Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Cash Money Records and Universal Motown. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, shortly after Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008) was released to strong sales and critical acclaim: however, the sessions were put on hold, as Lil Wayne claimed he did not want to follow an album he held in high regard so quickly with another, potentially inferior release. In the interim, Lil Wayne released two other solo albums: the largely rock-themed Rebirth (2010) and I Am Not a Human Being (2010), the latter reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions, as the album was released whilst Wayne served a prison sentence at Rikers Island prison for illegal possesion of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant the album's recording sessions were once more put on hold.
Following Wayne's release from prison, the album was re-recorded from scratch as the recording sessions resumed at various locations, involving several record producers including Bangladesh, Detail, T-Minus, Noah "40" Shebib, Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Kane Beatz, Boi-1da, Willy Will, StreetRunner, Cool & Dre, The Smeezingtons and Kanye West, among others. The album's largely concerns the themes of sex, violence, drugs and crime, but also love, hurt and emotional conflict. Appearances on the album include Cory Gunz, Drake, T-Pain, Tech N9ne, Andre 3000, Rick Ross, John Legend, Jadakiss, Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes.
Following a heavily delayed release,
Tha Carter IV
was released to digital retailers at midnight on August 28, 2011, following Wayne's scheduled performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and physical retailers received the album the following day. In an interview with
XXL
, Lil Wayne hinted that the album might be his last.
