In the summer of 2004, Wayne released Tha Carter. Often cited as a highlight of his career, Tha Carter marked a significant development in Wayne's flow and delivery, as the young rapper began to employ more original diction and syntax, while occasionally experimenting with his voice and inflection.
In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks.[2] Tha Carter gained Wayne significant recognition, selling over 1 million copies in the United States, while the single "Go DJ" became a Top 5 Hit.[12] The album was loosely organized around the theme of Wayne's mansion, which he refers to as Tha Carter. The tracks "Walk In," "Tha Carter," and "Walk Out" employ this concept, as Wayne takes the listener through his house, rapping about the activity therein. This idea was influenced by the movie New Jack City, starring Wesley Snipes, in which Nino Brown (Snipes) calls his drug building The Carter.
After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at #3 on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B Charts.[13]
December 6, 2005 brought the second installment of Tha Carter series, Tha Carter II. The album marked yet another shift in Wayne's career, as it was his first major release to lack the beats of longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had since left the label.
As a result, Tha Carter II contained a more diverse range of production style than had previously been present on Wayne's recordings. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Grown Man", received little attention, while the third single "Hustler Musik" received a video and gained moderate airplay. Other notable tracks include "Fly In," "Carter II," and "Fly Out" which mirror the series of "walk" tracks that appeared on Tha Carter. Wayne also furthered his claim of being the "Best Rapper Alive" by including a track of the same name on the album.
From the release of Tha Carter II to the end of 2005, Lil Wayne was featured in two singles as a featured performer. His first single was on a remix of Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", which rose to #13 on the U.S. R&B Charts.
In 2005, Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money.[14] However, as of late 2007, Wayne reports that he has stepped down from the management of both labels and has handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.[15]
In 2006, he collaborated with rapper Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son. He was featured on Fat Joe's single "Make it Rain" later that year as well. In 2007, he also appeared on the R&B single "You" by singer Lloyd[16], among 864 recording appearances and verses he recorded that year alone.[17]
In 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as 'Hottest MC in the Game.'[18] The same year, he was named one of the "Men Of The Year" for Workaholic by GQ Magazine, and in 2008 he was named "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender Magazine.[19] In Rolling Stone's Best of Rock 2008 issue, Wayne was named the "Best MC".[20]
In 2008, he released the first single from his upcoming Tha Carter III album, entitled "Lollipop", which would bring him a level of commercial success he had never before seen: going on to become his first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005.[21]Initially planned to be released in 2007, Tha Carter III's largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Wayne initially decided to use the leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album, titled Tha Carter III: The Leak.
The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008,[22] The release of The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but an official EP titled The Leak and containing five tracks was released digitally on December 25, 2007. The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static has been released. The single quickly became the rapper's most commercially successful song of his career thus far, topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Wayne as a solo artist, as well as his first #1 on the chart. It also gave him his first #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks
