Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter VI" arrives
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Lil Wayne performed at Jazz Fest this year with the Roots as a backing band. Photo: Erika Goldring/Getty Images
After a nearly seven-year wait since "Tha Carter V," Lil Wayne fans finally get to listen to the next installment of the rapper's series with Friday's release of "Tha Carter VI."
Why it matters: Lil Wayne remains New Orleans' most influential modern musician.
What they're saying: "You got to think like how people study Bach and Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Shakespeare," rapper Wyclef Jean told Andre Gee for Rolling Stone. "He's going to be regarded as one of the greatest renaissance wordsmith composers of our generation.
Between the lines: It's not like Lil Wayne hasn't been busy since 2018.
- In just the past few years, the famously prolific artist has collaborated with fellow New Orleanian Rob49, Doja Cat, Nas, Jack Harlow and alongside 2 Chainz for an entire album.
- He's also made stops at home in New Orleans, dropping in for a surprise appearance at Essence Fest.
It's hard to overstate how much Lil Wayne has accomplished since he was a young boy growing up in Hollygrove, begging for a chance to be on Ronald "Slim" Williams' and Bryan "Baby" Williams' Cash Money Records.
- That relationship helped Lil Wayne become a star, pairing him up with the Hot Boys and providing a platform from which he leapt into the stratosphere.
- Since then, Lil Wayne etched his way into rap history with his own style, which he has reinvented again and again.
- Meanwhile, he created his own label, Young Money, through which he signed stars like Drake, Nicki Minaj and DJ Khaled.
Yes, but: The scope of his entrepreneurship can be overlooked, a fact that doesn't seem to bother him much.
- As Wayne told Gee for the Rolling Stone piece, "I'm fine being the best rapper, and then you just found out, 'Oh s—, he owns [Young Money]? Oh, he put Drake out? Oh, my God.'"
Zoom in: "Tha Carter VI" is reportedly set to include an eclectic list of collaborators, including Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Bono, Wyclef Jean and even Andrea Bocelli, who decided to sign on after hearing about how Wayne accidentally shot himself when he was 12 years old.
- Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, also receives production credit.
- The first single, "The Days," dropped this week as part of ESPN's promo for the NBA finals.
The intrigue: Lil Wayne is touring to support the album, with a string of dates that doesn't include his hometown.
- That fact hasn't escaped gossip blogs' notice, which tie the "snub" to when the NFL overlooked him for the recent Super Bowl Halftime Show.
- But fret not: Lil Wayne's team is already teasing "something special" for the next edition of Lil Weezyana Fest.