How Lil Wayne Can Make Tha Carter VI Hit Like Prime Weezy
April 20, 2025
With Tha Carter VI slated for a late June release, Lil Wayne has a shot to do something monumental—prove once again that he’s not just a legend in the rafters, but a contender in real time. But to do that, this can’t be another “he rapping good tho” project. This gotta matter.
Let’s talk about what must happen to make this Carter as culturally seismic as the ones that made him “best rapper alive” in the first place.
1. Drop Strategically – Late June or Nothing
Wayne’s in the sweet spot right now. It’s May. He got time to let anticipation cook—but not overboil. Early June feels too premature. This needs to be a late June drop, right when summer heat makes people crave anthems. That gives him May to build momentum, and all of June to make the block hot like it’s 2005 again.
2. Bring Drake to the Table (3 Times Minimum)
Let’s be real: Wayne don’t need a crutch—but he do need a hit. Not just a “oh this hard” from hip-hop heads. He needs a Billboard-chomping, stream-devouring, radio-dominating single. Drake is the perfect weapon for that. Their chemistry is automatic, but Wayne has to be humble enough to play this like a chessboard. One single for the clubs, one for the cars, and one for the culture.
3. Don’t Lean on Nostalgia – Make a Classic, Not a Callback
Weezy at a sold out show in MSG, I need cuz to keep winning because he’s too inspirational but man he need a real deal coach man, his coaching staff trash !!! lmao
We love Mannie Fresh. We respect Wyclef’s musical genius. But 30 collabs with Wyclef Jean (as revealed in the Rolling Stone cover story)? That don’t sound like focused executive producing—it sounds like artistic ADHD. Wayne needs a curator. DJ Khaled, for all his flaws, is actually perfect for this. He helped mold Ross’ Teflon Don, and could do the same here: trim the fat, center the moments, and bring out impact over excess.
4. No Young Money Showcase – This Ain’t the Time
Let’s not sugarcoat it: Young Money, as a movement, has been inactive for over a decade. Don’t use Tha Carter VI to reintroduce new signees. That’s a mixtape job. This is the hall of fame induction speech—not the open mic night. Keep the features to friends of the legacy—Jay Electronica, Big Sean, Griselda, Curren$y, Wiz. People we want to see him with. Not people we gotta Google.
5. Mixtape Weezy Gotta Come Out First (But Not in Old Clothes)
We don’t need another No Ceilings or Dedication 7. The names are too heavy. Start a new series—new energy, new era. Link with DJ Drama and just snap. Go crazy on classic beats, recent hits, and beats from underground producers hungry for blood. Give us a pre-album appetizer that gets the internet in a frenzy. Let that be where he gives light to the new talent too. And yeah, bring in some all-stars. Let it feel like a hip-hop celebration, not just a warm-up.
6. He Gotta Say Something
Wayne’s rapping hasn’t missed a beat. But what he’s rapping about? Ain’t always memorable. We need intentional Wayne. The one who had pain in his bars on Tha Carter I and vision on Tha Carter II. Not oblivious “what’s the vibe?” Wayne. He need to talk legacy. Mortality. Growth. Failure. Victory. Let the bars pierce the culture again. Because if he feels it, we’ll feel it too.
Post-Release Update: What Actually Happened (And Why It Flopped)
Nicki killed this post release track, but yeah still couldn’t save the album
Now that Tha Carter VI has dropped… let’s call it what it is: a missed opportunity.
Wayne ignored every play that could’ve made this album legendary:
He dropped early June, not late. No real ramp-up. No pressure built.
No Drake. Not even once. Not a single Billboard-style attempt to dominate the summer.
Production was horrendous. Weak beat choices. No sonic identity. It felt like nobody was in the room to tell him “this ain’t it.”
The features? Big Sean, Big X the Plug killed that Hook, 2 Chainz went off, even little Kameron Carter went off, after that I’m like man I don’t wanna hear these other hams ! Especially Bono boy get the hell on !!!
That “The Mix Before the VI” tape? Locked on Apple Music. No push. No buzz. Whole rollout mismanaged.
People remixing the album with new beats only proves how bad the original production was. And somehow, even those remix beats are bad. Can’t polish a brick.
First-week sales? Just over 100K. For Wayne? That’s a warning sign. That’s “legacy damage” territory. The fans showed up—and got nothing back.
Bottom line: Wayne is still a GOAT… but he needs a real executive producer, an A&R, and a team that loves the art as much as he does. If I’m in his camp, I’m calling Westside Gunn today. Gunn would curate a tape so tasteful, raw, and elegant that it’d reset the whole narrative around Wayne.
Right now, Wayne’s surrounded by yes-men, vibes, and clutter. Ain’t nobody holding him to his own greatness—and that’s the biggest tragedy of all.
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