Tha Carter III

Art director Scott Sandler was asked to draft the Tha Carter III cover in 2008, when Lil Wayne was widely expected to break through. He submitted many ideas, including one he assumed would be thrown out: a baby photo of Wayne with his adult face tattoos added. That was the one chosen.

The picture shows the infant Dwayne Carter in a smart little suit, staring at the camera with tattoos across his face. Sandler explained the humour behind it: "Rap at that time was very serious. Nobody really had much of a sense of humor." The cover also nods to Nas's Illmatic and the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, which both used childhood images.

The album sold about a million copies in its first week and won three Grammys. For its tenth anniversary, Spotify had Chance the Rapper, Wiz Khalifa, Migos, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert recreate the cover with their own baby photos, and Wayne's childhood photo has returned on later records, including Tha Carter VI in 2025. Sandy Brummels was the creative director on the package, with Scott Sandler as art director.