In a lot of ways, The Carter III felt like both the culmination of Lil Wayne's career in rap, and the end of it. Somehow, through all of the hype, the fact that Weezy would continue to rap after his big release was lost. The Carter III is an album of almost mythical proportions, and felt more like a bookend for some legendary era of rap music than just another day at the office. It was easy to forget that there would be Lil Wayne beyond C3. The truth is, nothing has changed: when all is said and done, Weezy is going to be more prolific than Willie Nelson (check his discography).

Witness Wayne's latest exercise in beat wrecking. "A Millie" has been done by everyone in the game, and Wayne has even recorded on it more than once. But today, a week after The Carter III upset some prognosticators, Wayne released "The Freemix," a four-minute flow that redefines "A Milli." His opening words pretty much say it all: "Yeah. I'm back. As a matter of fact, I ain't go nowhere." Other rappers should be fucking petrified.

A million sold first day I went gold
How do I celebrate? Work on the Carter IV

Try and understand that in the context of what Wayne just did. In two-years he went from the fringe of rap to its pinnacle. He sold more albums than Kanye, and on "Mr. Carter," Jay-Z hands over the crown. Is anyone really pretending that we aren't witnessing an awesome moment in the history of American music?

If you haven't heard it yet, grab "The Freemix" and see what I'm talking about. I could honestly listen to 70 minutes of "A Millie" if Wayne would just flow the whole time--the thing is, he could do it if he wanted to.

During "The Freemix," Wayne reaffirms his commitment to producing five Carter albums, a fact that got lost during much of the publicity for The Carter III. There is no vacation for Weezy, and I doubt he would want it any other way.