Lil Wayne says Tha Carter IV is finished. The long-awaited next installment to his Tha Carter series was delayed, and delayed again noticeably by a little stretch at Riker’s Island. During his time away Weezy said he was working on new material, and as it turns out, he wasn’t kidding! Weezy issued some new rap beats on a mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait as an apology to his fans for making them wait so long for Tha Carter IV.

Mixtape Is Part Of The Plan

The new mixtape was released on Wednesday. Sorry 4 The Wait is stylistically similar to his 2009 creation No Ceilings and features 12 tracks along with rappers Lil B and Gudda Gudda. Each of the tracks on the mixtape plays off of music tracks released by other rappers, including Meek Mill, Gunplay, Prince Rick and Treal Lee, Kreayshawn, Drake, Miguel, Waka Flocka Flame, YC, Big Sean, Adele, Trae Tha Truth and Beyonce. Weezy said that he wanted to put his stamp on other musicians’ songs, as he did in No Ceilings.

Sorry 4 The Wait has received generally positive reviews, although some reviewers were clearly expecting more from Lil Wayne on this piece. Sorry 4 The Wait follows on I Am Not A Human Being, a full-length album released in 2010 while Lil Wayne was still in prison.

Tha Carter IV, following in what has become a tradition with Lil Wayne albums, has already missed two announced release dates in May and June of this year. An earlier album, Rebirth, also had trouble getting out of the gate. It was originally announced for release in April 2009 but did not hit the store shelves until February of 2010. Tha Carter III’s 2007 release was delayed until March 2008. Weezy confirmed, however that Tha Carter IV is completed and will be issued at the end of August.

He has also said in past interviews that Tha Carter IV is likely to be his last venture into the studio, citing family reasons and a desire to spend time with his four children. A critical success with Tha Carter IV, however, would leave the door open for other projects. It may also open the door to additional legal troubles. Lil Wayne, Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Weezy & Co., have all been sued in relation to unpaid royalties and production services related to Tha Carter III.

Photo Credit: Adrian Eden, via Flickr