Maps of Music

Tha Carter IV (2011)

Where the lyrics of Tha Carter IV take you, and where it was really made.

Wayne recorded this album again from scratch after prison, yet it still debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200.

Key places

Wayne's Crib, Miami (2011)

Recording site The Hit Factory Criteria — Recorded at Wayne's Crib, a studio listed in Miami, Florida, during the sessions that resumed at various locations. The pin sits at the city centre, so the exact building is not marked. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Tha Carter IV: ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne
• Released 29 August 2011 through Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment
• Digital release at midnight on 28 August 2011, after Wayne's scheduled MTV Video Music Awards performance
• Physical retailers received the album the following day
• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
• Follows Tha Carter III (2008) in the Tha Carter series

Background

• Recording sessions began in late 2008, shortly after Tha Carter III was released to strong sales and critical acclaim
• Wayne put the sessions on hold because he did not want to follow an album he rated highly so quickly with a potentially inferior release
• In 2010 he released two other albums: the largely rock-themed Rebirth and I Am Not a Human Being
• I Am Not a Human Being was reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions
• Wayne was serving a prison sentence at Rikers Island for illegal possession of a weapon, so he could not record new material and the sessions stalled again
• After his release, the album was re-recorded from scratch
• Release was delayed repeatedly; a 2 June 2011 announcement moved it to 29 August

Recording

• Sessions resumed at various locations
• Producers included Bangladesh, Detail, T-Minus, Noah "40" Shebib, Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Kane Beatz, Boi-1da and Kanye West
• Compared with its predecessors, the album is more introspective, with morbid lyrical content and downtempo production
• Guests include Cory Gunz, Drake, T-Pain, Rick Ross, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Nas and Busta Rhymes

Cover

• Cover released to the internet on 19 April 2011

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

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

• Reviews were generally mixed, and many critics saw the album as a disappointment
• Metacritic average of 60 from 29 reviews
• Robert Christgau (The Barnes & Noble Review): said the record has its moments, but its stunted sense of play is summed up by the T-Pain-aided 'How to Hate'
• Greg Kot (Chicago Tribune): said Wayne sounds slower and less unhinged, held back by repetitive subject matter
• Sean Fennessey (Spin): said the album is not an ambitious mess and not much fun, which for Wayne is a sin
• Matthew Cole (Slant Magazine): said the production chases trends more often than it sets them
• Jeff Weiss (Los Angeles Times): called the lyrics predictable and the album more pedestrian than embarrassing
• Andy Hutchins (The Village Voice): called it a bad rap album

Reappraisal

• Rob Sheffield (Rolling Stone): positive review, praising how unhinged Wayne sounds
• David Jeffries (AllMusic): called it a solid, above-average hip-hop album, though less convincing than II and III
• Jon Caramanica (The New York Times): said the guest rappers bring their A game and Wayne remains a commanding presence

Records

• US Billboard 200: debut at number one, 964,000 copies in the first week
• Third Lil Wayne album to debut at number one
• Highest first-week album sales since Lady Gaga's Born This Way
• Stayed at number one in its second week despite a 77% sales drop, selling 219,000 copies
• Canada: debut at number one, 31,000 copies in the first week
• Europe: top ten in Norway and Switzerland; top twenty in Ireland, Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands
• Worldwide sales of 3.5 million by February 2012
• US sales of 2,296,000 by July 2013
• 300,000 downloads in the first four days online, breaking an iTunes record
• RIAA five-times platinum certification on 25 September 2020
• Nominated for Best Rap Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Sessions were put on hold twice, first by Wayne's choice and then by his prison sentence, and the album was re-recorded from scratch after his release
• 'Dear Anne (Stan Part 2)' was planned for the album but removed; Wayne said he was not a fan of it and that it had been planned for Tha Carter III
• 'Mirror' featuring Bruno Mars is a bonus track on the deluxe edition
• Tha Carter IV had 300,000 downloads in its first four days online, breaking an iTunes record set by Watch the Throne
• Swizz Beatz hinted in July 2011 that Wayne might re-record a new version of 'Anne'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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