The Carter [DVD] [2009]

Lil Wayne (aka Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) began his career in music when he was a teenager; at eighteen, he became part of the "Dirty South" rap music family at Cash Money Records, but in time he matured into one of the most idiosyncratic and original voices in hip hop, and earned a new degree of critical respect with his 2004 The Carter as well as his many mixtapes. In 2008, Lil Wayne confirmed his status as rap's star of the moment when his album Tha Carter III sold over a million copies in its first week of release. That same year, Lil Wayne granted filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough full access as he hit the road for a concert tour, and The Carter is a revealing behind-the-scenes documentary which follows the rapper as he travels from town to town, discusses his music with journalists, talks frankly about his life and career, indulges in his passion for marijuana and codeine cough syrup, and constantly puts down new musical ideas on the portable recording rig that's his constant companion. Tha Carter received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival as part of the "Park City At Midnight" series.~Mark Deming