Reginae Carter, the 26-year-old daughter of rap icon Lil Wayne, has passionately defended her father’s latest release, Tha Carter VI, following a wave of criticism from fans and critics alike. In an emotional Instagram livestream on June 15, 2025, Carter confronted detractors who dismissed the album as “trash,” arguing that its worth should not hinge on its ability to spark viral TikTok dance trends. Her defense has ignited a broader conversation about how music is judged in today’s social media-driven landscape.
Carter’s livestream directly responded to the backlash surrounding Tha Carter VI. She took particular issue with the notion that an album’s quality should be tied to its social media virality.
“The fact that y’all can’t get on TikTok and do a fucking dance to it, that don’t mean that it’s trash, babe, okay?”
She reiterated,
“The fact that you can’t do a lil’ one-two, lil’ viral moment for it, that doesn’t mean it’s trash.”
Describing the album as “universal,” Carter highlighted its versatility, suggesting it could fit seamlessly into settings like “NBA2K, at the mall, all types of stuff.”
“My dad is a lyricist, babe. My dad really talks s***,” she said. “So if you can’t understand it, please move silent like the ‘G’ in lasagna.”
She positioned Lil Wayne as a “lyricist” who “really talks shit,” urging listeners to appreciate his work for its substance rather than its danceability.
“Y’all need to take y’all minds out of the TikTok world and get to the real bag,”
She insisted, capping her argument with a sharp directive to critics:
“If you can’t understand it, please move in silence like the ‘G’ in lasagna and get the fuck out of here.”
Released on June 6, 2025, Tha Carter VI debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, moving 114,423 units in its first week. While a respectable showing, this marks a steep decline from its predecessor, Tha Carter V, which sold 480,000 units in its opening week in 2018 and is the strongest debut in the Carter series. The drop in sales has fueled discussions about Lil Wayne’s current standing in hip-hop, especially amid recent controversies like his exclusion from the Super Bowl halftime show.
Critical response to the album has been polarized. Prominent voices have not held back in their disapproval. Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop labeled it “shamefully bad at points,” citing “bad form, bad ideas, bad taste, bad execution.” Billboard’s Unfiltered panel went further, calling it “a full trainwreck” and “the worst [Carter] in the entire series.”
Much of the criticism targets the album’s sprawling 19-track, hour-plus runtime and its eclectic mix of styles, including collaborations with Jelly Roll and U2’s Bono, as well as quirky tracks like “Island Holiday” (sampling Weezer’s “Island in the Sun”) and “Peanuts N Elephants,” produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Some reviewers have also questioned using what they describe as AI-generated soul samples.
Clash Magazine offered a more favorable take, awarding it an 8/10 and praising tracks like “Hip-Hop,” “Bein Myself,” and “Cotton Candy” as standout moments that showcase Wayne’s enduring talent. The publication hailed it as “one of the series’ most straight-forwardly entertaining units,” suggesting that amidst the criticism, there are glimmers of the rapper’s signature brilliance.
Carter’s defense extends beyond Tha Carter VI to challenge the cultural shift in music evaluation. She sees the dominance of platforms like TikTok as skewing perceptions of artistic value, reducing complex works to their potential for quick, viral consumption. Her plea for listeners to focus on “the real bag”—the substance of her father’s lyricism—reflects a tension between traditional metrics of musical quality and the modern emphasis on social media traction.
“Y’all need to take y’all minds out of the TikTok world and get to the real bag,”
This stance is pivotal for Lil Wayne, whose relevance has been questioned in recent years. Carter’s livestream defends her father’s legacy and underscores the personal toll of public scrutiny.
“Put yourself in my shoes… you got a hundred million people just talking crazy, and you’ve never even met them,” she said. “Sometimes you have to speak up.”
She urged, acknowledging the inevitability of criticism in the industry while emphasizing her humanity:
“You got a hundred million people just talking crazy… And you got a chance to speak on it, directly to the motherfucker. I’m going to do that every time.”
Carter’s emotional defense comes when Lil Wayne’s legacy is being reexamined. The rapper, once seen as an untouchable force in hip-hop, has faced recent questions about his relevance, including a snub from this year’s Super Bowl halftime show lineup.
In her live stream, Reginae made it clear that she will continue defending her father, but on her terms:
“I’m actually going to just pray about it,”
She concluded after a spirited series of remarks that blended love, frustration, and a pointed critique of digital-age music culture.