Lil Wayne released his debut album Tha Block is Hot November 2, 1999
Lil Wayne didn't stumble upon fame - he bulldozed his way into the music industry. Before blossoming into a cerebral lyricist, at age 15 Wayne joined the Hot Boys alongside B.G., Turk and Juvenile. By 17, he unleashed his debut album Tha Block Is Hot, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and later earned platinum status.
The album was created with Cash Money’s simple but winning formula: Mannie Fresh handles the production. Apparently, the formula had not reached it’s expiration date because it was meet with generally positive reviews from the critics. The streets cosigned it as well. It was promoted by the album’s title track and 'Drop It Like’s Hot', which help reached number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart and platinum status (over 1 million units sold).
Tha Block is Hot becomes reevaluated as his best: less drug-addled and spluttered-out than his work in the next decade, it captures Wayne naive, confused and trying to find his way in a cold world – several tracks (‘Fuck tha World’, ‘Up to Me’) are moving tributes to his murdered stepfather, while on others (‘Kisha’, ‘Loud Pipes’), he spars with his Cash Money contemporaries like the best Hot Boys cuts.
Listen to 'Tha Block Is Hot' below.
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