Tha Carter is the fourth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 and major-label debut by American rapper Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...

, released June 29, 2004.

Background

The album was produced by Cash Money's former in-house producer, Mannie Fresh

Mannie Fresh

Byron O. Thomas, better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is currently an artist and hip-hop producer who records for Def Jam South and his own division Chubby Boy Records...

. This was the last album that feature longtime in-house producer Mannie Fresh before he split from the label. The album is based on his last name Carter. Tha Carter is generally considered as Lil Wayne's "break out" album, due to the obvious maturity in both his subject matter and delivery compared to his first three albums. Tha Carter is the start off to a highly successful album saga for Wayne. The album has spawned three sequels, Tha Carter II

Tha Carter II

Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on December 6, 2005.- Critical reception :The album received general acclaim and was regarded as Lil Wayne's "Classic" and his best work to date.- Track listing :Notes...

which was released in 2005, Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 10, 2008 on Cash Money Records. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream...

which was released in 2008, Tha Carter IV

Tha Carter IV

Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records...

which was released in 2011. A chopped and screwed

Chopped and screwed

Chopped and screwed refers to a technique of remixing hip hop music which developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the 1990s...

 version of the album was produced by Michael 5000 Watts and OG Ron C. "Gillie da Kid" claimed to be Lil' Wayne's ghostwriter

Ghostwriter

A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...

, and claimed to write most of Tha Carter. Later, Gillie and Lil' Wayne would beef, causing Gillie to drop out of the Cash Money Records. Gillie later admitted he did not write Tha Carter, but rather helped Lil Wayne sharpen his own songwriting skills in between 500 Degreez and this album.

Commercial performance

Tha Carter followed Lil Wayne's work in Da Drought mixtape. The album debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 chart and number two on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...

 chart with 116,000 copies sold in its first week. The album was certified gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 by the Recording Industry Association of America

Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...

 and has sold 878,000 copies in the United States to date.

Track listing

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	5
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...	2