Look up mil, .mil, or mil. in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Mil, mil, or MIL may refer to:

Organizations[link]

• Mapuche International Link, an organization which campaigns on behalf of the Mapuche people
• Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, a UK-based body serving professional linguists worldwide
• Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, a Soviet/Russian helicopter manufacturer named after Mikhail Mil
• Military
  • mil, the top-level Internet domain of the US Military
• Movimiento Ibérico de Liberación, a Catalan anti-Francoist group from 1971 to 1973
• Machine Intelligence Laboratory, a group at the University of Florida
• Marine Industries Limited, a Canadian shipbuilder

People[link]

• Míl Espáine, ancestor to the Irish in Irish mythology
• Mikhail Mil, a founder of the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant

Places[link]

• Mil, Azerbaijan, a municipality in Beylagan Rayon
• Milan, in Italy (IATA city code)
• Mill Hill Broadway railway station, England; National Rail station code
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Milwaukee Brewers baseball franchise in the MLB
  • Milwaukee Bucks basketball franchise in the National Basketball Association

Units of measurement[link]

• Length
  • mil, a thousandth of an inch
  • Norwegian/Swedish mil, 10 kilometres, 10 000 metres.
• Angle
  • angular mil
• Area
  • square mil
  • circular mil
• Currency
  • Hong Kong dollar
  • Maltese lira
  • Mill (currency)
  • Palestinian pound
• Metric
  • Milli, a prefix in the SI or International System of Units, meaning one thousandth based from Latin.
  • Millimetre length and Millilitre volume, erroneously spelled "mil" instead of the metric unit symbol "mm" and "ml" or correct abbreviation "milli".

Other[link]

• Million, the number
• Mother-in-law, in Internet slang
• Malfunction Indicator Lamp, in modern automobiles
• Module interconnection language, a language used for programming in the large (Software engineering)
• Media Integration Layer, the compositing engine used by Desktop Window Manager and Windows Presentation Foundation
• MIL-STD and MIL-SPEC, the United States Military Standard

See also[link]

• Per mil

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2012)

Babbu Maan (Punjabi: ਬੱਬੂ ਮਾਨ) (born Tejinder Singh Maan) is a punjabi singer- songwriter, actor, and producer. Born in the village of Khant Maanpur in the Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab, India

Early life[link]

Babbu Maan was born as ( Tejinder Singh Maan ), 29 March 1975, as the only son of Babu Singh Maan and mother Kulbir Kaur,^[2][3] in the village of Khant Maanpur of Fatehgarh Sahib district in Indian Punjab.^[1] He has two elder sisters.

Career[link]

Babbu Maan debuted in 1998 with his album Sajjan Rumal De Giya. Unhappy with the album he went back to the drawing board and re-wrote many of the songs, many of which were re-released in his following albums. Tu Meri Miss India, his second album was released in 1999. His third album Saaun Di Jhadi was released in 2001.

In 2003 Maan was selected as actor and Music Director for the movie Hawayein. It was followed by his album, Ohi Chann Ohi Rataan.

In 2006 Maan started on his first playback movie called Rabb Ne Banayien Jodeian. Mera Gham was a Hindi album.

Maan starred in a New Year's special called Aao Saare Nachiye. Part 1 was released in 2008 and Part 2 in 2009. He was involved with the film Hashar... A love Story. Maan released a religious album, Singh Better Than King. In March 25 2010, Maan came out with his new Film Ekam - Son of Soil. On 18 November 2011 Babbu Maan released his next movie Hero Hitler in Love. Hero Hitler in Love out to be a very unsuccessful movie. Shortly after Hero Hitler in Love, Babbu Maan announced the release on his next movie, Desi Romeos. The movie is set to hit theaters on Jun 15, 2012.

Discography[link]

He released many music albums and films till now. Some of his albums are^[1]: or=|date=|work=|publisher=www.itunes.apple.com|accessdate=21 Feb, 2012}}</ref>

• Saaun Di Jhadi (2001)^[4]
• Ohi Chann Ohi Raatan (2004)
• Pyass (2005)
• Mera Gham (2007)
• Aao Saare Nachiye (2008)
• Aao Saare Nachiye 2 (2009)
• Singh Better Than King
• Aao Saare Nachiye 4 (2011)

Filmography[link]

• Hawayein (2003)
• Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean (2006)^[5]
• Hashar - A Love Story (2008)^[6][7]
• Ekam - Son of Soil (2010)
• Hero Hitler in Love (2011)^[4][7]
• Desi Romeos (2012) Movie Release Date 15 June 2012 And Music Release 25 May 2012

!Year !! Title !!Role !!Notes |- |2003 ||[[Hawayein)| || khanpurya || |- |2006 ||Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean ||jelly || |- |2008 ||A Love Story || Maninder Singh || |- |2010 ||Ekam - Son of Soil ||Ekamjit singh || |- |2011 ||Hero Hitler in Love ||Hitler/Mirza || |- |2012 ||Desi Romeos ||? ||

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Babbu Maan at the Internet Movie Database

Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangcheng at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on 1 May 2012.
Born	(1971-11-12) 12 November 1971 (age 40)
Nationality	People's Republic of China
Education	Nanjing University Medical School (1998–2001)
Occupation	Civil rights activist
Known for	activism on behalf of rural poor
Home town	Dongshigu, Shandong Province, China
Spouse	Yuan Weijing
Awards	Time 100 (2006) Ramon Magsaysay Award (2007)

Chen Guangcheng (born 12 November 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. As of May 30, 2012 he is a special student at the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at the New York University School of Law.^[1] Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently described as a "barefoot lawyer" who advocates women's rights and the welfare of the poor. He is best known for exposing alleged abuses in official family-planning policy, often involving claims of violence and forced abortions.

In 2005, he became internationally known for organising a class-action lawsuit against the city of Linyi in Shandong for what was claimed to be excessive enforcement of the one-child policy. As a result of this lawsuit, Chen was placed under house arrest from September 2005 to March 2006, with a formal arrest in June 2006.^[2][3] During his trial, Chen's attorneys were forbidden access to the court, leaving him without a proper defender. On 24 August 2006, Chen was sentenced to four years and three months for "damaging property and organising a mob to disturb traffic".

Chen was released from prison on 8 September 2010 after serving his full sentence, but remained under house arrest or "soft detention" at his home in Dongshigu Village.^[4][5] Chen and his wife were reportedly beaten shortly after a human rights group released a video of their home under intense police surveillance on 9 February 2011.^[6]

Chen's case received sustained international attention, with the U.S. State Department, the British Foreign Secretary, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International issuing appeals for his release; the latter group designated him a prisoner of conscience.^[7] Chen is a 2007 laureate of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and in 2006 was named to the Time 100.^[8]

On 22 April 2012, Chen escaped his house arrest and fled to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.^[9][10] After negotiations with the Chinese government, he left the embassy for medical treatment on 2 May 2012,^[11] and it was reported on 4 May 2012 that China would consider allowing him to travel to the United States to study.^[12] The same day, New York University invited him to be a visiting scholar.^[13] On 19 May 2012, Chen, his wife, and his two children were granted U.S. visas and departed Beijing on a commercial flight, arriving the same day in New York City.^[14][15]

Early life[link]

Chen comes from the village of Dongshigu, Yinan County, Shandong Province, approximately 200 km from the city of Jinan. Chen lost his sight at an early age due to a fever. He was illiterate until 1994 when he was enrolled at the Qingdao High School for the Blind, from which he graduated in 1998. In that time, Chen had already begun developing an interest in law, and would often ask his brothers to read legal texts to him.^[16] He then studied in Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from 1998 to 2001, specializing in acupuncture and massage.^[17] After graduation he returned to his home region and found a job as a masseur in the hospital of Yinan County.^[18] At the same time, he audited law classes, and learned enough to aid his fellow villagers when they sought his assistance.^[19]

Activism[link]

Chen's first recorded instance of petitioning authorities was in 1994, when he traveled to Beijing to appeal against taxes that were being incorrectly levied on his family (disabled persons, such as Chen, are supposed to be exempt from taxation and fees; his family had been taxed, however). The appeal was successful, and Chen then began engaging in similar activities for other individuals with disabilities to avoid taxation that was not provided for under relevant laws.^[16][17] He also began mobilizing villagers to engage in collective action campaigns. In 2000, Chen organized villagers in his hometown and 78 others to petition against a paper mill that had been spewing noxious chemicals into a river, which destroyed crops and harmed wildlife.^[17] The effort was successful, and resulted in the suspension of the mill.^[16]

Chen attracted publicity in 2005 by gathering evidence of local family planning officials from Linyi in Shandong carrying out thousands of what Chen described as forced sterilizations or abortions. Chinese national regulations prohibit such measures. The officials were also accused by Chen of detaining and torturing relatives of people who had escaped from the authorities.^[2]

Chen filed a class-action lawsuit on the behalf of women who claimed to be victims of Linyi officials, and drew attention to the situation of the villagers. He also traveled to Beijing in June 2005 to file a complaint. Although the suit he filed was rejected, the incident was publicized on the Internet and by the Western media Time, which interviewed Chen.^[3] Following this publicity, the National Population and Family Planning Commission launched an investigation in August 2005. A month later, the Commission announced that several Linyi officials were detained.

Detention and trial[link]

Chen met with foreign reporters in Beijing to publicize his lawsuit and the allegations within it that Linyi officials were engaged in compulsory sterilization, and more rarely, forced abortion.^[8] Local officials responded by portraying Chen as working for "foreign anti-China forces", pointing out that he had received foreign funding for his campaign.^[2] After Chen refused negotiations with local officials to cease his activism, Linyi authorities placed him under house arrest from September 2005. He attempted to escape for contacts in Beijing in October, but was beaten and prevented from doing so.^[3]

Chen was removed from his house in March 2006 and was formally detained in June 2006 by Yinan county officials.^[3] He was scheduled to stand trial on 17 July 2006 on charges of destruction of property and assembling a crowd to disrupt traffic,^[2] but this was delayed at the request of the prosecution.^[20] According to Radio Free Asia and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, the prosecution delayed the trial because a crowd of Chen supporters gathered outside the courthouse. With only a few days' notice, authorities rescheduled Chen's trial for 18 August 2006.

On the eve of his trial, all three of his lawyers were detained by Yinan police. Two were released after being questioned and their phones confiscated. Xu Zhiyong of the Yitong Law Firm, perhaps the lawyer with the most knowledge of the forced abortion cases Chen was working on, was detained after authorities accused him of stealing a man's wallet. He was not released until the trial concluded on the 18th. None of Chen's lawyers were allowed in the courtroom for the trial. Only Chen's brothers were allowed inside. Not even Chen's wife was allowed to hear proceedings. Instead, authorities appointed their own public defender for Chen just before the trial began. As a result, the defender had not even read the case report before he walked into the courtroom. The defender did little to help his new client's case and did not raise any objection to the proceedings or to any of the evidence presented, despite Chen's protest in the court. The trial lasted two hours.^[21][22] On 24 August 2006, Chen was sentenced to four years and three months for "damaging property and organising a mob to disturb traffic".^[23] As a result of Chen's trial, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett selected his case for the cover of the British government's 2006 human rights report, stating concern over "the handling of Chen's case" and calling for the Chinese government "to prove its commitment to building rule of law".^[24][25]

On 30 November 2006, Yinan County court upheld Chen's sentence,^[26] and on 12 January 2007, the Linyi Intermediate Court in Shandong Province rejected his final appeal. The same court had overturned his original conviction in December 2006, citing lack of evidence. However, Chen was convicted in a second trial on identical charges and given an identical sentence by the Yinan court.^[27] Following the trial, Amnesty International declared him to be a prisoner of conscience, "jailed solely for his peaceful activities in defence of human rights".^[7]

House arrest[link]

After being released from prison in 2010, Chen was placed under house arrest (what he described as "illegal detention") closely monitored at his home village. He and his wife, however, have attempted to communicate via video tape and written communication. The government responded by beating against Chen and his wife, taking away from them documents and communication devices in their possession, cutting off electric power to their residence, and placing metal sheets over the windows of their house.^[28] Official harassment of Chen's family continued throughout his house arrest, including of Chen's six-year-old daughter, who was briefly banned from attending school and had her toys confiscated by guards, and of Chen's mother, who was harassed while working in the fields.^[29] Authorities reportedly told Chen that they had spent 60 million yuan ($9.5 million) to keep him under house arrest.^[30]

In 2011, The New York Times reported that a number of supporters and admirers had attempted to penetrate the security detail that monitors Chen's home to visit him, but had been turned away. In some instances, his supporters were pummeled, beaten, or robbed by security agents.^[31] Would-be visitors included journalists, European diplomats, lawyers, intellectuals, and a Hollywood actor^[31] U.S. Congressman Chris Smith attempted to visit Chen in November 2011, but was not granted permission.^[32] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the U.S. government as "alarmed" by Chen's continued detention and called on China "to embrace a different path".^[33] Human Rights Watch described his house arrest as "unlawful" and called on authorities give Chen his freedom.^[34] Later, supporters turned to online campaigns to support Chen.

In December 2011, actor Christian Bale attempted to visit Chen along with a CNN crew, but was punched, shoved, and denied access by Chinese security guards.^[35] Bale wanted to show his solidarity with one of the most prominent human rights activists and support the cause. Bale later stated that he had wanted "to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is".^[36][37] Video footage also showed Bale and the CNN crew having stones thrown at them, and a minivan then chased their car for more than 40 minutes.^[35]

Escape from house arrest[link]

On 22 April 2012, Chen escaped from house arrest where he was being held despite there being no pending charges against him.^[38][39] Fellow dissident Ai Weiwei said a friend told him that Chen waited until night, climbed over his compound walls, and slipped past "multiple cordons of guards".^[40] "You know he's blind, so the night to him is nothing," Ai's friend stated.^[40]

Chen's friend and fellow activist Hu Jia stated that Chen had been planning escape "for a long time", and had previously attempted to dig a tunnel for escape, but failed. In the weeks leading up to his escape, Chen tried to create the impression among his guards that he was ill in bed and had stopped appearing outside the house by day, allowing him multiple days to climb over the walls around his compound before his absence was discovered.^[41][42] With the help of his wife, Chen went over the wall around his house; he broke his foot when he landed on the other side.^[43]

Communicating with a network of activists via a cell phone that had been smuggled to him, he then slipped past the layers of security around his village.^[42] When he encountered the Meng River, which was too wide to cross, he took the risk of crossing a guarded bridge, but was not stopped; he later stated that he believed the guards had been asleep.^[43] Though he was familiar with his immediate surroundings from his childhood explorations, he eventually passed into less familiar territory, telling his supporters that he fell more than 200 times during his escape. Twenty hours after leaving his home, he reached a pre-determined pickup point where He Peirong, an English teacher and activist, was waiting.^[42][44] A chain of human rights activists then smuggled him into Beijing.^[42] Several of the activists reported to be involved were detained or disappeared in the days following the announcement of Chen's escape.^[10] On 25 April, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton approved a request to smuggle Chen into the US Embassy.^[45]

On 27 April, Chen Guangcheng's supporters announced the escape and that Chen was safe in Beijing at an undisclosed location.^[46] Hu stated that Chen was given refuge at the U.S. Embassy, which the Embassy refused to confirm or deny.^[41] According to supporters, Chen was not attempting to leave China, but was hoping to negotiate with authorities "to live like a normal Chinese citizen".^[47] The New York Times described the reports that the U.S. Embassy was sheltering Chen as a "diplomatic quandary" at a time when the U.S. was seeking to improve relations with China and seeks its support with respect to crises in Iran, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea.^[38] Likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called on Barack Obama's administration to "do everything it can" to protect Chen from returning to custody.^[48] Kurt M. Campbell, an assistant secretary of state, arrived in Beijing on 29 April. An atmosphere of secrecy continued with the location of Chen remaining unknown.^[49]

Also on 27 April, Chen posted a video to YouTube, in which he expressed his concern that the authorities would carry out "insane retribution" on his family^[50] and made three demands of Premier Wen Jiabao: 1) that local officials who allegedly assaulted his family be prosecuted; 2) that his family's safety be guaranteed; and 3) that the Chinese government prosecute corruption cases under the law. Chen's brother, Chen Guangfu, and nephew, Chen Kegui, were reportedly both arrested in Dongshigu on suspicions of aiding his escape.^[46] Amnesty International called on China to guarantee the safety of Chen, his family, and his friends, stating, "It is time for this shameful saga to end."^[51]

BBC News described Chen's escape as "an unwelcome time for China's leaders" to face further embarrassment following the incident that resulted in removal of politburo member Bo Xilai amidst a corruption scandal.^[46] Within twenty-four hours, Chen's name as well as the phrases "CGC" and "the blind man" had been blocked by Chinese online censors in an effort to quell Internet discussion of the case.^[52] On the day Chen announced his escape, Chinese state media did not carry "a single line of news" referring to it.^[53] The New York Times wrote that news of the escape "electrified China’s rights activists".^[42]

Negotiations and exit from U.S. embassy[link]

Chen (left) with Gary Locke (center) and Kurt M. Campbell (right) at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on 1 May 2012

Negotiations between U.S. State Department officials and their counterparts from the Chinese foreign ministry began on 26 April 2012. On 2 May, Chen called Washington Post reporter Keith B. Richburg in a call arranged by U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke. Chen reported that he was safe and was headed to a local hospital with Locke. Chen himself asked to call the reporter. He also placed calls to Clinton and his lawyer.^[54]

According to U.S. State Department officials, Chen had been sheltered by the U.S. embassy on humanitarian grounds where, with the assistance of American diplomats, he successfully negotiated with the Chinese government. On 2 May, he left the embassy, was reunited with his family, and admitted to Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital for medical treatment. According to embassy representatives, the agreement provided that Chen would be freed from soft detention, relocated, and be permitted to finish his legal education at one of several law schools. An embassy representative described the Chinese negotiator as working toward a resolution "intensely and with humanity". It was not immediately clear how Chen's protection would be provided or enforced,^[11] though Chinese officials did reportedly promise to investigate "extra-legal activities" of Shandong province authorities taken against Chen and his family.^[55] According to U.S. officials, Chen never asked for asylum or considered leaving China. His demand was to live as a free man in China.^[11] US officials said under the arrangement agreed to by the United States, China and Chen, he would be relocated to Tianjin where he would be allowed to enroll at a university to pursue his law studies. "He will have several university options," one of the officials said.^[56]

Some initial reports disputed the official U.S. account of the negotiations. After Chen's departure from the U.S. embassy, Zeng Jinyan, a Chinese human rights activist and friend of Chen, cited a phone conversation she had with Chen when she issued several statements on Twitter (confirmed as authentic by The Los Angeles Times) claiming that Chen was coerced into staying in China by threats made to his family by Chinese officials, which were allegedly relayed to Chen by U.S. embassy officials.^[57] These statements contradicted aspects of the account delivered shortly after Chen's departure by U.S. State Department officials, who did not mention such threats, instead reiterating that Chen had repeatedly expressed the desire to stay in China and had made the decision to leave the embassy "of his own freewill."^[58] In a phone call Chen made to the Associated Press on the night of 2 May from his hospital in Beijing, he alleged that U.S. officials had relayed a message to him that Chinese officials had threatened to beat his wife to death if he did not leave the U.S. embassy. He also stated that he now wished to leave China with his family out of fear for their safety.^[59][60][56]

In response to these reports, U.S. negotiators stated that they told Chen while he was in the embassy that Chinese officials had said that if he left China to seek asylum in the United States, his wife and daughter would probably be kept under house arrest in Shandong. However, they maintained that they had not heard of the threats from local officials that his family would be beaten, and that they had not communicated such a message to Chen. Jerome Cohen, an American law professor and friend of Chen Guangcheng who assisted in the negotiations regarding Chen's fate, suggested that Chen probably heard of these threats after leaving the embassy, arriving at the hospital, and speaking with his wife, which "might have made him regret the decision" to leave the embassy.^[61] On 3 May, Chen clarified to the BBC that he had become aware of the threats against his family after leaving the U.S. Embassy, and at that point changed his mind about wishing to stay in the country.^[62]

On 2 May, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Liu Weimin, stated that China demands that the US apologizes for the Chen incident, investigates its acts and never interferes in China's domestic matters in such way again.^[63] In an editorial on 4 May, Beijing Daily described Chen as "a tool and a pawn for American politicians to blacken China".^[64] The daily also accused US Ambassador Gary Locke of stirring up trouble by taking in Chen, and questioned Locke's motives.^[65]

After Chen expressed his desire to leave China, on 4 May Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin indicated that, if Chen wished to study abroad, "he can apply through normal channels to the relevant departments in accordance with the law, just like any other Chinese citizen."^[66] On the same day, he was offered a visiting scholar position at New York University.^[67] On 19 May, Chen, his wife, and his two children had been granted U.S. visas and departed Beijing on a commercial flight for Newark, New Jersey.^[68][69] As of 20 May, 2012, Chen resides at a housing complex in Greenwich Village, Manhattan in New York City with his family. The complex houses faculty and students of New York University.^[70]

International notice[link]

In 2007, Chen Guangcheng was named one of the Time 100, Time's annual list of "100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming our world". The citation stated, "He may have lost his sight as a child, but Chen Guangcheng's legal vision has helped illuminate the plight of thousands of Chinese villagers."^[8]

Later that year, Chen won the Ramon Magsaysay Award while still in detention.^[71] The award, often called the "Asian Nobel Prize", was bestowed for "his irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law".^[72] On 24 August 2007, AIDS activist Hu Jia reported that the passport of Chen's wife Yuan Weijing had been revoked and her mobile phone confiscated by Chinese authorities at Beijing Capital International Airport on her way to attend the Magsaysay Award ceremony on her husband's behalf.^[73]

According to The New York Times, shortly before leaving China on 19 May 2012, Chen Guangcheng made remarks expressing concern that his relatives and other activists who had helped him evade capture by security agents in Beijing would be punished by Chinese officials after his departure; and on 24 May 2012, it was reported that his brother, Chen Guangfu, had escaped to Beijing from his guarded village to advocate on behalf of his son, who had been in police custody since he attacked a group of plainclothes officers who had broken into the family home in their search for Chen Guangcheng, as stated by Chen Guangfu's lawyer, Ding Xikui.^[74]

See also[link]

	People's Republic of China portal
	Biography portal

• Fang Lizhi
• Weiquan movement

References[link]

External links[link]

• Media related to Chen Guangcheng at Wikimedia Commons
• Chen Guangcheng collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Chen Guangcheng collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• "How China Flouts Its Laws" opinion by Chen Guangcheng in The New York Times May 29, 2012

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Born	(1982-09-27) September 27, 1982 (age 29)
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Cash Money, Young Money,Universal Republic
Associated acts	Birdman, Drake, Cash Money Millionaires, Hot Boys, Young Money, The B.G.'z, Nicki Minaj, Juelz Santana[1]
Website	lilwayne-online.com

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 Young 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 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included the number-one single "Lollipop" featuring Static Major. It also includes the singles "A Milli" and "Got Money" featuring T-Pain 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 prison 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. His ninth studio album and first since being released from prison, Tha Carter IV, was released on August 29, 2011.^[2] The album includes the songs "6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz, "How to Love" and "She Will" featuring Drake. It sold 964,000 copies in the U.S. its first week out.

Early life[link]

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.^[3] 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.^[4]

He wrote his first rap song at age eight.^[5] 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".^[6] When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of The Wiz.^[7] At age 13, he accidentally shot himself with a 9 mm handgun, and off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler drove him to the hospital.^[8] At McMain Magnet School, Carter was an honor student, but he dropped out at the age of 14 to focus on a musical career.^[9]

Career[link]

1997–99: Hot Boys[link]

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,^[3] which reached No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.^[10] During their career, the Hot Boys had two charting singles, "We on Fire" from Get It How U Live! and "I Need a Hot Girl" from Guerrilla Warfare.^[11] 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.^[12] Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded.^[13] It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.^[10]

Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified platinum, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard album charts.^[3] The album earned him a 1999 Source magazine award nomination for "Best New Artist",^[14] and also became a Top Ten hit.^[3] The lead single was "Tha Block Is Hot". After the release of Tha Block is Hot, Carter was featured on the single, "Bling Bling", with B.G., Juvenile, and Big Tymers. His verse was featured on the radio edition, and on the album version, only his hook was featured on the single.

[edit] 2000-03: Lights Out and 500 Degreez

His 2000 follow-up album Lights Out failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut^[3] but was certified gold by RIAA.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.

Lil Wayne's third album 500 Degreez, released in 2002, followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys and Mannie Fresh. While certified Gold like its predecessor,^[15] it too failed to match the success of his debut.^[3] The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's recording, 400 Degreez.^[17] 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.^[18]

[edit] 2003-05: Tha Carter and Tha Carter II

In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes.^[19] In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks.^[3] Tha Carter gained Wayne 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-Hop chart.^[20] 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.^[21]

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.^[22] 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.^[23]

Lil Wayne performing at the Beacon Theatre on July 23, 2007

[edit] 2006-08: Like Father, Like Son, Mixtapes and collaborations

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.^[3] Of his many mixtapes, Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3 received 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 president George W. Bush's response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans. Da Drought 3 was released the following year and was available for free legal download. It contained Lil Wayne rapping over a variety of beats from recent hits by other musicians. Numerous of features in prominent hip-hop magazines such as XXL^[24] and Vibe^[9] covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine considered the mixtapes Da Drought 3 and The Drought Is Over 2 "among the best albums of 2007."^[4]

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,^[25] was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.^[26]

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.^[9] At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as "Hottest MC in the Game",^[27] The New Yorker magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year",^[6] and GQ magazine named him "Workaholic of the Year".^[28] In 2008 he was named "Best MC" by Rolling Stone.^[4] Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape work, cites his creative practice as an example of post performance creative practice.^[29]

[edit] 2008-10: Tha Carter III, We Are Young Money and Rebirth

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,^[30] 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.^[31] 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.^[32] The first single "Lollipop", featuring Static Major 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 Tha Carter III, "Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 100. Tha Carter III also won four Grammy Awards, including best rap album and best rap song, which he won for "Lollipop".^[33] 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.^[34] 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".^[35]

Lil Wayne performing at General Motors Place 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.^[36] 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.^[37] 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".^[38] 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".^[39] He later performed at the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University^[40] and the 2008 BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations.^[41] He won the "MVP" title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others.^[42] 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.^[43] 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.^[44] Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys – the most for any artist nominated that year.^[45] Wayne was then named the first ever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008.^[46] 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.^[33] MTV News listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs In The Game.^[47]

On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl".^[48] 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.^[49] 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.^[50] 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.^[51] 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.^[52] "Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27, 2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream^[53] of his concert in San Diego.^[54] "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.^[55] "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.^[55]

[edit] 2010: I Am Not a Human Being

Lil Wayne was thought to be releasing an EP entitled I Am Not a Human Being, but it was confirmed that would be a full length LP. The album was released on September 27, 2010 which was his birthday. The album has sold over 953,000 copies in the U.S.^[56] and has spawned a successful single in "Right Above It" which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

[edit] 2011-present: Tha Carter IV

Lil Wayne in 2011

In an interview on MTV's Mixtape Monday, Wayne asserted the possibility of the album Tha Carter IV.^[57] Following Tha Carter III's achievement of selling over 3 million copies, becoming 2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal.^[58] Wayne said Tha Carter IV will be released in 2009 just before the holidays.^[59] Birdman had previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with Rebirth as a double disc album.^[60] 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.^[61][62] 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 prison.^[63] He recorded his first track since being released from prison 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.^[64] 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.^[65] On March 8, 2011, Lil Wayne released another song called "We Back Soon." The song is produced by StreetRunner; It is more relaxed than "6 Foot 7 Foot" is, but will not be a track on Tha Carter IV.^[66] He also released a second single to Tha Carter IV called "John" on March 24, 2011, which features Rick Ross and is produced by Polow Da Don.^[67] On April 20, 2011, the official cover of Tha Carter IV was released. Tha Carter IV was scheduled to be released on May 16, 2011,^[68] but Mack Maine had confirmed that the forthcoming ninth studio album will be released in June 21, 2011 instead of May 16, 2011, because they need more time to make the album perfect and they'll have a "monster" single coming soon that will possibly be titled "Blows My Brains" or "She's Always In My Head".^{[citation needed]} On May 26, the 3rd single, "How to Love" was released. Tha Carter IV was eventually pushed back to August 29, 2011. A song called "Dear Anne (Stan Part 2)" was released in June, when the snippet was released back in April. Lil Wayne said the song was throw away track for Tha Carter III. He said it was originally suppose to be on Tha Carter IV when it leaked, but decided not to put it one there. He said he's not a fan of the song since it was so old. Lil Wayne said that he that liked the beat, but not the lyrics, and was thinking about redoing "Dear Anne."

For preparation for Tha Carter IV, Lil Wayne released a mixtape titled, Sorry 4 the Wait. He named the mixtape so as an apology to his fans for the delay of the album. It consists of 13 with all the beats on the mixtape coming from other artists song, like his "No Ceilings" mixtape.

In July 2011, Lil Wayne confirmed in an interview with MTV that Tha Carter IV is finished.

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 964,000 copies sold in its first week, making it Lil Wayne's third chart topping album of his career. On January 8, 2012, According to Nielsen SoundScan was elected the seventh artist (second male artist) all-time best-selling tracks digital with 36,788,000 million to the end of 2011.^[69]

Future projects[link]

Lil Wayne has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaboration album entitled I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz Santana that has been in production for several years. And also working on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' album Still Cool in late 2011.^[70][71] He has discussed a possible R&B album titled Luv Sawngz, for which he will heavily rely on a vocoder.^[72] He has also talked with singer Lloyd about doing a collaboration album in the future.^[73] On June 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and T-Pain formed a duo called T-Wayne^[74] and planned to release an album.^[75] According to an interview with Drake in the December 2011 issue of XXL, plans for an upcoming album with Lil Wayne have been scrapped for the time being because of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration Watch the Throne.^[76] Lil Wayne and Baby will release a second Like Father, Like Son.^[77][78] It was announced by Mack Maine that Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana have gone back to working on their collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face which had been delayed for a few years due to "label politics".^[79]

In October 2011 it was reported that Lil Wayne is working on sequels to I Am Not a Human Being and Rebirth.^[80] A couple months later, Birdman announced that I Am Not A Human Being 2 will be released before the summer of 2012 and that him and Lil Wayne have finished recording Like Father, Like Son 2.^[81]

On March 29, 2011, in an interview with Hot 97's Angie Martinez, Lil Wayne announced that he would retire at age 35; saying "I have four kids," and that "I would feel selfish still going to the studio when it's such a vital point in their lives."^[82]

Television and film career[link]

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.^[83] 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.^[84] Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with Katie Couric.^[85] On February 7, 2009, he presented the Top Ten List on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman.^[86] He then appeared on the April 24, 2009 episode of The View, talking about his GED and addictions.^[87] In September 2009, Wayne was profiled in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music^[88] and was a presenter of the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.^[89]

In film, Wayne produced and composed music for and starred in the direct-to-video film Hurricane Season. A documentary of Lil Wayne titled The Carter was released at the Sundance Film Festival.^[90]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15,^[5] to his high school sweetheart Antonia "Toya" Carter (née Johnson). Wayne and Johnson married on Valentine's Day of 2004 and divorced in 2006.^[91] 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."^[92] His second child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati.^[93] His third child, Cameron Carter, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009.^[94] He had his fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.^[95]

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".^[85]

Higher education[link]

After earning his GED, Wayne enrolled at the University of Houston in January 2005. He dropped out in the same year due to his conflicting schedule.^[96] He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses.^[87] An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.^[97]

Sports and musical interests[link]

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.^[98]

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. To commemorate the Packers' making it to Super Bowl XLV, he spoofed Wiz Khalifa's hit song "Black and Yellow" (which were the colors of the Packers' opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers) in a song titled "Green and Yellow".^[99] Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party.^[100]