Tha Carter III

by Lil Wayne

Overview

How Tha Carter III came to be "the most anticipated rap album of 2008" is a story that involves the usual delays and promises of a masterpiece, plus a whole lot of bullet points that could only exist in the absurd world of Lil Wayne. There's his complete annihilation of the mixtape game, the ridiculous amount of guest shots he granted since Tha Carter II made him a hip-hop superstar, that photograph of him kissing his mentor, Birdman, rumors of addiction to the sizzurp, plus the gargantuan ego and aggravating aloofness (Wayne will ignore all incoming beefs and infuriate challengers even further by offering the lethal "I don't listen to your records"). His "best rapper alive" quote is discussed to death, but if that claim includes creating perfectly crafted full-lengths in a 2Pac style, the evidence won't be found here. Tha Carter III is instead a surprisingly casual album that takes numerous listens to sort out, and only part of a puzzle that is scattered across mixtapes, guest shots, and Internet leaks. Had he included another easy-access single like "Rider" from The Drought Is Over, Pt. 4 -- just one of his mixtape series that made it to a Pt. 5 -- the "classic" argument could be considered, but figuring out what to sacrifice from this high-grade jumble is difficult. It wouldn't be the electro-bumpin' "Lollipop," an infectious track that contains the wonderfully Wayne line "I told her to back it up/Like burp, burp." You certainly wouldn't want to lose key cut "Phone Home," where the maverick adopts an alien voice and drops "I could get your brains for a bargain/Like I bought it from Target." Another Weezy special from way outside the hip-hop universe comes in the striking "Dr. Carter," when the football reference "And you ain't Vince Young/So don't clash with the Titan" dances on a David Axelrod sample and an unexpected jazzy production from Swizz Beatz. Giant meets giant when Jay-Z stops by for the velvet-smooth hangout session "Mr. Carter," and with Babyface laying the stylish swagger all over "Comfortable," Wayne gets the opportunity to convincingly vibe in the land of true class. Just like on Tha Carter II, Robin Thicke ends up the most complementary guest, coating Wayne's post-Katrina tale "Tie My Hands" in warm buttery soul. As the track flows from political commentary ("My whole city's underwater, some people still floatin'/And they wonderin' why black people still votin'/Cuz your President's still chokin'") to despair and onto some moving "keep your head up"-styled verse, it proves Wayne can go deep and connect with his audience if he chooses. You can fault him for not connecting enough on the album and further complicating his unmanageable body of work with this disjointed effort, but Wayne's true masterpiece is the bigger picture and how he's flipped the script since the first Carter rolled out. Filled with bold, entertaining wordplay and plenty of well-executed, left-field ideas, Tha Carter III should be considered as a wild, somewhat difficult child of Weezy's magnum opus in motion, one that allows the listener an exhilarating and unapologetic taste of artistic freedom. [Cash Money issued a revised track listing edition in 2008.] ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	08/18/2008
Label:	Motown / Cash Money
UPC:	0602517834866

Tracks

1. 3 Peat
2. Mr. Carter
3. A Milli
4. Got Money
5. Comfortable
6. Dr. Carter
7. Phone Home
8. Tie My Hands
9. Mrs. Officer
10. Let the Beat Build
11. Shoot Me Down
12. Lollipop
13. La La
14. Pussy Monster
15. You Ain't Got Nuthin
16. Dontgetit

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lil Wayne   Primary Artist,Vocals
Babyface   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Busta Rhymes   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
D. Smith   Primary Artist,Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Kasseem Dean   Primary Artist
Jay-Z   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Brisco   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
John Jackson   Primary Artist
Robin Thicke   Featured Artist,Vocals
T-Pain   Vocals,Featured Artist
Jim Jonsin   Multi Instruments
Static Major   Vocals,Featured Artist
Betty Wright   Vocals,Featured Artist
Bobby V   Featured Artist
Juelz Santana   Vocals,Featured Artist
D.Smih   Featured Artist
Kidd Kidd   Vocals,Featured Artist
Ludas Charles   Keyboards
Sha Ron Prescott   Vocals
Fabolous   Vocals,Featured Artist
Bobby Valentino   Vocals
Darius Deezle Harrison   Co-Producer
Dreshan Smith   Vocals,Featured Artist
Kanye West   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Robin Thicke   Composer,Producer
T-Pain   Producer
Lavell Crump   Composer
David Axelrod   Composer
Darius Harrison   Composer
Joshua Berkman   Engineer,Digital Editing
Dwayne Carter   Composer
Miguel Angel Mendoza Bermudez   Assistant,Mixing Assistant
Kenneth Edmonds   Composer
Kenneth Williams   Composer
Play N Skillz   Producer
L. James   Composer
Cool & Dre   Producer
Jim Jonsin   Producer,Instrumentation
Juan Salinas   Composer
The Alchemist   Producer
David Banner   Composer,Producer
Gloria Caldwell   Composer
Alicia Keys   Composer
Sol Marcus   Composer
Angelo Morris   Engineer,Producer
Swizz Beatz   Producer
Betty Wright   Engineer,Producer
Infamous   Producer
Lamont Dozier   Composer
J. Jackson   Composer
D. Smith   Composer,Composer,Producer
Kamaal Fareed   Composer
Brian Holland   Composer
Fabian Marasciullo   Mixing,Effects,Digital Editing
Harold Lilly   Composer
Vlado Meller   Mastering
Vaushaun Brooks   Composer,Producer
Andrew Dawson   Mixing
Andre Lyon   Composer
Ed Falcor-Iidow   Assistant Engineer
Edward Lido   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Sha Ron Prescott   Composer
Nicholas Warwar   Composer
Robert Wilson   Composer
Louis McCall   Composer
Ralph Bailey   Composer
Sandy Brummels   Creative Director
Rodney Young   Composer
Bigram Zayas   Composer
Lenny Mollings   Composer
Katina Bynum   Project Manager
Rex Zamor   Composer
Oscar Salinas   Composer
Faheem Najm   Composer
K-West   Composer
Jason Desrouleaux   Composer
Shondrae Crawford   Composer,Producer
Marcello Valenzano   Composer
Miguel Bermudez   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
John Jackson   Composer,Composer
Roland "DJ Folk" Bailey   Composer
Mousa Hamdan   Composer
Angel Aponte   Engineer
Sean Garrett   Composer
D. Harrison   Composer
Eddie Holland   Composer
Leonard Caston   Composer
M. Kent   Composer
British Mitchell   Composer
Marco Rodriguez   Composer
Trevor Smith   Composer
Alan Maman   Composer
Marco Rodriquez-Diaz   Composer
Rodnae Young   Composer
Bobby Wilson   Composer
Curtis Stewart   Composer
Stephen Garrett   Composer
Cha-Lo Hester   Composer,Additional Production
M. Rodriguez-Diaz   Composer
J. Scheffer   Composer
James Scheffer   Composer
Miguel Scott   Engineer
J. Salinas   Composer
LaRon James   Composer
S. Crawford   Composer
B. Mitchell   Composer
Linda Lou McCall   Composer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
David Kirkwood   Composer
Shawn Carter   Composer
H. Lily   Composer
Melvin Kent   Composer
Andrews "Drew" Correa   Composer,Producer,Composer,Producer
Johnny Mollings   Composer
Rodnae   Producer
Terri McFaddin   Composer
Jermaine Preyan   Composer
Darius Deezle Harrison   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Dreshan Smith   Composer,Producer
James Ralph Bailey   Composer
Benne Benjamin   Composer
L "Db" Banner   Composer
M. Rodriquez   Composer
Mousa   Composer,Producer
O. Salinas   Composer
S. Prescott   Composer
Joe G.   Engineer
Fahim Najm   Composer
Lil Wayne   Composer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer
R. Young   Composer
R. Wilson   Composer
Ali Shaheed Muhammad   Composer
Kasseem Dean   Composer