Cash Money Reacts To "Carter IV" First-Week Sales, Deny Buying Ample Copies

Cash Money founders Slim and Baby have shared their reactions to label star Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV surpassing projections by nearly selling a million copies in its opening week.

Speak via statement, both music executives praised Wayne's latest retail accomplishment.

"This is a tremendous accomplishment for Lil Wayne and everyone here at Cash Money," said Slim. "It's a tribute to the hard work and commitment he's shown from the very start." "I consider him my son, part of the Cash Money family from the very start," added Baby. "One thing I've learned. No record is safe from him." (Statement)

The Birdman has also denied speculation suggesting his label may have boosted sales by buying Weezy's LP.

"Nah, man, that really don't make no sense. Why would we do that?" he said. "I press and distribute 'em. Ain't no need for me to buy 'em. That's hustling backwards; we ain't in it for that. I ain't ever been a part of that type of scheme to be buyin' records. We don't do that, homey. We be working too hard to be -- that don't go with what we do. We truly what we do. We're real about what we do, we work hard every day at it, and we work for the people. That's what we do music for: for people. And we appreciate the love they give us back. But no such thing as me buying no CDs. I wouldn't even play it like that." (MTV)

Since its release last week, Wayne's latest solo effort has sold over 960,000 copies.

Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV debuted on the chart this week at No. 1. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Weezy's long-awaited new album has sold 965,300 copies after just a week of availability. Rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers' I'm With You debuted at No. 2 with 229,600 sold copies. (SOHH Sales Wrap)

Last week sales projections showed the album selling up to 900,000 units.

The prolific hip-hop superstar's eagerly awaited Cash Money/Universal Republic album, Tha Carter IV, hit retail last Monday and is on target for sales of 870-900k in its first week. Based on first-day sales from those retailers not selling corn dogs to Tea Party candidate Michele Bachmann, the album will easily debut at #1 on next week's HITS chart. The rapper's last installment in the series, Tha Carter III, sold 1.005m on release in June, 2008. (HITS Daily Double)