The curtain is just about ready to be raised on Lil Wayne's [article id="1572846"]Tha Carter III LP.[/article] Weezy was in Miami on Monday with legendary photographer Jonathan Manion, shooting artwork for the album, and pretty soon he'll be going back in front of the camera to film the first video for the effort. The song is called "Showtime."

"The Carter III is coming in 2008. I don't want to give no months, no date," he said. "I got a gang of singles [on Carter III]. [It's] produced by my homeboy Diesel. He's also a Young Money affiliate. He's down with us. He's a producer/singer/engineer. He does it all. I have my artist featured on the song. Her name is Chanell. We already have a remix featuring Brisco and Lil' Boosie."

He added that for the "Showtime" video, "We're gonna get Gil Green or Benny [Boom] to direct. I really don't know. They're all my brothers. The concept is really 'Showtime,' just performance. Me and my artist Chanell gonna play a lot with the video. It's gonna be very animated but straight to the point. Colorful. Y'all [should be looking] to be entertained."

Wayne says he's recorded so many songs for the album besides "Showtime" that he's not sure which ones will make the cut. Just about every hip-hop producer you can name contributed to Tha Carter III, including Timbaland, David Banner, Jay Bezel from the Diplomat camp, T-Mix, Mannie Fresh, Cool & Dre, Just Blaze and even Wayne himself.

"Me and my homeboy Diesel, we got a Kanye West track and added some drums to it," he said. "I don't know what songs [the record company] picked. I just know the intros and the single."

Weezy says his side work as the most-sought-after cameo man in the business isn't slowing down. He just finished a remix of Rick Ross' "Speedin' " with Fat Joe -- don't miss Wayne's use of the same voice enhancement T-Pain employs -- and has been writing for Dr. Dre.

"Call me by a new name: 'Featuring Lil Wayne,' " he joked about all his guest appearances. But while he has more names on his résumé than you can count, he did say there's one MC he hasn't worked with but with whom he really wants to. Actually, that's "M.C.," not "MC."

"I have never done nothing with Mariah Carey, and I would like to, because I love older women," the 25-year-old said. "I'm attracted to older women. It's my thing. Mariah Carey, she might need a dude like me. I do my thing."