Lil Wayne Releases Long-Delayed ‘Tha Carter V’ Album

Lil Wayne released his long-rumoured and highly-anticipated Tha Carter V album at midnight last night, 27 September.

Tha Carter V features rapping from Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Snoop Dogg, singing from Nicki Minaj, Ashanti and Nivea, and vocals from XXXTentacion, who was shot and killed earlier this year. The final song includes a prominent sample of the English singer Sampha. Production on the album comes courtesy of longtime collaborator Mannie Fresh, Swizz Beatz, Metro Boomin, Ben Billions and many others.

This album has been a long time coming. Lil Wayne first announced Tha Carter V in 2012, following the 2011 release of Tha Carter IV. But the fifth instalment of Wayne’s series, which began in 2004 when he was just 22, was mired in label delays for over five years.

The album was first supposed to come out in 2014. Drake joined Wayne on ‘Believe Me,’ which was going to be the lead single. Days before a possible December release date, however, Wayne took to Twitter to announce that his former Cash Money label had “refuse[d] to release” the album. “I am a prisoner and so is my creativity,” Wayne tweeted at the time. “I am truly sorry and I don’t blame ya if ya fed up with waiting 4 me & this album,” he added.

Though all the legal and business-related issues relating to the album have reportedly since been cleared up, it remains unclear when the bulk of Tha Carter V was recorded. Lil Wayne is a notoriously prolific in the studio, and the album has presumably been in the works since its announcement. However, he was reportedly still recording this week.

That may have played a part in yet another delay: Tha Carter V was initially expected last Friday. The album did not appear — Lil Wayne called it “a misunderstanding” — but this week, the rapper posted a countdown clock on his website which ticked down to Thursday at midnight. He also released a grateful video thanking his fans for their continued support. “I would like for y’all to know that since y’all stuck with me for like the last four or five years, through all of this, y’all got me feeling like Tiger Woods with this comeback,” Wayne said.

Tha Carter V includes the following tracks:

‘I Love You Dwayne’
‘Don’t Cry’ (ft. XXXTentacion)
‘Dedicate’
‘Uproar’
‘Let It Fly’ (ft. Travis Scott)
‘Can’t Be Broken’
‘Dark Side of The Moon’ (ft. Nicki Minaj)
‘Mona Lisa’ (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
‘What About Me’ (ft. Sosamann)
‘Open Letter’
‘Famous’ (ft. Reginae Carter)
‘Problems’
‘Dope Ni**az’ (ft. Snoop Dogg)
‘Hittas’
‘Took His Time’
‘Open Safe’
Start This Shit Off Right (ft. Ashanti & Mack Maine)
‘Demon’
‘Mess’
‘Dope New Gospel’ (ft. Nivea)
‘Perfect Strangers’
‘Used 2’
‘Let It All Work Out’

Format: UK English