Lil Wayne releases 'Tha Carter III' — sells 1M copies in its first week
Cash Money / Universal Motown issues Lil Wayne's sixth studio LP. *Tha Carter III* sells 1,005,000 copies in its first week — the first hip-hop album to clear a million in opening-week sales since 50 Cent's *The Massacre* in 2005. Wayne wins Best Rap Album at the 51st Grammy Awards (2009), with 'Lollipop' driving him to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five non-consecutive weeks.
Why it matters
*Tha Carter III* is the high-water mark of the 'mixtape rapper proves the LP' arc that had defined Wayne's 2005-2008 run (the *Da Drought* series, *Dedication 2*, *Mixtape About Nothing*-era guest verses). It also fully announces Cash Money / Young Money / Universal-Motown as the dominant Southern-pop-hip-hop platform — within four years it would break Drake (signed via Young Money before *So Far Gone*) and Nicki Minaj.
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