The latter was reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions, as the album was released whilst Wayne served a prison sentence at Rikers Island prison for illegal possession of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant Tha Carter IV's recording sessions were once more put on hold.

The recording sessions resumed at various locations, involving several record producers including Bangladesh, Detail, T-Minus, Noah "40" Shebib, Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Tha Bizness, Kane Beatz, Boi-1da, Willy Will, Streetrunner, Cool & Dre, Young Ladd, The Smeezingtons, and Kanye West.

The album largely contains more introspective subject matter compared to its predecessors, often exploring morbid lyrical content and downtempo production.

[2] Appearances on the album include Cory Gunz, Drake, T-Pain, Tech N9ne, André 3000, Rick Ross, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Birdman, Kevin Rudolf, Jadakiss, Bun B, Nas, Shyne, and Busta Rhymes.

The album sold 1,005,545 copies in its first week of sales in the United States, and produced three top ten singles in the US, including the number one-hit "Lollipop".

[17] On June 13, 2011, a track called "Nightmares of the Bottom" from Tha Carter IV was confirmed on MTV's Unplugged by Lil Wayne performing live.

[18] On July 11, 2011, Lil Wayne confirmed in an interview with MTV that Tha Carter IV is finished and will be releasing on August 29, 2011.

The video (directed by Hype Williams) was inspired by the film Inception, and consists of numerous scenes which visualize many of the metaphors and similes Wayne says in the song.

The video also featured cameos by Birdman and Gunplay, and was directed by Colin Tilley, director of "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown, and No Sleep by Wiz Khalifa.

[32][43] Robert Christgau wrote in The Barnes & Noble Review that the record "has its moments ... but its stunted sense of play is summed up by the T-Pain-aided 'How to Hate.

"[35] Sean Fennessey of Spin wrote that "it's not a terribly ambitious mess, nor is it much fun, which for Wayne is a sin," and criticized his lyrics, stating "He rarely divulges specific moments ... usually keeping the gritty details unexplained.

"[42] Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole commented that the album's production "chases trends far more often than it attempts to set them" and found Wayne "not in exhilarating top form".

[41] Los Angeles Times writer Jeff Weiss viewed his lyrics as "predictable" and called the album "more pedestrian than embarrassing.

[40] Allmusic editor David Jeffries stated, "If II and III were the arguable masterpieces, this one is less convincing, but it is a solid, above average hip-hop album".

[33] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times felt that the guest rappers bring "their A game" and stated, "even on this album's weak tracks, and there are several, [Wayne] remains a commanding presence, deploying just enough of his insistent croak to tether the song together.