Lil Wayne Gives Us the Year of the “Lollipop”

The year 2008 proved to be a very successful year for American rapper Lil Wayne. After years of sales drought, the music industry needed a savior to turn the corner, and its’ cry was answered by non other than the multi-platinum artist himself.

Lil Wayne released his sixth studio album “The Carter III” on June 10, 2008, which sold over a million copies in its opening week. Its release made headlines after it became the first album since 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” in 2005 to cross the one-million mark in first week sales.

Fans were concerned that the most-anticipated album wouldn’t be able to “pull it off” after several of the tracks were leaked in mid-2007 and the album featured a subsequent delay of release. But the best rapper alive managed against all odds to deliver yet another successful artwork. In fact, “The Carter III” is considered to be Wayne’s hottest album to date, earning the double-platinum certification in just 30 days after debut.

“The Carter III” contains a total of 16 tracks and features hip-hop stars such as Jay-Z, T-Pain and Busta Rhymes. The first single, “Lollipop,” took the US charts by storm and dominated the top spot for many weeks. The second single, “A Milli,” also made its way within the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

With the recent success of “The Carter III,” Lil Wayne shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. On June 19, 2008, the New Orleans born artist joined forces with rapper T-Pain to form a subgroup called “T-Wayne” and the duo have since made plans of releasing a future album. Lil Wayne was also featured on T-Pain’s single “Can’t Believe It” and has discussed a possible collaboration album with Lloyd.

Sources: Lil Wayne, The Carter III, A Milli, Lollipop, Lil Wayne Online, The New York Times.