Not too long ago, the Cash Money Millionaires clique was one of the most prolific and potent crews in all of hip-hop. With artist albums from the likes of Lil' Wayne and B.G. to super-group collabos like the Hot Boys, Cash Money were on everyone's radar.

Now, after a short absence from the bling, Cash Money are rolling thick again, preparing to release an onslaught of new albums, including Lil' Weezy's latest, The Carter, scheduled for release on November 18, and new records from the Big Tymers, Juvenile and producer Mannie Fresh. But don't call it a comeback, says Lil' Wayne — Cash Money's been here the whole time.

"We ain't never left," barked Lil' Wayne defiantly. "Yeah, we turnin' our heads back to our yard this time. But all the time we did lay off, we was preparing. Now, we're going to be hitting you with all kinds of blows."

Weezy was only a 13-year-old kid when he joined Cash Money after being recruited by label founder Baby. Even though he's still the youngest in the crew, he's already a leathered rap veteran with what will be his fourth solo album by the age of 20. On the single "Get Something," you can hear the growth in his voice: His heaving yelps have given way to deeper, more resonant barks. Wayne says he finds himself just as hungry, if not hungrier, than he ever was in his adolescence.

"Back when I first started, it was like doing your homework," he explained. "It was like I was putting a song together just so I could get onstage, get the money, get the girls. Now it's different. Now it's like there's a whole other meaning behind this."

On The Carter, which he titled after his own surname and the fictional housing project in the 1991 flick "New Jack City," Lil' Wayne raps a lot about life, he says, like fatherhood and handling success at a young age.

On "I Miss My Dog," Wayne surprisingly reflects on his early Cash Money days, specifically the time when B.G. and Juvenile were still down with them, before they had a falling out last year (see "B.G. Kicks Drugs, Doesn't Need Baby's Birdfeed To Make Livin' Legend"). Rarely do rappers get sentimental about the past between the posturing and the boasts, but Wayne says it was something he was feeling at the time. "The Hot Boys, it's just a real factor," he admitted. "I don't want to give away what it's about but when people hear it, they'll know the real."

The Carter was produced, of course, by Mannie Fresh, who somehow found time to make beats despite having a full schedule rigging tunes for his group with Baby, the Big Tymers, who will release their new album, Big Money Heavyweights, on October 21.

In addition to his own LP, Lil' Wayne has been busy with his own record label, Young Money Entertainment, which will run through Cash Money/Universal Records. The first group to be released in early 2004 is the group Squad Up, which includes Wayne. Other artists include New Orleans rapper Gutter Gutter and the R&B duo Real.

"When we started," said Wayne, "Baby told us at the time that what the East Coast is doing is fine, what the West Coast is doing is fine, but now we're gonna bring the South to it. And it blew up. It's blowing up."