Lil Wayne biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lil Wayne has been creating rhymes since he was a child, and is considered among today's most talented rappers. He grew up in Hollygrove, one of New Orleans' poorest neighborhoods.

Lil Wayne started rapping at the age of 8. He later met brothers Bryan and Slim Williams, the founders of Cash Money Records, who were impressed enough with his skills to give him one of their business cards. Ambitious, Wayne continued to call them until they took him under their wing and let him hang around the label's offices.

Lil Wayne's first recording for Cash Money Records was True Stories (1993), performing with another skilled rapper, B.G., under the name the BGs. Away from the studios, he was living dangerously. He sold crack for a time, and accidentally shot himself in the chest, according to an article in Rolling Stone. "It was my mom's gun," Wayne told the magazine in 2008. "It was like a chopper hit me. But the bullet went straight through, and I bounced back in two weeks."

Aspiring Rapper

As part of the Hot Boys, Lil Wayne got his first taste of success. The group was made up of several of Cash Money's rising stars—B.G., Juvenile, Turk and Wayne. Their debut album, Get It How U Live, sold more than 400,000 copies. Their next effort, Guerilla Warfare (1999), did even better, eventually selling more than 1 million copies. At the age of 16, Lil Wayne was on his way to music stardom.

That same year, Lil Wayne launched his solo career with Tha Block Is Hot (1999). The title track was a big hit, and the album reached the top of the hip-hop charts. Featuring appearances by members of the Hot Boys as well as the Big Tymers (Brian Williams and Mannie Fresh), the recording went double platinum. Fresh also served as Wayne's producer on the recording.

The rapper's next two albums, Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002), sold modestly compared to his debut. Then, in a career-changing move, Lil Wayne took a break from creating a traditional style album and released his first collection from his underground mixtapes: Da Drought (2003). His mixtape tracks usually feature beats borrowed from other artists with new lyrics that he creates.

Mainstream Success

In 2004, Lil Wayne released Tha Carter, a hugely popular album that helped cement his reputation as one of rap's leading performers. The single, "Go D.J." did well on the rap, hip-hop, and pop charts. Rolling Stone critic Christian Hoard said that "Wayne's syrupy drawl sounds more dextrous than ever" on the album.