DWAYNE MICHAEL CARTER

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.             (born September 27,1982), known by hisstage nameLil Wayne, is anAmerican rapper fromNew Orleans,Louisiana. In 1991, at the age of nine, Lil Wayne joinedCash Money Recordsas the youngest member of the label, and half of the duoThe B.G.'z, alongside fellow New Orleans-basedrapperLil' Doogie. In 1996, Lil Wayne formed theSouthern hip hopgroupHot Boys, with his Cash Money label-matesJuvenile,Young Turkand Lil' Doogie (who now went by B.G.). Hot Boys debuted withGet It How U Live!that same year.Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling albumGuerrilla Warfare(1999). Along with being the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne is also thechief executive officer(CEO) of his own imprint,Young Money Entertainment, which he foundedin 2005.Lil Wayne's debut studio albumTha Block Is Hot(1999), wascertified platinumby theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA). His following albums,Lights Out(2000) and500 Degreez(2002), werecertified gold. He reached higher popularity withTha Carter(2004), which was led by the single "Go D.J.", also appearing onDestiny's Child's top ten single "Soldier", that same year. The album was followed byTha Carter II(2005) and severalmixtapesand collaborations throughout 2006 and 2007.Tha Carter III(2008) became Lil Wayne's most successful album to date, with first-week sales of over 1 million copies in the United States. It included the number-one single "Lollipop", as well as "A Milli" and "Got Money", and won theGrammy AwardforBest Rap Album.Following the success ofTha Carter III, Lil Wayne decided to record arockalbum titledRebirth, in which he is featured playing guitar and singing with the help ofAuto-Tune. The album, released in 2010, was certified gold by the RIAA, despite a generally negative critical response. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month prison sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. Wayne's eighth albumI Am Not a Human Being(2010), was released during his prison sentence. His 2011 album and first following his release,Tha Carter IV, sold 964,000 copies in its first week of availability in the United States. It featured the singles "6 Foot 7 Foot", "How to Love" and "She Will".[5]On September 27, 2012, Lil Wayne passedElvisPresleyas the male with the most entries on theBillboardHot 100chart with 109 songs.[6]Early lifeDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. was born on September 27, 1982, and grew up in theHollygroveneighborhood ofNew Orleans, Louisiana.[7]He was born when his mother, a cook, was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Although Lil Wayne andBirdmanhave a father–son relationship and Birdman calls Carter his son, Lil Wayne’s biological father and namesake (Dwayne Carter)is still alive. Lil Wayne has also spoken about hisdeceased stepfather, Rabbit, who he has said heconsiders his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to Rabbit, who was murdered before Carter became a star.[8]Carter enrolled in thegifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club ofEleanor McMain Secondary School.[9]Lil Wayne attended McMain in the early 1990s for two years. He moved to theMarion Abramson Senior High School.[10]In a CBS interview withKatie Couric, Wayne described why he goes by the name of "Wayne" instead of his given name, Dwayne. Carter explained, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in mylife and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Couric asked Wayne if his father knew of this and Wayne replied with a smile, "He knows now."[11]He wrote his first rap song at age eight.[12]In the summer of 1991, he metBryan Williams, rapper and owner ofCash Money Records. Carter recorded freestyle raps on Williams's answering machine, leading him to mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs. He also recorded his first evercollaborationalbumTrue Storywith rapperB.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was billed as "The B.G.'z".[13]When he was 12, he played the part of theTin Manin his middle school drama club's production ofThe Wiz.[14]At age 12, he accidentally shot himself with a 9 mm handgun, and off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler drove him to the hospital.[15]At McMain Magnet School, Carter was an honor student, but he dropped out at the age of 14 to focus on a musical career.[16]Career1996–99: Career beginnings and Hot BoysIn 1996, Carter joined theHot Boysalong with rappersJuvenile,B.G., andTurk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at the time. Hot Boys' debut albumGet It How U Live!was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debutGuerrilla Warfare,[7]which reached No. 1 on theBillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albumschart and No. 5 on theBillboard 200.[17]During their career, the HotBoys had two charting singles, "We on Fire" fromGet It How U Live!and "I Need a Hot Girl" fromGuerrilla Warfare.[18]Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on theBillboard Hot 100and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles& Tracks.[19]Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several yearsafter the group disbanded.[20]It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on theBillboard200.[17]1999–2002:Tha Block Is Hot,Lights Out, and500 DegreezCarter's debut solo albumTha Block Is Hotwas released when he was 17 and featured significant contributions from theHot Boys. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by theRIAA.[7]The album earned Carter a 1999Sourcemagazine nomination for "Best New Artist",[21]and also became a Top Ten hit.[7]The lead single was "Tha Block Is Hot". After the release ofTha Blockis Hot, Carter was featured on the single "BlingBling", with B.G., Juvenile, and Big Tymers. His verse appeared only on the radio version of thesong, while on the album version he performedon the chorus.His 2000 follow-up albumLights Outfailed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut[7]but was certified gold by RIAA.[22]Critics noted the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature tothe level of his fellow Hot Boys.[23]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 ofLights Out, LilWayne was featured on the single, "Number One Stunna" withBig Tymersand Juvenile, which peaked at No. 24 on theHot Rap Trackschart.Lil Wayne's third album500 Degreez, released in 2002, followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys andMannie Fresh. While being certified gold like its predecessor,[22]it also failed to match the success of his debut.[7]The title wasa reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's recording,400 Degreez.[24]The lead single was "Way of Life" which failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of500 Degreez, Wayne was featured on the single "Neva Get Enuf" by3LW.[25]2003–06:Tha Carter,Tha Carter II, andLike Father, Like SonIn the summer of 2004, Wayne's albumTha Carterwas released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes.[26]In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne'snow-signaturedreadlocks.[7]Tha CartergainedWayne 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-Hopchart.[27]After the release ofTha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured inDestiny's Child'ssingle "Soldier" withT.I., which peaked at No. 3 on theBillboard Hot 100and theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songscharts.[28]Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the originalTha Carteralbum, was released in December 2005, this time without production by longtimeCash Money RecordsproducerMannie Fresh, who had since left the label.Tha Carter IIsold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on theBillboard200albums 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" withCurrensy, "Hustler Musik", and "Shooter" with R&B singerRobin Thicke. Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix ofBobby Valentino's"Tell Me", which rose to No. 13 on the U.S. R&B Charts. In 2005, Lil Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in the same year he foundedYoung Money Entertainmentas an imprint of Cash Money.[29]However, as of late 2007, Lil Wayne reported that he has stepped down from the management of both labels and has handed management of Young Money over to Cortez Bryant.[30]In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapperBirdmanfor the albumLike Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached No. 21 on theBillboard Hot 100.2006–08: Mixtapes and collaborationsLil Wayne performing at Voodoo Music Experience in 2008.Instead of a follow-up solo album, Lil Wayne reached his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop and hip-hop singles.[7]Of his many mixtapes,Dedication 2andDa Drought 3received the most media exposure and critical review.Dedication 2, released in 2006, paired Lil Wayne with DJ Drama and contained the acclaimed socially conscious track "Georgia Bush," in which Lil Wayne critiqued former US presidentGeorge W. Bush's response to the effects ofHurricane Katrinaon the city of New Orleans.Da Drought 3was released the following year and was available for free legal download. It contained Lil Wayne rapping over avariety of beats from recent hits by other musicians. Numerous of features in prominent hip-hop magazines such asXXL[31]andVibe[16]covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard ofRolling Stonemagazine considered the mixtapesDa Drought 3andThe Drought Is Over 2 (The Carter 3 Sessions)"among the best albums of 2007."[9]Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme That" byChris Brown, "Make It Rain" byFat Joe, "You" byLloyd, and "We Takin' Over" byDJ Khaled(also featuringAkon,T.I.,Rick Ross, Fat Joe, andBirdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" byPlayaz Circle, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" byWyclef Jean(also featuringAkon), and the remix to "I'm So Hood" byDJ Khaled(also featuringT-Pain,Young Jeezy,Ludacris,Busta Rhymes,Big Boi, Fat Joe,Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on theBillboardHot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, andHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songscharts. On Birdman's 2007 album5 * Stunna, Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Wayne also appeared on tracks from albumsGetbackbyLittle Brother,American GangsterbyJay-Z, andGraduationbyKanye WestandInsomniacbyEnrique Iglesias. "Make it Rain", aScott Storchproduction that peaked atnumber 13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart,[32]was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Groupfor 2008.[33]Vibemagazine 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 thebeat of Jay-Z's "Show Me What You Got") fromDa Drought 3the second song.[16]At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as "Hottest MC in the Game",[34]The New Yorkermagazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year",[13]andGQmagazine named him "Workaholic of the Year".[35]In 2008 he was named "Best MC" byRolling Stone.[9]Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape work, cites hiscreative practice as an example of post performance creative practice.[36]2008–10:Tha Carter III,We Are Young Money, andRebirthLil Wayne performing in concert atRogers Arenain Vancouver B.C., January 2009In 2007, Lil Wayne stated that he would reunitewith Hot Boys, with plans to release an album after B.G.'s solo albumToo Hood to Be Hollywoodwas completed.[37]Tha Carter IIIwas originally scheduled to be released in 2007,though it was delayed after several recordings were leaked and distributed through mixtapes, including "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne initially planned to releaseThe Leak, a separate album with leaked songs and four additional tracks, on December 18, 2007, withTha Carter IIIdelayed to March 18, 2008.[38]Instead,The Leakbecame anEPwith five songs and was released digitally on December 25, 2007.[39]Tha Carter IIIwas released on June 10, 2008, with first-week sales of over 1 million copies, the first to do so since50 Cent'sThe Massacre(2005).[40]The first single "Lollipop", featuringStatic Major, became the rapper's most successful song at the time, topping theBillboard Hot 100and becoming his first top 10 single as a solo artist and his first number one on the chart. The third single "Got Money", featuring T-Pain, peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 100. The album went on to win four Grammy Awards, including best rap album and best rap song, which he won for "Lollipop".[41]On July 14, 2008, theRecording Industry Association of AmericacertifiedTha Carter IIItwo times platinum.[42]In October 2008, Lil Wayne announced plans to MTV News to re-release the album with new tracks, including a duet withLudacrisand remixes of "A Milli".[43]Lil Wayne also appeared on R&B singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part II" byUsher, "Official Girl" byCassie, "I'm So Paid" byAkon, "Turnin' Me On" byKeri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "My Life" byThe Game, "Shawty Say" byDavid Banner, "Swagga Like Us" byT.I., "Cutty Buddy" byMike Jones,All My Life (In the Ghetto)byJay Rockand the remix to"Certified" byGlasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by newCash MoneyartistKe