Baby Says Lil Wayne’s Born Again On “Carter IV” LP, “He Can Still Rap His A** Off But…”

Cash Money Records' Baby has decided to hype fans' anticipation for Lil Wayne's upcoming Tha Carter IV album by promising a newly energized Weezy sound on the long-awaited LP.

Birdman credits Wayne’s eight-month gun conviction jail bid for fueling the new album.

“He sounds brand new to me,” Birdman tells Billboard.com. “There’s a new energy… just a different energy. He can still rap his a** off, but he took his raps to another level. To me, he went back to that traditional raw Cash Money music, just raw beats, 808s popping off and Wayne rapping, hard. It really sounds great to me…He got to sleep for eight months — and I think the rest gave him another energy, and he’s pouring it all out through his music.” (Billboard)

Last month, Wayne warned about his upcoming Tha Carter IV record, “Wayne’s World.”

Lil Wayne is so confident in his rapping abilities that he claims other rappers will want to hang up the mic after hearing one of his rhyme-heavy records on Tha Carter IV. The Young Money MC invited Rolling Stone to preview “Wayne’s World,” one of the songs expected to make his highly-anticipated album. “There’s a lot of rapping on this,” shared Weezy. “I want other rappers to hear it and say, ‘I quit. I better start making club songs.'” The magazine goes on to describe the track as “three machine-gunning minutes of adenoidal wordplay topped with a triumphant hook.” (Rolling Stone)

Around mid-March, Wayne revealed a projected release date for his new album.

“Tha Carter IV is done,” Wayne told MTV News. “All they need to do is tell Tez [manager Cortez Bryant] to stop sitting on it. Tez, stop sitting on Tha Carter IV and put the album out.” Bryant, Weezy’s longtime manager, was in attendance and provided the specific release date. “May 16, believe that,” Wayne said. “It can come out tomorrow ’cause I’m so finished … Tha Carter IV will be dropping May 16. If you’re not doing anything, do me,” he added. (MTV)

In addition to being featured on Carter IV, Young Money’s Nicki Minaj recently described the album’s superior production.

“Of course, if Wayne would have me, yes,” Minaj told Tim Westwood when asked if she will appear on Tha Carter IV. “I think that’s going to be very anticipated. I think it’s already being anticipated. His beat selection alone is going to friggin’ kill. I’ve already heard a couple of the beats, in fact, the other day, I went to tell this producer, ‘Yo, hold that beat for me.’ And he said, Wayne already took it. And it hurt my heart, I was like, ‘Errr’. But yeah, he’s snatching them up. He’s ready. I cannot wait. I’m just, I’m proud of him. I’m super proud of him.” (“Tim Westwood TV”)

Tha Carter IV is slated to drop Tuesday, May 16th.

Check out Nicki Minaj speaking on Tha Carter IV down below: