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. 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 his two other albums in 2010: the largely rock-themed
Rebirth, and
I Am Not a Human Being. The latter was 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 possession of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant
Tha Carter IV's recording sessions were once more put on hold.