Lil Wayne’s highly anticipated album, Tha Carter VI, has launched with a notably subdued performance in its initial streaming numbers.
Released last Friday, the rapper’s first solo effort in half a decade has garnered mixed to negative reviews and has struggled to resonate widely with his fanbase.
Reports indicate that Tha Carter VI accumulated just 14.2 million first-day streams on Spotify.
This figure stands in stark contrast to his previous installment, Tha Carter V, which boasted an impressive 66 million streams upon its 2018 debut.
The album’s commercial performance remains under scrutiny, with industry observers questioning whether it will achieve sufficient sales to unseat Morgan Wallen from the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Should it fail to do so, Tha Carter VI would mark the first solo Lil Wayne project since 2015 not to debut at number one.
Despite its lukewarm reception, Tha Carter VI is notable for its adventurous array of guest artists. The 19-track project features an eclectic mix of collaborators, including U2 frontman Bono, who joins Wayne on the anthemic track “The Days.” The song, previously teased during an NBA Finals promotion, sees Wayne embracing his veteran status in Hip Hop, rapping, “I ain’t getting younger, but I’m getting better, No time to waste that’s another man’s treasure, They say every dog has his day.”
Bono, who has previously collaborated with Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, contributes vocals with the lines, “The time of our lives The time of our youth We bow down to beauty and truth These are the days.”
Beyond Bono, the album showcases a diverse roster of talent, with appearances from rap heavyweights like 2 Chainz, Kodak Black, Machine Gun Kelly, and Big Sean. The features extend even further into unexpected territory, incorporating opera singer Andrea Bocelli, country star Jelly Roll, and Fugees legend Wyclef Jean.
Fans had held out hope for a reunion of the Young Money trio, expecting appearances from Drake and Nicki Minaj on the project, but no such collaborations made the final tracklist.
Despite Tha Carter VI’s apparent struggle to meet expectations, Lil Wayne clearly retains devoted admirers, among them pop superstar Justin Bieber. Bieber recently shared screenshots on Instagram from a FaceTime call with Lil Wayne, captioning a photo of himself dialing his “I’m the One” collaborator with “Checking in with the goat emoji.” Wayne reciprocated, posting a screenshot of the video call on his own social media, hinting at an emotionally charged conversation with the often-controversial pop artist. “It’s a painful walk but we got each other love heart emoji,” Weezy wrote.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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