Back when buying CD's were a thing, Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter II" was the first rap album I bought and get me into listening to rap music, as a nerdy pre pubescent white kid from suburban NY. If you don't believe me, this is what rap music did to me in middle school. I was a bad bad little man!
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr aka "Lil Wayne"aka "Weezy" aka "Tunechi" was 14 years old when he started rapping, 17 when he released his 1999 platinum-selling debut album,"Tha Block is Hot", and 21 at the time he was a bona fide rap superstar. Since becoming the "Best Rapper Alive" Wayne has gone on to put out 5 "Tha Carter" albums, and after seeing this tweet the other day it got me thinking of where each one ranks. @Rap
So lets break this down!
#5 Tha Carter IV
Before dropping this, Weezy put out his rock-rap mixtape/album/whatever Rebirth, and then the very weird I am Not A Human Being. Tunechi is at his best when he delivers quote-worthy punchlines on the Drake-assisted "She Will" and "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz. The Rick Ross-assisted "John" finds Wayne spitting lyrical fire over a bombastic beat similar to Ricky Rozay's "I'm Not a Star." On the acoustic guitar-driven "How to Love," Wayne attempts to make some baby making music despite his actual singing ability. C4 definitely wasn't one of his best, but still had some hits.
#4 Tha Carter V
In 2018 Wayne returned with C5 after a multi year legal fued with Birdman which delayed the release of the album. It debuted at #1 on Billboard and featured a more emotional side of Weezy as it featured a few tracks with his mom on intros of the songs talking about his childhood, with the opening track titled "I love You Dwayne". Similar to C4, this wasn't his best effort, but with some star studded rappers associated with the album, and with Swizz Beats producing, it showed Wayne still has it. Top tracks included Uproar, Mona Lisa (feat. Kendrick Lamar), and Let It Fly (feat. Travis Scott).
#3 Tha Carter
Shoutout Mannie Fresh! Crazy to think this album is almost 20 years old, and that this was Weezy's 4th studio album. Having producing Mannie Fresh on 18 of 21 tracks helped provide some club banging tracks like "Go DJ" and "Bring it Back", it also came out when Jay-Z said he was retiring from rap. The LP secured a No. 5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, and his lasting star power emerges with this project.
#2 Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, released on June 10, 2008, is his career-defining project and his most commercially successful album of his rap career. At the time of its release, it earned the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 1 million units in its first week. This album top down is filled with bangers. "3 peat", "A Milli", "Got Money", "Mrs. Officer", "Let The Beat Build", and "Lollipop" RIP Static Major. Looking back I probably shouldn't have had my ringtone be Lollipop in high school because I had no bad bitches calling me. C3 was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won the Best Rap Album award. Additionally, "Lollipop" and "A Milli" won Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance, respectively. Ultimately, Tha Carter III reached triple-platinum status by the RIAA.
#1 Tha Carter II
The Carter II is one of those rap albums you talk about when you see the 2017 Golden State Warriors and compare them to beating '96 Chicago Bulls. Like the Warriors team was good, but different era of ball. First time Wayne had moved away from Mannie Fresh producing the album, and went with The Heatmakerz, Cool & Dre, The Runners, T-Mix, and Batman, among others. One of the hardest lines on “Best Rapper Alive,” “The young heart attack, I spit that cardiac/You can’t see me, baby boy, you got that cataracts/I’m right here, straight out the hood, just like an alley cat/Since everyone’s a king, well, where the fuck your palace at/Me, I got callus on my hands, I can handle that.” Much like C3, Tha Carter II comes with a track list that is unmatched: "Tha Mobb", "Money on My Mind", "Fireman", "Oh No", "I'm a Dboy", I can keep listing them out but outside of the tracks that are "Skits", this is an album you can leave on shuffle and not have to worry about skips.
While people acknowledge Tha Carter III as sending the esteemed rapper to superstardom, that process actually began with Tha Carter II, the best album Lil Wayne's ever released.
Shout out the progression of album covers as well.