Tha Carter II

Tha Carter II
Studio album by Lil Wayne
Released	December 6, 2005 (2005-12-06)
Recorded	2004–05
Genre	Southern hip hop
Length	77:22
Label	Cash Money Universal
Producer	Birdman (also exec.) Ronald "Slim" Williams (exec.) The Runners DJ Nasty & LVM Robin Thicke Young Yonny The Heatmakerz Cool & Dre Deezle Bigg D DVLP Filthy T-Mix Batman Matlock
Lil Wayne chronology
Tha Carter (2004) Tha Carter II (2005) The Dedication (2005)
Singles from Tha Carter II
"Fireman" Released: October 25, 2005 "Hustler Musik" Released: January 10, 2006 "Shooter" Released: April 9, 2006

Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on December 6, 2005, by Cash Money Records and Universal Distribution. Recording sessions took place from 2004 to 2005, with Birdman and his brother Ronald "Slim" Williams serving as the records executive producers, while both of them enlisted the additional production on the Wayne's album such as The Runners and The Heatmakerz, among others. The album serves as a sequel to his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), and it incorporates the southern hip hop styles. The album was supported by three singles: "Fireman", "Hustler Musik" and "Shooter" featuring Robin Thicke.

Upon its release, Tha Carter II received acclaim from music critics, who complimented its musical progression from his previous albums. Tha Carter II is widely considered by critics and fans to be one of Lil Wayne's best albums. The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of over 254,001. To date, the album sold 1,400,050 copies in the United States.^[1]

Singles

The lead single from the album, called "Fireman" was released on October 25, 2005. The song was produced by DVLP and Filthy. While they were recording the song at the time, both DVLP and Filthy first burst into a music scene as the production duo, called Doe Boys.

The album's second single, "Hustler Musik" was released on January 10, 2006. The song was produced by T-Mix and this unknown producer named Batman.

The album's third single, "Shooter" was released on April 9, 2006. The song features guest vocals from an American R&B singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, who also produced this track. The song also was latter to be included on Thicke's then-upcoming album, titled The Evolution of Robin Thicke (2006).

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	B+[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]
HipHopDX	[5]
Pitchfork Media	(8.1/10)[6]
PopMatters	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Stylus	B+[9]
USA Today	[10]
Village Voice	(favorable)[11]

Upon its release, Tha Carter II received general acclaim from music critics, with several praising the lyricism and artistic growth demonstrated by Wayne on the album. David Jeffries of AllMusic praised the album's balance of "hookless, freestyle-ish tracks" and "slicker club singles", commenting that "the well-rounded, risk-taking, but true-to-its-roots album suggests he can weather the highs and lows like a champion."^[2] Entertainment Weekly's Ryan Dombal wrote that Tha Carter II "transcends [Wayne's] inflated ego" and complimented the album's "sturdy funk-blues tracks... that offer genuine value".^[4] David Drake of Stylus Magazine called the album "one of the year's best releases" and lauded his "entire persona, an aura, a rap creation that seems fully-developed and fascinating".^[9] Despite writing that "Wayne's verses need a good polish", Nick Sylvester of Pitchfork Media wrote that the album contains "jaw-droppers aplenty" and complimented Wayne's growth as a lyricist, stating:

People who met Wayne on "Go DJ" and thought him a lunchroom hack emcee – who knows what's happened since then, but damn has he learned how to write. His squeak is now a croak, his laugh a little more burly, his flow remarkably flexible. Sometimes he's deliberate like syrup cats ("But this is Southern, face it/ If we too simple then yall don't get the basics") but when he needs to be, he's nimble as that Other Carter: "I ain't talking too fast you just listening too slow." Remy and weed, fast things and women, the corner – these are Wayne's wax since B.G.'ing with B.G., putting piff on the campus before he ever enrolled in college.^[6]

IGN writer Jim During gave the album an eight out of ten and commented that Wayne "[punishes] the mic with hard-hitting verbal tenacity", and wrote that the album shows him "at his most focused, and is a strong next step for a relatively young career."^[12] Matt Cibula of PopMatters wrote ambivalently towards that album's production, writing that "the producers here are mostly no-namers who do their jobs well but not spectacularly", but praised Wayne's "amazing" words and remarked that "Straws really IS the best rapper alive, at least when he tries".^[7]

Track listing

Sample credits

• "Tha Mobb" contains a sample of "Moment of Truth" written and performed by Wilson Turbinton (Willie Tee).
• "Best Rapper Alive" contains a sample of "Fear of the Dark" written by Steve Harris, and performed by Iron Maiden.
• "Grown Man" contains a sample of "Sparkle" written by Paul Harden, and performed by Cameo.
• "Receipt" contains a sample of "Lay-Away" written by O'Kelly Isley, Jr. and Ronald Isley, and performed by The Isley Brothers.
• "Shooter" contains a sample of "Oh Shooter" written by Robin Thicke, Robert Daniels, James Gass and Robert Keyes, and performed by Robin Thicke, and contains the interpolation of "Mass Appeal" performed by Gang Starr.
• "I'm a D-Boy" contains a sample of "Paid in Full" written by Eric Barrier and William Griffin, Jr., and performed by Eric B. & Rakim.
• "Get Over" contains a sample of "Love Is What We Came Here For" written by Phill Hurtt and Walter Sigler, and performed by Garland Green.

Personnel

Credits for Tha Carter II adapted from Allmusic.^[13]

Charts and certifications