| Name | Lil Wayne |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. |
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| Born | September 27, 1982New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
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| Instrument | Vocals, Guitars |
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| Genre | Hip hop |
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| Occupation | Rapper, CEO |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
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| Associated acts | Big Tymers, Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Juelz Santana, Kevin Rudolf, T-Pain, Young Money, Eminem |
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| Label | Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown |
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| Url | |
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Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of his success with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.
Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and 2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on several popular rap and R&B; singles.
His most successful album, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 which went on to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Lil Wayne released his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. 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. While in jail he released another album entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuring Young Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist.
Early life
Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the
Hollygrove neighborhood of
New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter was born when his mother, a chef, was 19 years old. His parents were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School. In the summer of 1991, he met
Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of
Cash 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 ever
collaboration album
True Story with rapper
B.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was billed as "
The B.G.'z". When he was 12, he played the part of the
Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of
The Wiz. At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a .44 caliber gun, with the bullet missing his heart by two inches.
Music career
1997–99: The Hot Boys
In 1997, Carter joined the
Hot Boys along with rappers
Juvenile, B.G., and
Turk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at that 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, 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.
Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the
Billboard 200.
Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified 2x platinum, climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts. and also became a Top Ten hit. Critics pointed to the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys. The lead single was "Get Off The Corner" which was noticed for an improvement in lyrical content and style, it also received a music video. The second single which received less attention was "Shine" featuring The Hot Boys. Near the release of Lights Out, Lil Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.
In 2001, Lil Wayne was shot in the chest in Florida after "some groupies" fired two shots through his tour bus window. He recalled the incident in 2008 interview: 'It [the bullet] 'didn’t go all the way in, ’cause the window slowed it down.' The lead single was "Way Of Life" which like the album failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez, he was featured in the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.
2004–07: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations
In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album
Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature
dreadlocks. After the release of
Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in
Destiny's Child's single "
Soldier" with
T.I., which peaked at No. 3 on the
U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S.
R&B; Charts. The song Get Something (featuring
Mannie Fresh) was supposed to appear on the album but failed to make the cut, however the music video was released.
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 since left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies world wide. The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man", "Hustler Muzik", and "Shooter" (featuring R&B; singer Robin Thicke). Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix of Bobby 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 founded Young Money Entertainment as an imprint of Cash Money. 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.
on July 23, 2007]]
In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapper Birdman for the album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. 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. and Vibe
Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne 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, Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This" among several other tracks. Wayne 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, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.
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 the second song. The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year", In 2008 he was named "Best Rock Star Alive" by Blender magazine
2008–09: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money
Initially planned to be released in 2007,
Tha Carter III's largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne initially decided to use the leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album, titled
The Leak.
The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008, The release of
The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but an official
EP titled
The Leak and containing five tracks was released digitally on December 25, 2007.
Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since 50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005. The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static became the rapper's most commercially successful song at that point, topping the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist, as well as his first No. 1 on the chart. His third single from Carter III', "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. Along with his album singles, Lil Wayne appeared on R&B; singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part II" by Usher, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon, "Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "My Life" by The Game, "Shawty Say" by David Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money artist Kevin Rudolf. On July 14, 2008, the Recording Industry Association of America certified Tha Carter III two times platinum. In an October 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne announced plans to re-release this album with all new tracks, including a duet with Ludacris and remixes of "A Milli".
concert in Vancouver in January 2009.]]
The lineup for New Orleans' 2008 Voodoo Experience concert, held in October, featured Lil Wayne. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard magazine reported that the event would mark his biggest hometown headlining set of his career. Lil Wayne stated that he would reunite with Hot Boys alongside Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. They plan to release an album after B.G.'s solo album Too Hood to Be Hollywood was completed. Wayne also performed as the 2008 Virgin Mobile Music Fest with Kanye West, performing the remix of "Lollipop" with West and also lip-syncing to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You". Lil Wayne also performed at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with Kid Rock ("All Summer Long"), Leona Lewis ("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and T-Pain ("Got Money"). On the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, he performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money". He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations. He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others. It was revealed that M.I.A. dropped out of performing on the tour due to her pregnancy, however Jay-Z is expected to perform with Wayne on the song "Mr. Carter" at select shows.
On November 11, 2008, Wayne became the first hip-hop act to ever perform at the Country Music Association Awards. He played alongside Kid Rock for the song, "All Summer Long", in which Wayne did not rap but instead inaudibly strummed guitar strings alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band. Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year. Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008. He won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli", Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance in T.I.'s single "Swagga Like Us", and Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". Tha Carter III won the award for Best Rap Album.
DJ Drama stated that there would be a third installation of the Dedication mixtape series with Lil Wayne, who insisted that it will would be a full album under the title. However despite the fact Wayne wanted to release Dedication 3 as an album, it was released as a mixtape on November 14, 2008.
MTV listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.
On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl". The second single is "BedRock", featuring Lloyd. The third single is "Roger That". On May 24, 2010, the album was certified gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold.
Wayne is featured on the song, "Revolver", with Madonna for her 2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. He was also featured on a Weezer song, "Can't Stop Partying", on their 2009 album, Raditude.
2008–present: Rebirth, I Am Not a Human Being, and Tha Carter IV
In late 2008, Wayne stated that he would re-release
The Carter III with leftover tracks and call it
Rebirth, several months later, however, he announced
Rebirth would instead release as his debut rock album, maintaining its title as
Rebirth. To support the release of
Rebirth and a collaboration album with Young Money Entertainment, Wayne headlined the 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'... a United States and Canada–only concert tour which started on July 29, 2009. The
Rebirth album was originally scheduled for a April 7, 2009 release, however after numerous delays, the album was released on February 2, 2010. For the anticipation of
Rebirth, Wayne was featured on the cover of
Rolling Stone.
"Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream of his concert in San Diego. "Prom Queen" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. On December 3, 2009, Lil Wayne's second single from the album, "On Fire", was released on iTunes. "On Fire" was produced by Cool & Dre with Lil Wayne playing the guitar with the aid of Pro Tools. "On Fire" peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Drop the World", which features Eminem, is the third single from the album. Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 2 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal. Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays. Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album. However, Wayne denied this idea saying that "Tha Carter IV deserves Tha Carter IV". He went on to say that We Are Young Money may be packaged with Rebirth. However, it was later confirmed that Rebirth and We Are Young Money will be released separately and that Tha Carter IV will be released during 2011. He started from scratch on Tha Carter IV since getting released from jail. He recorded his first track since being released from jail and it was described as being "a 2010 version of A Milli'' on steroids." The album is set to feature multiple guests, including Tech N9ne. The album will be released February 2011. The first single "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz was released on December 15, 2010. It was available for digital download on iTunes December 16, 2010. The song is produced by Bangladesh, who also produced Lil Wayne's single A Milli in 2008. Tha Carter IV is expected for release in Winter 2011.
Future projects
He has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album
I Can't Feel My Face with rapper
Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. He has discussed a possible
R&B; album titled
Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a
vocoder. He has also talked with singer
Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future. On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and
T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne and planned to release an album. On June 8, 2010, Drake confirmed that he and Wayne are planning to release a joint album in the future. Lil Wayne and
Baby will release a second
Like Father, Like Son album around
Fathers Day 2011. Wayne and Drake will release a collaboration album sometime in the near future.
Television and film career
Lil Wayne was a guest debater going up against
Skip Bayless on the "1st & 10" segment on the January 6, 2009 edition of
ESPN First Take. On February 10, 2009 he also appeared on ESPN's
Around the Horn and beat out veterans
Woody Paige,
Jay Mariotti and fellow New Orleanian
Michael Smith to win that show's episode. Wayne is set to produce and compose music for the film
Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled
The Carter was released at the
Sundance Film Festival. Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with
Katie Couric. He then appeared on an April 24 episode of
The View – talking about his GED and addictions. In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of
VH1's
Behind the Music and was a presenter of the
2009 MTV Movie Awards.
Personal life
Family
Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15, Internet rumours started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident." His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in
Cincinnati. His third child, Lennox Samuel Ari, was born to actress
Lauren London on September 9, 2009. He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer
Nivea.
In a CBS interview with Katie 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 my life 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". He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses. An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.
Sports and musical interests
In an interview with
Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group
Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.
On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox. Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.
Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.
Along with Mack Maine, Wayne was in attendance of Game 3 of the opening round NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and the home team New Orleans Hornets on April 25, 2009.
Religion
Lil Wayne is a practicing
Christian, who takes time to read the
Bible regularly. He then asked the Newark crowd if they also believed, and they responded affirmatively with a
roar.
According to his Rikers Island inmate ID and prison records, Wayne is specifically a Roman Catholic.
Philanthropy
On February 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and Cortez Bryant revisited their alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design an invitation to the gala introducing Lil Wayne's nonprofit One Family Foundation. The website Change.org states: "The mission of One Family Foundation, Inc. is to empower urban youth by engaging them in opportunities to cultivate their talents and skills, educating them to become productive and economically self-sufficient, and motivating them to dream beyond their circumstances."
Drug use and arrests
Wayne told
CBS Evening News anchor
Katie Couric on her
All Access Grammy Special in 2009 that he enjoys smoking marijuana recreationally. He also stated that he is "not addicted" to drinking
purple drank (
codeine cough syrup) any longer, like some claimed he was. He has been arrested for use or possession of marijuana and other drugs.
Following a performance at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Lil Wayne was arrested October 5, 2007 on felony fugitive charges after Georgia authorities accused the rapper of possessing a controlled substance. The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.
On January 23, 2008, Lil Wayne was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered of marijuana, almost of cocaine, of MDMA, and $22,000 in cash. Lil Wayne was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted. On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges. A bench warrant was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne didn't show for a final trial management conference. However, the rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne plead guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months of probation. On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years probation.
On December 18, 2009, Wayne and 11 others were detained at the Falfurrias, Texas border patrol checkpoint after an unknown amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.
New York weapon case
On July 22, 2007, Lil Wayne was arrested in New York City following a performance at the
Beacon Theatre; the
New York City Police Department discovered Lil Wayne and another man smoking
marijuana near a tour bus. After taking Lil Wayne into custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol on his person. The gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located near the rapper. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.
On October 22, 2009, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year jail sentence, but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to dental surgery, which was performed on February 16. The surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and work on his remaining original teeth.
On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.
On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison, which he served in Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other prisoners. He was released on good behavior. However, in May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones). However at that time, it was reported by MTV and HipHopDX (and later confirmed) that Lil Wayne was to be released four months early in November.
In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison. In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", the rapper described his daily routine, saying he works out a lot, and reads the Bible every day.
Lawsuits
In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Wayne, following a $100,000 advance payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the artist.
On October 2009, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Cash Money Records and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice was used without permission. The rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 * Stunna.
Public references by Barack Obama
Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President
Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts. Speaking to a largely
African-American audience during a
general election campaign town hall speech in
Georgia, then-
U.S. Senator Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for shortcuts to fame and riches, stating: "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school."
After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of personal and familial responsibility—and the difficulty of achieving Lil Wayne's lyrical skills or success—during an address to a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, telling the audience:}}
Obama also mentioned listening to Lil Wayne on his iPod:
Discography
; Studio albums
1999: Tha Block Is Hot
2000: Lights Out
2002: 500 Degreez
2004: Tha Carter
2005: Tha Carter II
2008: Tha Carter III
2010: Rebirth
2010: I Am Not a Human Being
2011: Tha Carter IV
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
Lil Wayne at MTV
Category:1982 births
Category:Living people
Category:1990s rappers
Category:2000s rappers
Category:2010s rappers
Category:21st-century American criminals
Category:African-American Catholics
Category:African American rappers
Category:American dance musicians
Category:American shooting survivors
Category:Cash Money Records artists
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Hip hop singers
Category:People convicted of drug offenses
Category:Rappers from New Orleans, Louisiana
Category:University of Houston alumni
Category:World Music Awards winners
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