Album of the Year – Tha Carter III

Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group – “Mr. Carter” featuring Jay-Z

Best Rap Solo Performance – “A Milli”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – “Got Money” featuring T-Pain

Best Rap Song – “Lollipop”

Best Rap Album – Tha Carter III

The Superstar Rapper Also Received 2 Nominations As A Featured Artist

Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group – “Swagga Like Us”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – “Swagga Like Us”

December 05, 2008, NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cash Money/Universal Motown superstar Lil Wayne is Grammy’s man of the year, drawing a total of eight nominations – more than any other artist — for his blockbuster multi-platinum album Tha Carter III, and for his featured performance on “Swagga Like Us” by T.I. featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. The nominations itself are unbelievable, I’m going to continue doing what I’ve been doing, but I’m going to do it better, say Lil Wayne.

Tha Carter III is nominated in the prestigious Album of the Year category as well as for Best Rap Album, and all of its first four smash singles drew individual recognition: “Lollipop” featuring Static Major is nominated for Best Rap Song; “Got Money” featuring T-Pain for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; “A Milli” for Best Solo Rap Performance; and “Mr. Carter,” featuring Jay-Z for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. These are the New Orleans native’s first Grammy nominations for his own album. For his collaborations on other projects, “Swagga Like Us” is nominated in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rap Song. The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, and broadcast on CBS.

“We’ve worked with Lil Wayne since he was a teenager, signing him as part of the legendary hip-hop group the Hot Boys with Juvenile, B.G. and Turk. We have had the pleasure to see him grow and mature, both artistically and personally, into a multi-platinum superstar. The success of Tha Carter III was the result of Wayne’s tireless work ethic and incredible creative ability, and on behalf of his New Orleans hometown, and my brother, Birdman, we are honored to salute him as the artist with the most nominations at this year’s Grammy Awards,” says Cash Money Co-CEO Ronald ‘Slim’ Williams on Lil Wayne’s Grammy Nominations.

“What is so rewarding about Wayne’s Grammy nominations is that they are not merely a reflection of commercial success, but of real artistry, achievement, and influence. He delivered a brilliant, original album that defines the state-of-the-art in hip-hop, and it was not only embraced by his fans but by his peers in the industry. Receiving an amazing eight nominations is a wonderful recognition and validation of his creative accomplishments. All of us at Universal Motown congratulate Lil Wayne and his team at Cash Money Records for this landmark career moment,” states Universal Motown Records President Sylvia Rhone.

Tha Carter III sold over 1 million units in its debut week and is the best-selling album release of 2008, having sold well over 2.7 million copies domestically since its release in June. Lil Wayne was the first artist since 2005 to sell 1 million albums in the first week of release. The album held the No. 1 position on the Billboard’s Top 200 for three weeks and “Lollipop” topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for five weeks. In August, Lil Wayne set a record for charting 13 tracks as a lead or featured artist on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart simultaneously, including the No. 1s “Lollipop” and “A Milli.”

The music awards season has already acknowledged the amazing banner year of Lil Wayne. He won the artist-voted MTV Europe Music Awards Artist’s Choice Award, and won seven BET Hip-Hop Awards out of twelve nominations in October. Lil Wayne was also received three American Music Award nominations and one People’s Choice Award nomination, and has won MTV’s Video Music Award for Best Hip-Hop Video, as well as BET’s Viewer’s Choice Award.

In a victory lap that extends into the New Year, Lil Wayne headlines the all-star “I Am Music” tour, kicking off Dec. 14 in Miami, FL and wrapping Jan. 19 in Worcester, MA. He’ll be sharing the stage with T-Pain, Keyshia Cole, Gym Class Heroes and Keri Hilson, making a January stop in his hometown of New Orleans.

“I AM MUSIC” TOUR DATES:

December 14th
Miami, FL         American Airlines Arena

December 18th
Houston, TX         Toyota Center

December 19th
Dallas, TX         American Airlines Center

December 21st
Los Angeles, CA         Gibson Amphitheater

December 22nd
Los Angeles, CA         Gibson Amphitheater

December 23rd
Oakland, CA         Arena

December 26th
Detroit, MI         Joe Louis Arena

December 27th
Chicago, IL         United Center

December 28th
Philadelphia, PA         Susquehanna Bank Center

December 29th
Greensboro, NC         Coliseum

December 30th
Washington, DC         Verizon Center

December 31st
Atlanta, GA         Phillips Arena

January 2nd
Charlotte, NC         Bobcat Arena

January 3rd
Hampton, VA         Hampton Coliseum

January 4th
Cleveland, OH         Quicken Loans Arena

January 8th
St Louis MO         Chafeitz Center

January 9th
Kansas City MO         Sprint Center

January 11th
New Orleans, LA         New Orleans Arena

January 14th
Montreal, CAN         Bell Center

January 15th
Toronto CAN         Air Canada Center

January 16th

New York (LI)         Nassau Coliseum

January 17th
Hartford, CONN         New England Dodge Music Ctr

January 18th
Atlantic City, NJ         Boardwalk Hall

January 19th
Worcester, MA         DCU Center

Lil Wayne

Yesterday it was Katt Williams who supposedly died in a plane crash; now today’s celebrity death rumor is that Lil’ Wayne was shot.

Who’ll be next?  It wasn’t too long ago that the death hoax trend started with a false report that Lil’ Wayne’s daughter had been killed in a car accident.  (Only a really nasty human being could start a rumor like that.)  Then it was Miley who died; after Miley it was Oprah; followed by Katt Williams; and now, we’ve come full circle back to Lil’ Wayne himself.

You can read the full story at celebrity-luxury.blogspot.com.

Lil Wayne has achieved a feat that few have been able to reach in a long time. He was able to sell a million copies of his third album, Tha Carter III, in its first week. The self proclaimed “Best Rapper Alive” now has the credit to back up this claim.

According to Nielsen Soundscan Figures, it is the best selling album of the year. Ron Williams, co-founder of Lil Wayne’s record label Cash Money Records, was able to anticipate all of this. “I’ve been saying a million all along, and I’ve been telling people, and they’ve been looking at me crazy.”

How Williams was able to foresee this kind of event is pretty extraordinary. Really? In our troubled economy, when people are hesitant to go out and buy pretty much anything, they choose to buy Lil Wayne’s album? Well I can’t blame them, with lyrics like:

Shawty wanna thug
Bottles in the club
Shawty wanna hump
You know I like to touch ya lovely lady lumps
(Yeah Oh huh huh)

That’s pretty outstanding. Match those hot lyrics with his creepy and almost low-to-whisper quiet voice, and you’ve got a sure fire hit! Except you shouldn’t. So maybe Lil Wayne actually has a lot more to offer than it seems. Either that, or Ron Williams purchased multiple copies of Tha Carter III himself.

The last artist to achieve selling a million records in its first week was 50 Cent in 2005. Does anyone even remember which album that was? Me neither. (Research tells me it’s The Massacre - now can you name a single?)

Tha Carter III can be purchased at Amazon , iTunes, and in stores everywhere.