Whatever happened to Lil Wayne’s Rebirth? The rock-oriented follow-up to last year’s astronomically successful Tha Carter III was originally scheduled to hit shelves in April of this year. It’s since been pushed back repeatedly with little explanation; meanwhile, lead single “Prom Queen” peaked months ago at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Prom Queen” co-writer Shanell set tongues wagging anew this week when she told an interviewer that Rebirth’s release had been shuffled yet again, from August 18 to some time in September, adding, “When it’s perfect, you guys will receive it.”
Well, after talking to Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records, the two key industry entities that are responsible for releasing Lil Wayne’s music, the Music Mix can reveal that perfection may be farther off than expected. “Cash Money just changes their dates whenever they want to,” says a Universal Motown rep. “It’s definitely not August. I have no idea why it was moved, and I’m not anticipating a September release. Right now I’m looking at closer to October.” A representative for Cash Money tells the Music Mix even that estimated date is likely too early: “It’s not going to be ’til the end of the year. We’re talking about holiday [season].” You read that right: Rebirth might not be on shelves until December 2009.
What’s going on here? Tha Carter III’s success established Wayne as one of the biggest contemporary artists in any genre. The man sold a million records in a week, and two million more in the months since. We’re not talking about some new artist struggling to make his or her name. And according to Cash Money, Rebirth’s recording stage is “pretty much done,” though it’s still awaiting the final mixing and mastering process. How is it possible that this project is still on ice at this point?