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Lil Wayne

"Dwayne Carter" redirects here. For the racecar driver, see Duane Carter.
"Weezy" redirects here. Not to be confused with Wheezy.

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne in 2020
Born
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.

(1982-09-27) September 27, 1982 (age 42)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names
  • Weezy
  • Weezy F. Baby
  • Tunechi
  • President Carter
  • Birdman Jr.
  • Baby D
EducationUniversity of Phoenix
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record executive
  • entrepreneur
Years active1991–present
Works
Title
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2006)​
Partners
  • Nivea (2002–2003, 2009–2010; ex-fiancée)
  • La'Tecia Thomas (2019–2020; ex-fiancée)
  • Denise Bidot (2020–2022)
Children4
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Formerly of
Websitethacarterv.com
lilwayneofficial.com
This article is part of
a series about
Lil Wayne
Studio albums
Related

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, and widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time.[3][4][5] Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with the latter's record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven.[6][7] He emerged as the flagship artist of the label in the following years until his departure in June 2018.[8]

He was first placed in a duo with Cash Money labelmate B.G. in 1994—known collectively 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 hit 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 further reached mainstream audiences with his fourth and fifth albums in which were the first 2 installments of Tha Carter 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 domestically. It won Best Rap Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards and was supported by his first Billboard Hot 100-number one single, "Lollipop" (featuring Static Major), as well as 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 his ninth album, Tha Carter IV (2011), followed months after his release from prison. Despite mixed reviews, Tha Carter IV sold 964,000 units in its first-week domestically.[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 over 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.

  1. ^ "Lil Wayne Frees 'Tha Carter V' Via a Settlement from Cash Money". Forbes.
  2. ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1277/1278. September 20–27, 2013. p. 37.
  3. ^ Coleman II, C. Vernon (August 22, 2019). "A History of Rappers Paying Homage to Lil Wayne". XXL. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "The 10 Best Rappers of All Time". Billboard. November 12, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Kostidakis, Perry (June 11, 2018). "Lil Wayne Is the Forefather of Modern Rap". Complex Networks. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "Lil Wayne Reflects on Living Out His Dreams Ever Since Inking A Record Deal at Age 11 – 'I've Never Had A Real Job'". Afrotech.com. July 23, 2023.
  7. ^ Brown, Preezy (October 27, 2017). "What Millennials Should Know About... Hot Boys' 'Get It How U Live!'". Vibe. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  8. ^ "Lil Wayne's Lawyer Confirms Cash Money Settlement, Rapper Now 'Owns His Assets, His Music and Himself'". Billboard.
  9. ^ "The B.G.'z – True Story [Album Review]". Newtral Groundz. February 6, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  10. ^ Kramer, Kyle; Smith, Trey (July 27, 2017). "Nothing Was Hotter Than the Hot Boys' 'Guerrilla Warfare'". Vice. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  11. ^ Lewis, Alyson (August 18, 2022). "'Bling Bling': How B.G.'s 'Chopper City in the Ghetto' Became Famous". uDiscover Music. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  12. ^ Markman, Rob (July 11, 2011). "Lil Wayne's Carter IV 'Totally Done'". MTV. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  13. ^ "Lil Wayne's New Album 'Funeral' Contains a Kobe Bryant Tribute". Highsnobiety.com. January 31, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. ^ "Lil Wayne, Tyga to hit the stage at Diriyah Season concert". Arab News Japan. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  16. ^ Grein, Paul (July 17, 2013). "Week Ending July 14, 2013. Albums: Jay-Z Back On The Throne". Chart Watch. Yahoo.
  17. ^ Rapper Lil Wayne breaks Elvis Presley's Billboard record Reuters. September 27, 2012.
  18. ^ "Drake Breaks Hot 100 Records: Most Hits Among Solo Artists & Most Simultaneously Charted Songs". Billboard.

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