Lil Wayne Already Recording 'Tha Carter IV'

His latest album, "Tha Carter III," has only been out since May, but Lil Wayne is already recording its follow-up. According to his blog on ESPN.com, the rapper is in the studio working on "Tha Carter IV" as well as a new mixtape. 

The latter, "Dedication 3," will fall under DJ Drama's "Gangsta Grillz" series and "you can expect [it] real soon," Wayne says. 

In a nod to his well-recognized prolific output, Wayne says immediately after "Dedication 3" comes out, he'll re-release it "with 20 extra songs for free on my Web site." 

"Tha Carter III" is far and away the best-selling album of 2008, having shifted 2.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Lil Wayne is also collaborating with T-Pain for a highly anticipated duet album, "T-Wayne," which is slated for 2009. 

"We've got three or four songs we've finished," T-Pain tells Billboard. "They don't really have titles. We're just doing music and however it comes out, it comes out." 

The singer says the tracks won't sound like his current Wayne-featuring single, "Can't Believe It," but will have the collective flair shown on tracks like "Got Money." 

Wayne will take a break from recording later this month to play the Voodoo Music Experience on Oct. 25 in his New Orleans hometown, and will also drop by Power 105.1's Powerhouse concert three days later in East Rutherford, N.J.