carter, the first album in the trilogy that would elevate Wayne to superstar status. The Carter (2004) was a commercial success selling over one million copies and reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts and #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart. In 2005, Wayne released The Carter II, which sold over 1.8 million records. 2006 saw the release of Like Father, Like Son, a collaboration between Lil Wayne and Birdman which has sold over 750,000 units.

GQ Magazine named Lil Wayne as its "Man Of The Year" for 2007. Rolling Stone Magazine tagged him as "Best MC of 2008" while Blender Magazine (2008) named him the "Best Rock Star Alive." So it should come as no surprise that his latest solo outing finds the hip-hop super star at the top of his game. With Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne proves to the world why he is indeed considered "the best rapper alive" and one of the great recording artists of his generation.

Product Description
Cash Money/Universal Motown Records multi-platinum artist Lil Wayne is once again taking control of the airwaves and breaking records in both with "Lollipop," the first single from his highly anticipated album Tha Carter III. This is the biggest add week that a hip-hop artist has received at Rhythm Crossover and the biggest any artist has received at Urban Radio including Beyonce and Mariah.

"Lollipop," is being well received at key radio stations across the country including: New York (Hot 97), Los Angeles (Power), Seattle (93 KUBE), Miami (99 Jamz), Philadelphia (Power 99), Atlanta (Hot 107) and Detroit (Hot 102). Lil Wayne's MySpace page received over a million unique views this week giving him the #1 Top Artist profile on the site. The video is currently in heavy rotation at MTV, MTV2, BET's Rap City and MTV Jams, where it appeared as the Jam Of The Week. The "Lollipop" video is also in medium rotation at MTV Hits and on BET's main playlist. Lil Wayne will also appear on BET's annual Spring Bling and will be only the 2nd artist in the event's history to perform for an entire episode!

Since the release of his last CD, the platinum selling Tha Cater II, Lil Wayne has guest appearances on over 70 songs for other artists including Fat Joe's 2008 Grammy nominated single "Make It Rain," DJ Khaled's "We Taking Over," and Wyclef Jeans' "Sweetest Girl." He also released a duet CD with Bryan "Birdman" Williams titled Like Father, Like Son in 2006 which was a critical and commercial success.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Best Rapper Alive? Um, no..., June 11, 2008

By	Reginald Roy "Reggie" (Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews

Not even going to waste my time writing in detail about this piece of trash. It's a shame what passes for hip-hop these days. People seem to be more in love with Weezy's production than his lyrics, which is apparent to anyone that actually cares about the lyrics at all, because Lil Wayne is whack.

I'm not a "hater", I don't gain anything by dissing Lil Wayne at all. He's just another average, untalented, main stream clown in this giant cesspool of noise these record companies are trying to pass off as Hip-Hop. Also, the fact that people are claiming that the albums in the Carter Trilogy are classics is unsettling to my stomach. If this dude's the best there is, you guys can have him; I prefer a little more substance in my music.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rap in its not so pure form..., June 14, 2008

By	K. Jefferson "Keep the real with the real." (North Memphis) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Finally we have the Carter 3, I must say it is what I expected from Lil Wayne....metaphors scattered all about. I guess this will fit the mold of what's currently going on in the industry (Rick Ross comes to mind). Admittedly, the records has a few high points with appearances from Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, and Bun B (who all out shined Wayne). However, left to stand along, Wayne is mediocre at best. The album will become an instant hit with the teenie boppers, but not with the grown ups...give us substance.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you can get past all the mixtapes and guest appearances of the past, this CD is actually pretty good., July 6, 2008

By	J. Highsmith (Mitchellville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I was officially introduced to Lil Wayne when I heard him on "Play'n It Raw", which was featured on the B.G. release Chopper City in the Ghetto, in April of 1999. I liked the collaboration between The Hot Boys (Juvenile, B.G., Lil Wayne and Turk) so I decided to pick up Guerrilla Warfare, which was released in July of '99. Since I liked most of the songs that Lil Wayne was featured on, I picked up his solo release Tha Block Is Hot, which was released in November of the same year. The title track was the 1st single and I also liked the tracks "High Beamin'" w/B.G., "Kisha" which featured The Hot Boys and "Loud Pipes" which featured Juvenile, B.G. and The Big Tymers (Mannie Fresh and Baby). The entire CD was pretty good so when Lil Wayne dropped Lights Out a year later, I didn't hesitate to pick it up. This CD wasn't as good as "The Block Is Hot" in my opinion, but I still liked tracks such as "Hit U Up" and "Shine", which both featured The Hot Boys, and the 1st single "Get Off The Corner".


Since No Limit Records and Cash Money Records were both on a decline, I didn't pick up any other Cash Money releases until Lil Wayne released Tha Carter in 2004. Once I heard the singles "Bring It Back" and "Go DJ", I figured the CD would be a decent pick up and I was right. My favorite track was "BM J.R." and the majority of the CD was a quality listen. A year later, Lil Wayne released Tha Carter II. This CD was even better than "Tha Carter", in my opinion, and my favorite tracks were "Money On My Mind", "Best Rapper Alive", "Shooter" w/Robin Thicke and "Tha Mobb".

Since the release of "Tha Carter 2", Lil Wayne has released several mixtapes and has appeared on several other CDs from other down south rappers, r&b singers, and even on Jay Z's "American Gangster" CD on the track "Hello Brooklyn 2.0". Lil Wayne was also featured on Kanye West's "Graduation" CD on the track "Barry Bonds". Finally, after several delays Lil Wayne released "Tha Carter 3" on June 10, 2008.

The first single "Lollipop" features the late Static Major, who was in the r&b group Playa and wrote and produced songs for the late Aaliyah Haughton and Timbaland. "Lollipop" is suitable for the club and house parties but that's about it, in my opinion. Lil Wayne uses the tired voice recorder that T-Pain has made famous lately, but people who have listened to music for years know that it was made famous first by the late, great Roger Troutman of Zapp. T-Pain is featured on another forgettable track in "Got Money". The second the track comes on you will be wanting to hit the skip button. "3 Peat" starts the CD as Lil Wayne is fresstyling and "Maestro" delivers a decent beat. I have heard better Lil Wayne freestyles but "3 Peat" does get the CD off to a decent start.
"Mr. Carter" is alot better as Lil Wayne and Jay-Z rip the track to shreds. Wayne could have left the last verse off of the song, but "Mr. Carter" is easily one of the best tracks on "Tha Carter 3". "A Milli" officially shuts the CD down. When I first heard this CD, I had to play "A Milli" 3 times in a row before I could go on to another track. "Bangladesh" who produced another Down South favorite of mine, 8Ball & MJG's "You Don't Want Drama", definitely produces a banger in "A Milli". This is what every Lil Wayne freestyle should sound like. Kanye West produces the smooth, grown and sexy track "Comfortable", which features Babyface. Lil Wayne basically tells the lady in his life at the moment that she shouldn't get too comfortable in the realtionship if she isn't going to play her part in it. Swizz Beatz shows up to produce another banger in "Dr. Carter" as Lil Wayne is able to give his prescription to any rappers lacking style, charisma and the abilities to what "he" thinks it takes to make it in the rap game in 2008. Cool & Dre show up to produce "Phone Home". Once you past the fact that Lil Wayne is calling himself a martian, you will be able to enjoy the lyrics and the beat. This track is definitely one of the better songs on "Tha Carter 3". Robin Thicke produces and is featured on "Tie My Hands" which has Lil Wayne discussing the mind state of New Orleans and how he feels about everything before and after Hurricane Katrina. Bobby Valentino, who recently left Ludacris and DTP, is featured on the smooth "Mrs. Officer" as Wayne makes a playful story up about pushin' up on a female police officer. "Let The Beat Bulid" is produced by Kanye West and has Lil Wayne on another freestyle mission. The first part of the track is pretty good, but Wayne should have quit while he was ahead because the last verse isn't as good as the other verses are on the song. "Shoot Me Down" features some nice vocals from D. Smith as Lil Wayne is able to get some things off his chest, while still maintaining decent lyrics at the same time. David Banner does it again on the nice "La, La" which features Busta Rhymes and Brisco. The beat sounds like something your child could play on a xylophone but after a few listens you will be bobbin' your head like I do everytime I hear the track. "Pyaying With Fire" features Betty Wright, who I remember from the "After The Pain" and "No Pain, No Gain" Video Jukebox days. Lil Wayne's lyrics could have been better but Streetrunner will keep your attention with the production. Alchemist, who is currently Eminem's DJ and is better known for producing tracks for Mobb Deep and "We Gon' Make It" by Jadakiss, produces "You Ain't Got Nuthin'". Fabolous steals the show as his verse on this track is better than any verse than he had on his last CD, "From Nothin' To Somethin'". Juelz Santana took the day off and Lil Wayne tries his best to keep up with Fabolous. "Don't Get It" uses the same sample that Common used for the track "Misunderstood" on his last CD, "Finding Forever". Lil Wayne ends "The Carter 3" on a nice note as he even takes time to give his thoughts on certain issues going on in the Black community today and his opinions of the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Overall, if you can look past "Lollipop" and "Got Money", I feel that you have a pretty good CD by Lil Wayne. If you were a fan of "Tha Carter 1" and "Tha Carter 2", then you should also add "Tha Carter 3" to your collection. If you are tired of hearing Lil Wayne on 50 different mixtapes and on 100 diffrent collaborations, then this might not be the CD for you. If you are into the Down South rap music scene of 2008, which would be Outkast, Scarface, TI, Bun B, Young Buck, Chamillionaire, David Banner and others, then you should also pick this CD up as well. Lil Wayne isn't for everybody, but if you actually sit down and give this CD a fair listen, then you won't be disappointed in my opinion.

James' Top 5

1) A Milli
2) Tie My Hands w/Robin Thicke
3) Mr. Carter w/Jay-Z
4) Dr. Carter
5) Comfortable w/Babyface

Honorable Mention:

Phone Home
Let The Beat Build
Don't Get It (Too much talking during the end of the track)
La La w/Busta Rhymes & Brisco
Mrs. Officer w/Bobby Valentino