Lil Wayne had a lot to prove on Tha Carter. It was his first solo outing following the departure of his Hot Boy comrades from Cash Money, the record label empire that turned these New Orleans teenagers into millionaires. The only way to show the doubters that he could stand alone was to hit one out of the park, and with the opening lines of “Walk In,” Wayne debuted an ambitious new rhyme style: “This is the Carter, ya’ll welcome / Hard as Malcolm, dog is a Vulcan, lord help him / But ya’ll felt him / And that make you a part of me / And pardon me if a part of me is what you want to be / What you oughta be doing’s recording me / Or acting accordingly / I give orders to the commander in chief / Just the commander and me.” Wayne had merged Jay-Z’s wordplay with his own impish, unpredictable Southern flow, suddenly vaulting the 22-year-old former Hot Boy into the realm of the credible MC. Tha Carter was also notable as the last collaboration between Wayne and legendary Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh. With Wayne coming into his own as a rapper, Fresh provided some of the finest beats of his career: “Go DJ,” “On My Own,” “Snitch,” and “Ain’t It A Bitch.”
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