Grammy-nominated New Orleans rapper Lil' Wayne is the president of Louisiana-based hip hop record label Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment. He has sold over three million records in the United States and is known for never writing his own lyrics and rapping his rhymes in freestyle.
Born as Dwayne Michael Carter on September 24, 1982, Lil' Wayne is the only child of a single mother who raised him in the poverty and crime ridden Hollygrove section of New Orleans.
While trying to stay in school, Lil' Wayne started rapping at block parties. His performances caught the ear of Lil Slim, an earlier Cash Money Records artist. After going on an autograph signing session with Lil Slim, Lil' Wayne met the owners of Cash Money Records, Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams.
Wayne started to record freestyles on Baby’s answering machine and was always visiting the Cash Money offices. He was only 1eleven years old, but his persistence caused the owners to sign him up. He was paired up with another newcomer, Lil Doggie (who later became BG), and the two released True Story in 1995.
Shortly after the album’s release Wayne quit school to pursue a rap career. Even though he was just thirteen years old, he didn’t rap about teenage issues like a lot of child rappers. He rapped about adult issues, but honored his mother’s wishes and made sure his rhymes didn’t include swearing.
In 1997 Wayne formed the hip-hop group Hot Boys with fellow rappers, Juvenile, Turk, and BG. Their debut album Get It How You Live was a huge success. They went on to release two other albums before the rappers went their separate ways.
When Wayne was seventeen he launched his solo career with the release of Tha Block Is Hot. He followed this album with two more: Lights Out in 2000, and 500 Degreez.
In 2004 Wayne was certain he had perfected his trade when he released Tha Carter. On November 11, 2005, he released Tha Carter II, which sold more than 238,000 copies and debuted in the #2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 albums.
In 2006 Wayne released his dedication mix tape with DJ Drama called Dedication pt. 2. In August of that year he was arrested on charges of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. He was released from jail on a bond of $11,000.
Since the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, Wayne has been linked to rapper Trina. The two recorded a single together and rumors have been going around that the two were dating or even engaged. Wayne and Trina seem to be keeping the specifics about what type of relationship they have private. Let us know of updates to the Lil Wayne Biography at editor@yuddy.com |
