Tha Carter II

Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by Lil Wayne, released on December 6, 2005, by Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Records. Wayne founded Young Money Entertainment the same year.

The story

Mannie Fresh, who had produced most of Wayne’s previous albums, left Cash Money in 2005, and the album was made without him. Birdman served as executive producer. Three singles were released: “Fireman” in October 2005, “Hustler Musik” in January 2006 and “Shooter,” featuring Robin Thicke, in April 2006.

Sound and production

Production was spread across a wider group, including the Runners, the Heatmakerz, T-Mix, Batman, DVLP, Filthy and Cool & Dre. Critics noted the change in Wayne’s writing; Pitchfork described his flow as “remarkably flexible,” and The Guardian gave the album an A.

Legacy

Tha Carter II debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with about 240,000 copies sold in its first week and reached number one on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts. The RIAA certified it double platinum in September 2020. Rolling Stone placed it at number 370 on its 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and the album continues to rank highly in retrospective assessments of Wayne’s catalog.

Released December 6, 2005. More from hip hop in 2005.