Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne in 2020
Born	Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (1982-09-27) September 27, 1982 (age 41) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names	Weezy Weezy F. Baby Tunechi President Carter Birdman Jr.
Education	University of Phoenix
Occupations	Rapper singer songwriter record executive entrepreneur
Years active	1991–present
Works	Albums singles videography
Title	Founder of Young Money Entertainment Co-founder of Trukfit Clothing
Spouse	Toya Johnson ​ ​ (m. 2004; div. 2006)​
Partners	Nivea (2002–2003, 2009–2010; ex-fiancée) La'Tecia Thomas (2019–2020; ex-fiancée) Denise Bidot (2020–2022)
Children	4
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Genres	Southern hip hop
Labels	Universal Young Money Republic Cash Money[1]
Member of	Hot Boys
Formerly of	Cash Money Millionaires The B.G.'z Sqad Up
Website	thacarterv.com lilwayneofficial.com
Musical artist

This article is part of a series about Lil Wayne
Albums Singles Studio albums Tha Block Is Hot (1999) Lights Out (2000) 500 Degreez (2002) Tha Carter (2004) II (2005) III (2008) Rebirth (2010) (Full List) Related Drake Nicki Minaj Young Money Entertainment Cash Money Records Birdman Tyga
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Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982),^[2] known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation,^[3] and is often mentioned among the greatest rappers of all time.^[4][5] He was signed by American rapper Birdman to his record label Cash Money Records at age eleven, becoming its youngest member.^[6][7] In the following years, he emerged as the flagship artist of Cash Money Records before ending his association with the imprint in June 2018.^[8]

He was first placed in a duo with Cash Money labelmate B.G. in 1994—known as the B.G.'z—and they released an album, True Story, in July of that year, although Carter (at the time known as Baby D) only appeared on three tracks.^[9] Carter and B.G. then formed the Southern hip hop group Hot Boys with labelmates Juvenile and Turk in 1997; they released their debut album, Get It How U Live! in October of that year. The Hot Boys gained mainstream success following the release of their second album Guerrilla Warfare (1999), as well as their single "Bling Bling".^[10] The group briefly disbanded after the album due to each member (besides Carter) parting ways with the label, although one further album—Let 'Em Burn (2003)—was released.^[11]

Carter's debut studio album, Tha Block Is Hot (1999) quickly achieved commercial success and served as his breakthrough as a solo act, followed by Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2003). He reached wider popularity and critical acclaim with his fourth and fifth albums Tha Carter (2004) and Tha Carter II (2005), as well as several mixtapes and collaborations throughout 2006 and 2007. He propelled to the forefront of hip hop with his sixth album Tha Carter III (2008), with first-week sales of over one million units in the US. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and was supported by his first Billboard Hot 100-number one single "Lollipop" (featuring Static Major), the top-ten singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" (featuring T-Pain), and the top-20 single "Mrs. Officer" (featuring Bobby V and Kidd Kidd).

Carter's seventh studio album, Rebirth (2010) experimented with rap rock and was released in February of that year to generally negative critical response. A month later in March, he began serving an 8-month jail sentence for criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. His eighth album, I Am Not a Human Being (2010) was released during his incarceration, while the release of his ninth album, Tha Carter IV (2011) coincided months after his release from prison. Tha Carter IV sold 964,000 units in its first-week in the United States despite mixed reviews.^[12] His twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V (2018)—preceded by I Am Not a Human Being II (2013) and Free Weezy Album (2015)—was released following long-term delays and label disputes, and was met with 480,000 in first-week sales. His thirteenth album, Funeral (2020) became his fifth non-consecutive number one album.^[13]

Carter has sold over 120 million records worldwide, including more than 25 million albums and 92 million digital tracks in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists.^[14][15][16] He has won five Grammy Awards, eleven BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and eight NAACP Image Awards. On September 27, 2012, he became the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100, with 109 songs.^[17][18] Carter founded the record label Young Money Entertainment in 2005, which has signed artists including Drake, Tyga and Nicki Minaj.

Early life[edit]

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished Hollygrove neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana's 17th Ward.^[19] His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was two and his father permanently abandoned the family. When CBS interviewer Katie Couric asked why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name, Carter explained that "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Asked if his father knew of this, Carter replied, "He knows now".^[20] Carter has said that he considers his deceased stepfather Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald to be his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to McDonald.^[21]

Carter was enrolled in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School. He later attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School for two years, where he was an honor student and a member of the drama club, playing the Tin Man in the school's production of The Wiz.^[22][23][24] After matriculating to Marion Abramson Senior High School, Carter dropped out at age 14 to focus on his musical career.^[25]

Carter wrote his first rap song at age eight.^[26] In the summer of 1991, he met rapper and Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan "Baby" Williams (known currently as Birdman), who mentored him and encouraged his love of hip-hop; Birdman included Carter on several Cash Money tracks, and Carter would often record freestyle raps on Williams' answering machine.^[27]

In 1994, at age 12, Carter suffered a near-fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.^[28] At the time he said the injury was accidental. Decades later Carter claimed that it was an attempted suicide after he was told by his mother that he would have to end his rap-related associations.^[29] Carter credits off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler, who he calls "Uncle Bob", with saving his life by insisting the dying child be driven immediately to hospital in a police car rather than waiting for an ambulance to become available.^[30] Other accounts indicate that several officers played a part in deciding on and implementing that course of action.^[28]

Career[edit]

1997–1999: Career beginnings and Hot Boys[edit]

In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. At age 14, Carter was the youngest member at the time. Hot Boys' debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare,^[19] which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.^[31] During their career, the Hot Boys had two charting singles, "We on Fire" from Get It How U Live! and "I Need a Hot Girl" from Guerrilla Warfare.^[32] Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.^[33] Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded.^[34] It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.^[31]

1999–2004: Tha Block Is Hot, Lights Out, and 500 Degreez[edit]

Carter's debut solo album, Tha Block Is Hot, was released when he was 17 and featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by the RIAA less than two months after its release.^[35][19] The album earned Carter a 1999 Source magazine nomination for "Best New Artist",^[36] and also became a Top Ten hit.^[19] The lead single was "Tha Block Is Hot". After the release of Tha Block Is Hot, Carter was featured on the single "Bling Bling", with B.G., Juvenile, and Big Tymers. Carter's verse appeared only on the radio version of the song, while on the album version he performed on the chorus.

His second album, Lights Out, was released in 2000, and failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut^[19] but was certified gold by RIAA.^[37] Critics noted the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys.^[38] The lead single was "Get Off the Corner", which was noticed for an improvement in its lyrical content and style. The second single, which received less attention, was "Shine" featuring the Hot Boys. Near the release of Lights Out, Carter was featured on the single, "Number One Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which peaked at number 24 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

Carter's third album, 500 Degreez, was released in 2002. It followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys and Mannie Fresh. While being certified gold like its predecessor,^[37] it also failed to match the success of his debut.^[19] The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's recording, 400 Degreez.^[39][40] Lead single was "Way of Life" reached no. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.^[41] However, John Bush of allmusic praised 500 Degreez, calling "Way of Life" an "infectious party hit".^[39] After the release of 500 Degreez, Carter was featured on the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.^[42]

2004–2006: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, and Like Father, Like Son[edit]

In the summer of 2004, Carter's fourth studio album, Tha Carter, was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes.^[43] In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks.^[19] Tha Carter gained Wayne significant recognition, selling 878,000 copies in the United States, while the single "Go DJ" became a Top 5 Hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.^[44] After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.^[45]

Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the original Tha Carter album, was released in December 2005, this time without production by longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at number 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies worldwide. The lead single "Fireman" became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man" with Currensy, "Hustler Musik", and "Shooter" with R&B singer Robin Thicke. Carter also appeared on a remix of Bobby Valentino's "Tell Me", which rose to number 13 on the U.S. R&B Charts. In 2005, Carter was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money.^[46] However, as of late 2007, Carter reported having stepped down from the management of both labels and had handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.^[47]

In 2006, Carter collaborated with Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2006–2007: Mixtapes and collaborations[edit]

Instead of a follow-up solo album, Carter began to reach his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop and hip hop singles.^[19] Of his many mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 received the most media exposure and critical review. Dedication 2, released in 2006, paired Carter with DJ Drama and contained the acclaimed socially conscious track "Georgia Bush", in which Carter critiqued former US president George W. Bush's response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans. Da Drought 3 was released the following year and was available for free legal download. It contained Carter rapping over a variety of beats from recent hits by other musicians. A number of prominent hip hop magazines such as XXL^[48] and Vibe^[25] covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine considered the mixtapes Da Drought 3 and The Drought Is Over 2 (The Carter 3 Sessions) "among the best albums of 2007".^[49]

Despite no album release for two years, Carter appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, "You" by Lloyd, and "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon), and the remix to "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On Birdman's 2007 album, 5 * Stunna, Carter appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Carter also appeared on tracks from albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z, and Graduation by Kanye West and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias. "Make it Rain", a Scott Storch production that peaked at number 13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart,^[50] was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.^[51]

Vibe magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007 and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of 2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got") from Da Drought 3.^[25] At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as "Hottest MC in the Game",^[52] The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year",^[27] and GQ magazine named him "Workaholic of the Year".^[53] In 2008 he was named "Best MC" by Rolling Stone.^[49] Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape work, cites his creative practice as an example of post-performance creative practice.^[54]

2007–2010: Tha Carter III, We Are Young Money, and Rebirth[edit]

In 2007, Carter stated that he would reunite with Hot Boy