Lil Wayne churns out music in his sleep, so it should come as no surprise that the rap veteran loses track of his own accomplishments sometimes.
2023 marks the 15-year anniversary of his landmark album, Tha Carter III, which was home to colossal hits like “A Milli,” “Lollipop” and “Mrs. Officer,” to name a few, and has gone down as one of the most impactful Hip Hop packages of the 21st century. Yet, it’s nothing more than a footnote to Wayne in the grand scheme of things.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the New Orleans native spoke about the career-defining project with indifference.
“I’m going to be so honest with you: I don’t know Tha Carter III, Tha Carter II, Tha Carter One from Tha Carter IV. And that’s just my God’s honest truth,” he admitted.
“You could lie, you could ask me [about] such and such song, I wouldn’t even know what we talking about. So it holds no significance to me at all.”
Wayne’s comments echo those from an interview he did with Fox Sports’ Darnell Smith two years ago, where he didn’t even recognize the lyrics to one of his biggest songs when they were recited back to him.
Though Lil Wayne’s career started over a decade before the release of Tha Carter III, the album gave him his first taste of global acclaim. The commercial impact of the album — which topped the Billboard 200 with over a million first-week sales — shot him into space.
When asked if the widespread success of the 2008 release has any bearing on his memory of the album, he responded: “Nah, I don’t even know if that’s when Tha Carter III came out. That’s how much I don’t know. I work every day, bro — every single day.”
He added: “I always look at it as the curse part of the gift and the curse. I believe that [God] blessed me with this amazing mind, but would not give [me] an amazing memory to remember this amazing shit.”
The 40-year-old rapper, whose name is a permanent fixture in the G.O.A.T. debate, has had one of the most prolific careers in Hip Hop.
So far, he has 13 studio albums, 5 EPs and a whopping 18 mixtapes, with two new albums — Tha Carter VI and I Am Not a Human Being III — reportedly currently in the works.
Lil Wayne recently wrapped up his Welcome to Tha Carter Tour. Though he could’ve easily sold out arenas, the rap legend took a different route this time and performed at smaller venues to offer fans a more personal experience.
Haha, that’s like the only relevant album dude
This is not evidence of Wayne being so prolific that he can’t remember big achievements. No, that’s what happens when you’re a dope fiend that stays high for your entire adult life. People really need to get off this lean and these pills and stop acting like it’s normal.
Sorry but you can’t be a GOAT if you don’t remember the biggest album of your career.
🤔…Tha Carter IV was just as good.
Carter 2 was my favorite
This album was all hype and very forgettable. This confirms it 👍
I mean the album is fun but it’s not like some unforgettable masterpiece. Carter 1&2 were more consistent If you ask me.
And as someone said， get off that lean.
I think about more than I forget
Glad he finally admitted, in a roundabout way, that he was so high on different shit that he don’t even remember Carter III. Because he’s the one who made saying nothing cool, with that album smh. Carter II was dope asf.
I loved his Rap’s before he used autotune
Just some pretentious ass shit artists say to make themselves feel more important. This shit changed peoples lives, he’s like “it holds no significance to me”. Wayne, stop the cap. Before this he was on some block is hot, you’re my dj, sound effect type shit.
The ultimate proof that lil Wayne is throwaway music. He even says so himself…. It all sounds the same, I can’t even tell his tracks apart, let alone what album which exact garbage is on. lf his music is so super I’m sure he’d remember it himself. Trash artist that opened the floodgates for a whole lot of other trash artist. And you can BET he has a little book somewhere with all his “lyrics” penned down, just like jay z. Who tf ever believed that cap anyway???
Goddamn you are do ghey
as a white guy, i will let know you FIRST HAND. this album made wayne a FUCKKIN MEGASTAR. this album was everywhere. for him to say that is either 1 the drugs got em all braindead, or 2 he got no respect for people like me who call him one of the best ever. this is actually disappointing.
So we are announcing our race before we comment now? WOW socialism is doing its job.
I listen to a milli all the time. Wayne is crazy lol.
Tha Carter 3 was trash 🤷♂️. La la la & a milli are the most stupidest most annoying songs ever
Tha Carter 3 was trash 🤷♂️. La la la & a milli are the most stupidest most annoying songs ever
Shoutout IA for working people and never paying them.