Lil Wayne tops charts with new album 'Tha Carter VI' after half decade hiatus

After almost half a decade, Lil Wayne is back with his lyrical genius! The rapper released his long-awaited sixth album in the ‘Tha Carter’ series, which has a big reputation in hip-hop history for generating hits. Wayne didn’t promote the album with singles before releasing ‘Tha Carter VI’ outside of a fun teaser the night before, featuring album art from his previous projects.

At the time of its release, Wayne’s new album debuts at number one in the iTunes Top Albums chart in the U.S and on Billboard with the second largest streaming week ever for an album, according to Billboard.

However, the latest album is receiving mixed reviews online, with one user calling Wayne’s production “atrocious.” Despite Wayne and Birdman being in a long-standing bitter feud, he came to the rapper’s defense with a positive review of ‘Carter VI.’

“This is Wayne’s best album since IANAHB2. There’s literally 2, maybe 3 skips on the whole album. The production is unapologetically Lil Wayne. It’s a weird album and I fkn love it.”

The album features collaborations across all genres like 2 Chainz, Kodak Black, MGK, and ‘The Largest’ hitmaker BigXthaPlug, along with some unexpected features from country rapper Jelly Roll, Andrea Bocelli, and Bono. You can hear Bocelli’s soothing voice in the song “Maria” while Wayne and Wyclef Jean drop their bars against the Italian singer’s background vocals. There are plenty of surprising collaborations, to say the least.

The song “Sharks,” featuring Big Sean and Jelly Roll, is rising as a fan favorite. While “Cotton Candy,” featuring 2 Chainz -- sampling a similar tune to 90’s classic ‘Tootsee Roll’, by 69 Boyz, is creating buzz online as a summer hit with the uptempo beat.

The 19-track album could continue to top the charts in upcoming weeks. For all the Weezy Fam, the rapper’s return to the music scene is bringing up nostalgia and a new era of Wayne.