Best Selling Album 2008

That baby with the tattoos album cover or Lil Wayne's "The Carter III," if that description doesn't ring a bell, is not just Lil Wayne's best selling album to date, but the best selling album 2008 - with a sales total of 2.88 million by the end of 2008. When this third entry in Lil Wayne's musical "The Carter" series was released on June 10, 2008, on Cash Money Records, all types of best rapper alive accolades began to be thrust upon him. But, what exactly are some of the components that helped make "The Carter III" the best selling album of 2008? Let's take a look. 

The lyrics. Lil Wayne's maturity and verbal variety helped "The Carter III" immensely in becoming the best selling album of 2008. Strong lyrics also assisted Lil Wayne in differentiating himself from the standard bragging-based songs that littered many of the one-dimensional hip hop albums at the time. A strong sense of humor was displayed on the conceptually unique "Dr. Carter," a clever metaphor for Lil Wayne portraying a doctor attempting to save hip hop. On "Mr. Carter," Wayne joined another Carter, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter to be specific, on a discussion of their careers, and also a musical "passing of the throne" from Jay-Z to Lil Wayne, to reign over the next generation. Lil Wayne even displayed some political commentary with singer Robin Thicke on "Tie My Hands."

The production. The proof was also in the production, with an eclectic mix of producers that included: Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Robin Thicke, Cool & Dre, David Banner, The Alchemist and Bangladesh among others. This sanctuary of sound gave Lil Wayne a wide range of coasts and hip hop scenes to blend his dominant dialogue with, weaving between club hits, thought-provoking tunes and emotional venting. 

The singles. When you look at the four singles that Lil Wayne released while paving his way towards having the best selling album of 2008, they almost read as the most popular songs of 2008: "Lollipop," "A Milli," "Got Money" and "Mrs. Officer," In fact, "Lollipop" hit the Billboard charts so hard that it ended up becoming Lil Wayne's most successful single. 

The reviews. Not only did "The Carter III" provide Lil Wayne with a best selling album, but this 2008 release also gave Wayne a wide range of critical acclaim. It took the number three slot on Rolling Stones' Top 50 Albums list of 2008. Lil Wayne's diverse collection of songs also received glowing reviews from publications as different as "Blender," "The Guardian," "Entertainment Weekly" and "The New York Times."

The awards. During the "Super Bowl" of music praise, also known as the Grammy Awards, three was definitely the magic number.  Lil Wayne's "The Carter III" won three crucial awards, "Best Rap Album," "Best Rap Song" for "Lollipop" and "Best Rap Solo Performance" for "A Milli." Aside from the creative balance of various topics and talented collaborators, the awards capped off a great recipe for creating the best selling album of 2008.