(lil wayne’s new mixtape cover…oh no)

We just got word that Lil’ Wayne will release “Tha Carter III: The Leak” December 18 with the official “Tha Carter III” album to follow on February 12. According to MTV News, Lil’ Wayne has decided to release “The Leak” album in response to the constant leaking of his music online. Weezy said “[The December 18 release] is gonna be called Tha Carter III, but it’s gonna be called The Leak as well because I get leaked so much. My music got leaked this whole year. One thing I noticed, when another person’s album gets leaked, it’s a whole thing; they’re distraught. When my song gets leaked, people call and say, ‘It’s the greatest song. Can I have it for this album?’ Or ‘Can I put it on this soundtrack? Can we get the ringtone?’ It’s never, ‘Damn, dude, your music leaked.’ So what we feel, we’re gonna give you what you want. We’re gonna give you the leak. Every song that was leaked is coming out on December 18 — and we have four new songs. The song ‘Gossip’ is gonna be the first single from that album. I’mma shoot the video for that in about a week.” Popular leaked songs such as “Prostitute Flange”, “I Feel Like Dying” and “Pray To The Lord” are slated to appear on “The Leak” although Wayne says the songs will be re-worked for the album.

The official “Tha Carter III” is expected to feature appearances from Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, Kanye West and more.

In more Weezy News…it was rumored that the single “Gossip” that Lil Wayne performed on BET Hip Hip Awards was a diss to 50 Cent. Lil’ Wayne has denied allegations that his new single “Gossip” is a subliminal diss track to 50 cent. Lil’ Wayne told MTV News that the song wasn’t about 50 Cent and that he has no beef. “I recorded that song in 2006,” he explained about “Gossip.” “I don’t make records or say anything about people. I don’t beef with people. Everybody knows that. … My words are more important than you. I got kids listening to me. I got grown folk listening to me. I got intelligent people listening to me. I want the words I say to come across [as] important. I want you to relate those words to me, not some guy or some girl. If you hear about me beefing with somebody, you gonna hear about it when I’m in jail.”

If you missed the performance, here you go: