10 Things We Know About Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter V"

Weezy F Baby...please say the baby. It’s almost time! Lil Wayne is set to return with Tha Carter V this fall, scheduled to drop October 28th. Unfortunately, we can only take this with a grain of salt, as it has been pushed back time and time again. With the release of the hit single “Believe Me” and other strong leaks like "Krazy", "Grindin'" and "D'Usse", fans can only anticipate what the rest of the album will hold. 

Hence, while Lil Wayne is busy touring with Drake across 31 cities for the "Drake Vs. Lil Wayne" tour, we compiled the top ten facts that you should know about this project.

Feel free to hypothesize about Tha Carter V in the comments, or discuss whether or not Lil Wayne is "back" (as we know it's highly debated subject).

Given the whole theme of Drake and Lil Wayne's tour, you know these two have collabos on deck. Lil Wayne has previously confirmed that Drake will be on the album "multiple" times, and we've already received two such features ("Grindin" and "Believe Me"). This album will be heavy with Young Money members, as Weezy has also confirmed Nicki Minaj will be on the project. He will repay the favour on her new album The Pinkprint too.

The cover art of the album is a picture of Young Lil Wayne, standing next to his mother, Jacida “Cita” Carter (see above). Although just a kid in the photo, the tattoos remain. This follows a reoccurring theme of past album covers in Tha Carter series, minus Tha Carter II. Apparently, his mother had no idea this was happening. He noted how much this album meant to him, and that it was time to have his mom on there.

For as long as Weezy has been in the game (23 years), he is still nervous about the release of this project. In an exclusive interview with XXL, Weezy states, “I was feeling the success of Tha Carter I. I felt like people wanted to hear me. I was amped to do that, but then Tha Carter III? I don’t know what happened. It was amazing. And then Tha Carter IV was just unexplainable, and now this one here, there’s no words. I just hope everyone likes it…I’m always feeling like I ain’t done shit. I’m still nervous about Tha Carter V… I’m confident about what I do, but I’m still nervous about what people think."

You may recall that in November 2012 Lil Wayne claimed this album will be the last in Tha Carterseries, as well as his last solo album. However, he also previously announced he would retire at the age of 35…He is currently 32. What’s going to take place in the next 3 years?!

So what will Lil Wayne do with all the material that doesn't make it on the album? Create another album! Duh. Genius. Weezy spoke on creating a compilation of outtakes and drop it as Da Other Album (that is not necessarily the LP title, just what Weezy referred to it as). During one of his Weezy Wednesday vlogs he stated, "I'm dropping two albums. ya dig? This year, look for two albums from me because I kinda been out the game for a second ya dig, album wise."

Lil Wayne stated in an interview with ESPN that we can still expect Weezy to talk his usual shit on Tha Carter V, but perhaps in a more grown-up manner? The rapper says that the new LP is "about growth, flat-out. My thoughts are wiser. I still say what I want to say—it just sounds better and makes more sense. That all comes with growth and maturity."

With the release of the track “Kobe Bryant,” we all know Lil Wayne is a die hard Lakers fan. However, the two took their relationship a step further when Kobe was employed to kick off the album promo. The Mamba himself was actually the first to reveal the promo art of the new album. In a tweet, Kobe wrote, “Carter V season begins #carterV,” along with the image. Wayne revealed that the entire idea of "Carter V season" was Kobe's. "‘Carter V Season’ was all Kobe. He came up with it. I saw that and thought, That’s dope as hell, so that’s what we’re calling the [album] campaign. I thanked him. Then we thought about Floyd."

Producers Mannie Fresh and Key Wane are back at it, after being involved with Lil Wayne's Carter series.  Mannie states that they are trying to recapture the sound from Tha Carter I, the first instalment in the series. “If you know Tha Carter I, then you know Mannie Fresh and we’re just trying to recapture that sound.”

While Key Wane isn't positive his beats will end up on the album, he is excited to hear the final project. He states, “Regardless, Carter V, Carter VI, Carter VII – I’m going to listen to them whether I’m on it or not.” He has always been a huge fan of Weezy.

Confirmed on the red carpet at the 2014 MTV Music Video Awards, DJ Mustard states that one of his beats will appear on Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V. Weezy has rapped over 2 tracks of Mustard's in the past: "Face Down" and the "My Nigga" remix. "Face Down" is a banger from Mustard's latest 10 Summers album, and YG's "My Nigga" remix is a genius collab featuring Weezy, Rich Homie Quan, Meek Mill, and Nicki Minaj. 

Lil Wayne released his first studio album Tha Block Is Hot, at just 17 years old. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200. Since then, he has released endless projects, including collaborations with Hot Boys, Birdman, and Young Money. The upcoming Carter V will be his 16th studio album. These are the facts.