Look up above in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Above may refer to:

• Above (artist), Contemporary urban artist
• Above Church, a village in Staffordshire, England

In music:

• Above (Mad Season album), a 1995 album by Mad Season
• Above (Pillar album), a 2000 album by Pillar
• Above (Samael album), a 2009 album by Samael

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.

Zoë Johnston is a British singer-songwriter (1976– ), who grew up in Nottinghamshire.^[1] Johnston is best known for her vocal contributions to Faithless, Above & Beyond, Bent, and Delerium.

Biography[link]

Early career[link]

Zoë Johnston made her debut in 1999 when she was featured on a number of tracks from Neon Heights' house album A View from the Heights.^[2][3] At the same time, Johnston was writing for Bent's debut album Programmed to Love. She wrote the song "Private Road" on which she performs guitar and vocals and co-wrote the song "Swollen", which the British actor Michael Caine later proclaimed to be "one of the most romantic songs in chill music I've ever heard".^[4] He included the track on a self-made chill-out compilation CD entitled Cained and chose it for the BBC Radio 4 programme "Desert Island Discs" which aired on 20 December 2009.^[5] Almost without exception Johnston has written all of her own lyrics and vocal parts even when collaborating with other acts. She has a 1st Class BA Hons degree in Journalism and Film. She is also a photo-realist painter.^[6]

Touring with Faithless[link]

Her vocal contribution to "Swollen" caught the attention of Faithless member Rollo Armstrong who initially believed her voice had been sampled from a recording in the 1940s. This led to Johnston singing on the Faithless album Outrospective, released by BMG in 2001.^[7] She performed for eighteen months with the group throughout their world tour to promote the album.

With other artists[link]

Johnston has written and performed with Paul Heaton of The Beautiful South. She sang 'Poems' with him on his first solo venture as 'Biscuit Boy' (2002) and later again as his partner on 'Little Red Rooster' in 2008. Similarly Johnston has written and recorded all vocal parts for Sleepthief, Delerium, and Above & Beyond on their singles "Good For Me", "No One On Earth", "You Got To Go", and "Love Is Not Enough" on the record label Anjunabeats. She has been part of Above & Beyond's album Group Therapy, released in June 2011.^[8]

Solo album[link]

Zoë Johnston has released a solo album Happenstances (2006). The album includes an original version of one of Johnston's best known tracks — "Crazy English Summer", from Faithless album Outrospective. The album is currently available on iTunes.

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Zoë Johnston Official Website". Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080617131216/http://www.zoejohnston.org/. 
• Zoë Johnston on MySpace
• Shiva Records
• Dr. Octagon (6 January 2007). "Zoë Johnston interview on Auralgasms.com". Auralgasms.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080316111642/http://www.auralgasms.com/features/zoejohnston/. 
• Zoë Johnston discography at Discogs

The Right Honourable Richard Bedford Bennett PC KC
11th Prime Minister of Canada
In office August 7, 1930 – October 23, 1935
Monarch	George V
Preceded by	W. L. Mackenzie King
Succeeded by	W. L. Mackenzie King
Personal details
Born	(1870-07-03)July 3, 1870 Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick
Died	June 26, 1947(1947-06-26) (aged 76) Mickleham, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Single; Never married
Alma mater	Dalhousie University
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Methodist, then United Church of Canada
Signature

Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, PC, KC (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He served as the 11th Prime Minister of Canada from August 7, 1930, to October 23, 1935, during the worst of the Great Depression years. Following his defeat as prime minister, Bennett moved to England, and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bennett.

Early life[link]

R. B. Bennett was born on July 3, 1870, when his mother, Henrietta Stiles, was visiting at her parents' home in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Canada. He grew up nearby at the home of his father, Henry John Bennett, at Hopewell Cape, the shire town of Albert County, then a town of 1,800 people.

His father was descended from English ancestors who had emigrated to Connecticut in the 17th century. ^[1] His great, great grandfather Bennett migrated from Connecticut to Nova Scotia c. 1765, before the American Revolution, taking the lands forcibly removed from the deported Acadians during the Great Upheaval.

R. B. Bennett's family was poor, subsisting mainly on the produce of a small farm. His early days inculcated a lifelong habit of thrift. The driving force in his family was his mother. She was a Wesleyan Methodist and passed this faith and the Protestant ethic on to her son. His principle ever after was: work as hard as you can, earn all you can, save all you can, and then give all you can. Bennett's father does not appear to have been a good provider for his family, though the reason is unclear. He operated a general store for a while and tried to develop some gypsum deposits.

The Bennetts had previously been a relatively prosperous family, operating a shipyard in Hopewell Cape, but the change to steam-powered vessels in the mid-19th century meant the gradual winding down of their business. However, the household was a literate one, subscribing to three newspapers.They were strong Conservatives; indeed one of the largest and last ships launched by the Bennett shipyard (in 1869) was the Sir John A. Macdonald.

Educated in the local school, Bennett was a good student, but something of a loner. In addition to his Protestant faith, Bennett grew up with an abiding love of the British Empire, then at its apogee.

Some important friendships[link]

One day, while Bennett was crossing the Miramichi River on the ferry boat, a well-dressed lad about nine years younger came over to him and struck up a conversation. This was the beginning of an improbable but important friendship with Max Aitken, later the industrialist and British press baron, Lord Beaverbrook. The agnostic Aitken liked to tease the Methodist Bennett, whose fiery temper contrasted with Aitken's ability to turn away wrath with a joke. This friendship would become important to his success later in life, as would his friendship with the Chatham lawyer, Lemuel J. Tweedie, a prominent Conservative politician. He began to study law with Tweedie on weekends and during summer holidays. Another important friendship was with the prominent Shirreff family of Chatham, the father being High Sheriff of Northumberland County for 25 years. The son, Harry, joined the E.B. Eddy Company, a large pulp and paper industrial concern, and was transferred to Halifax. His sister moved there to study nursing, and soon Bennett joined them to study law at Dalhousie University. Their friendship was renewed there, and became crucial to his later life when Jennie Shirreff married the head of the Eddy Company. She later made Bennett the lawyer for her extensive interests.

University, early legal career[link]

Bennett started at Dalhousie University in 1890, graduating in 1893 with a law degree. He worked his way through with a job as assistant in the library, being recommended by Dr. R. C. Weldon.

He was then a partner in the Chatham law firm of Tweedie and Bennett. Max Aitken (later known as Lord Beaverbrook) was his office boy, while articling as a lawyer, acting as a stringer for the Montreal Gazette, and selling life insurance. Aitken persuaded him to run for alderman in the first Town Council of Chatham, and managed his campaign. Bennett was elected by one vote, and was later furious with Aitken when he heard all the promises he had made on Bennett's behalf.

Move to Alberta[link]

Despite his election to the Chatham town council, Bennett's days in the town were numbered. He was ambitious and saw that the small community was too narrow a field for him. He was already negotiating with Sir James Lougheed to move to Calgary and become his law partner. Lougheed was Calgary's richest man and most successful lawyer.

Bennett moved to Alberta in 1897. A lifelong bachelor and teetotaler (although Bennett was known by select associates to occasionally drink alcohol when the press was not around to observe this^[2]), he led a rather lonely life in a hotel and later, in a boarding house. For a while a younger brother roomed with him. He ate his noon meal on workdays at the Alberta Hotel. Social life, such as it was, centered on church. There was, however, no scandal attached to his personal life. Bennett worked hard and gradually built up his legal practice. In 1908 he was one of five people appointed to the first Library Board for the city of Calgary and was instrumental in establishing the Calgary Public Library.^[3]

In 1910, Bennett became a director of Calgary Power Ltd. (now formally TransAlta Corporation) and just a year later he became President. During his leadership projects completed included the first storage reservoir at Lake Minnewanka, a second transmission line to Calgary and the construction of the Kananaskis Falls hydro station.

Early political career[link]

• 
• 
• 
• 
• Pat Burns and R.B. Bennett.jpg

  Patrick Burns and R. B. Bennett at the Calgary Stampede in 1928

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 1898 general election, representing the riding of West Calgary. He was re-elected to a second term in office in 1902 as an Independent from the parties in the Northwest Territories legislature.

In 1905, when Alberta was carved out of the territories and made a province, Bennett became the first leader of the Alberta Conservative Party. In 1909, he won a seat in the provincial legislature, before switching to federal politics.

Elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1911, Bennett returned to the provincial scene to again lead the Alberta Tories in the 1913 provincial election, but kept his federal seat in Ottawa when his Tories failed to take power in the province; such practice was later forbidden.

At age 44, he tried to enlist in the Canadian military once World War I broke out, but was turned down as being medically unfit. In 1916, Bennett was appointed director general of the National Service Board, which was in charge of identifying the number of potential recruits in the country.

While Bennett supported the Conservatives, he opposed Prime Minister Robert Borden's proposal for a Union Government that would include both Conservatives and Liberals, fearing that this would ultimately hurt the Conservative Party. While he campaigned for Conservative candidates in the 1917 federal election he did not stand for re-election himself.

Cabinet minister, Conservative party leader[link]

Nevertheless, Borden's successor, Arthur Meighen appointed Bennett Minister of Justice in his government, as it headed into the 1921 federal election in which both the government and Bennett were defeated. Bennett won the seat of Calgary West in the 1925 federal election and was returned to government as Minister of Finance in Meighen's short-lived government in 1926. The government was defeated in the 1926 federal election. Meighen stepped down as Tory leader, and Bennett became the party's leader in 1927 at the first Conservative leadership convention.

As Opposition leader, Bennett faced off against the more experienced Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in Commons debates, and took some time to acquire enough experience to hold his own with King. In 1930, King blundered badly when he made overly partisan statements in response to criticism over his handling of the economic downturn, which was hitting Canada very hard. King's worst error was in stating that he "would not give Tory provincial governments a five-cent piece!" This serious mistake, which drew wide press coverage, gave Bennett his needed opening to attack King, which he did successfully in the election campaign which followed.^[4]

Prime minister[link]

Confronting the Depression[link]

By defeating William Lyon Mackenzie King in the 1930 federal election, he had the misfortune of taking office during the Great Depression. Bennett tried to combat the depression by increasing trade within the British Empire and imposing tariffs for imports from outside the Empire, promising that his measures would blast Canadian exports into world markets. His success was limited however, and his own wealth (often openly displayed) and impersonal style alienated many struggling Canadians.

When his Imperial Preference policy failed to generate the desired result, Bennett's government had no real contingency plan. The party's pro-business and pro-banking inclinations provided little relief to the millions of increasingly desperate and agitated unemployed. Despite the economic crisis, Laissez-faire persisted as the guiding economic principle of Conservative Party ideology. Government relief to the unemployed was considered a disincentive to individual initiative, and was therefore only granted in the most minimal amounts and attached to work programs. An additional concern of the federal government was that large numbers of disaffected unemployed men concentrating in urban centres created a volatile situation. As an "alternative to bloodshed on the streets," the stop-gap solution for unemployment chosen by the Bennett government was to establish military-run and -styled relief camps in remote areas throughout the country, where single unemployed men toiled for twenty cents a day.^[5] Any relief beyond this was left to provincial and municipal governments, many of which were either insolvent or on the brink of bankruptcy, and which railed against the inaction of other levels of government. Partisan differences began to sharpen on the question of government intervention in the economy, since lower levels of government were largely in Liberal hands, and protest movements were beginning to send their own parties into the political mainstream, notably the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and William Aberhart's Social Credit Party in Alberta.

Hosts, dominates 1932 Imperial Conference[link]

1934 telegram by Bennett

Bennett hosted the 1932 Imperial Economic Conference in Ottawa; this was the first time Canada had hosted the meetings. It was attended by the leaders of the independent dominions of the British Empire (which later became the Commonwealth of Nations). Bennett dominated the meetings, which were ultimately unproductive, due to the inability of leaders to agree on policies, mainly to combat the economic woes dominating the world at the time.^[6]

Anti-Communism[link]

A nickname that would stick with Bennett for the remainder of his political career, "Iron Heel Bennett," came from a 1932 speech he gave in Toronto that ironically, if unintentionally, alluded to Jack London's socialist novel:

What do they offer you in exchange for the present order? Socialism, Communism, dictatorship. They are sowing the seeds of unrest everywhere. Right in this city such propaganda is being carried on and in the little out of the way places as well. And we know that throughout Canada this propaganda is being put forward by organizations from foreign lands that seek to destroy our institutions. And we ask that every man and woman put the iron heel of ruthlessness against a thing of that kind.^[7]

Reacting to fears of Communist subversion, Bennett invoked the controversial Section 98 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Enacted in the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike, Section 98 dispensed with the presumption of innocence in outlawing potential threats to the state: specifically, anyone belonging to an organization that officially advocated the violent overthrow of the government. Even if the accused had never committed an act of violence or personally supported such an action, they could be incarcerated merely for attending meetings of such an organization, publicly speaking in its defense, or distributing its literature.^[8] Despite the broad power authorized under Section 98, it targeted specifically the Communist Party of Canada. Eight of the top party leaders, including Tim Buck, were arrested and convicted under Section 98 in 1931. This plan to stamp out communism backfired, however, and proved to be a damaging embarrassment for the government, especially after Buck was the target of an apparent assassination attempt. While confined to his cell during a prison riot, despite not participating in the riot, shots were fired into his cell. When an agit-prop play depicting these events, Eight Men Speak, was suppressed by the Toronto police, a protest meeting was held where activist A.E. Smith repeated the play's allegations, and he was consequently arrested for sedition. This created a storm of public protest, compounded when Buck was called as a witness to the trial and repeated the allegations in open court. Although the remarks were stricken from the record, they still discredited the prosecution's case and Smith was acquitted. As a result, the government's case against Buck lost any credibility, and Buck and his comrades were released early and fêted as heroic champions of civil liberties.

A 2001 book by Quebec nationalist writer Normand Lester, Le Livre noir du Canada anglais (later translated as The Black Book of English Canada) accused Bennett of having a political affiliation with, and of having provided financial support to, fascist Quebec writer Adrien Arcand. This is based on a series of letters sent to Bennett following his election as Prime Minister by Arcand, his colleague Ménard and two Conservative caucus members asking for financial support for Arcand's antsemitic newspaper Le Goglu.^[9] The book also claims that in a 1936 letter to Bennett, A. W. Reid, a Conservative organizer, estimated that Conservative Party members gave Arcand a total of $27,000 (the modern equivalent $359,284).

Relief camp protest[link]

Having survived Section 98, and benefiting from the public sympathy wrought by persecution, Communist Party members set out to organize workers in the relief camps. Camp workers laboured on a variety of infrastructure projects, including such things as municipal airports, roads, and park facilities, along with a number of make-work schemes. Conditions in the camps were abhorrent, not only because of the low pay, but the lack of recreational facilities, isolation from family and friends, poor quality food, and the use of military discipline, which made the camps feel like penal colonies. Communists thus had ample grounds on which to organize camp inmates. The Relief Camp Workers' Union was formed and affiliated with the Workers' Unity League, the trade union umbrella of the Communist Party. Camp workers in BC struck on April 4, 1935, and, after two months of protesting in Vancouver, began the On-to-Ottawa Trek to bring their grievances to Bennett's doorstep. The Prime Minister and his Minister of Justice, Hugh Guthrie, treated the trek as an attempted insurrection, and ordered it to be stopped. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) halted the Trek in Regina on July 1, 1935, by attacking a crowd of 3,000 strikers and their supporters, resulting in two deaths and dozens of injured. All told, Bennett's anti-Communist policy would not bode well for his political career.

Bennett's New Deal[link]

Meeting with American President Roosevelt

Following the lead of President Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States, Bennett, under the advice of William Duncan Herridge, who was both Canada's ambassador to the United States and Bennett's brother-in-law, the government eventually began to follow the Americans' lead. In a series of five speeches to the nation in January 1935, Bennett introduced a Canadian version of the "New Deal," involving unprecedented public spending and federal intervention in the economy. Progressive income taxation, a minimum wage, a maximum number of working hours per week, unemployment insurance, health insurance, an expanded pension programme, and grants to farmers were all included in the plan.^[10]

In one of his addresses to the nation, Bennett said:

"In the last five years great changes have taken place in the world... The old order is gone. We are living in conditions that are new and strange to us. Canada on the dole is like a young and vigorous man in the poorhouse ... If you believe that things should be left as they are, you and I hold contrary and irreconcilable views. I am for reform. And in my mind, reform means government intervention. It means government control and regulation. It means the end of laissez-faire."^[11]

Bennett's conversion, however, was seen as too little too late, and he faced criticism that his reforms either went too far, or did not go far enough,^[11] including from one of his cabinet ministers H.H. Stevens, who bolted the government to form the Reconstruction Party of Canada. Some of the measures were alleged to have encroached on provincial jurisdictions laid out in Section 92 of the British North America Act. The courts, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, agreed and eventually struck down virtually all of Bennett's reforms.^[10][12] However, some of Bennett's initiatives, such as the Bank of Canada, which he founded in 1934, remain in place to this day, and the Canadian Wheat Board, remained in place until the Conservative Government of 2011 broke up the board in a time of economic hardships.

Defeat[link]

Although there was no unity among the motley political groups that constituted Bennett's opposition, a consensus emerged that his handling of the economic crisis was insufficient and inappropriate, even from Conservative quarters. Bennett personally became a symbol of the political failings underscoring the depression. Car owners, for example, who could no longer afford gasoline, had horses pull their vehicles, named them Bennett Buggies. Unity in his own administration suffered, notably by the defection of his Minister of Trade, Henry Herbert Stevens. Stevens left the Conservatives and formed the Reconstruction Party of Canada, after Bennett refused to implement Stevens' plan for drastic economic reform to deal with the economic crisis.

The beneficiary of the overwhelming opposition during Bennett's tenure was the Liberal Party. The Tories were decimated in the October 1935 general election, winning only 40 seats to 173 for Mackenzie King's Liberals. The Tories would not form a majority government again in Canada until 1958. King's government soon implemented its own moderate reforms, including the replacement of relief camps with a scaled down provincial relief project scheme, and the repeal of Section 98. King had earlier outlined his plans with his 1918 book Industry and Economy. Many of King's other reforms continue today, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the nationalized Bank of Canada, versions of minimum wage, maximum hours of work, pension, and unemployment insurance legislation. But ultimately, Canada mostly pulled out of the depression not as a result of government programs, but because of jobs created by the industrialization and onset of the Second World War.^[6]

Coat of arms[link]

Bennett's Coat of Arms was designed by Alan Beddoe "Argent within two bendlets Gules three maple leaves proper all between two demi-lions rampant couped gules. Crest, a demi-lion Gules grapsing in the dexter paw a battle axe in bend sinister Or and resting the sinister paw on an escallop also Gules. Supporters, Dexter a buffalo, sinister a moose, both proper. Motto, To be Pressed not Oppressed." ^[13]

Legacy[link]

While Bennett was, and is still, often criticized for lack of compassion for the impoverished masses, he stayed up through many nights reading and responding to personal letters from ordinary citizens asking for his help, and often dipped into his personal fortune to send a five-dollar bill to a starving family. The total amount he gave personally is uncertain, although he personally estimated that between the years of 1927-37 he spent well over 2.3 million dollars.^[14] Bennett was a controlling owner of the E.B. Eddy match company, which was the largest safety match manufacturer in Canada, and he was one of the richest Canadians at that time. Bennett helped put many poor, struggling young men through university.^[6] Relative to the times he lived in, he was likely the wealthiest Canadian to become prime minister.

Bennett worked an exhausting schedule throughout his years as prime minister, often more than 14 hours per day, and dominated his government, usually holding several cabinet posts. He lived in a suite in the Chateau Laurier hotel, a short walk from Parliament Hill. The respected author Bruce Hutchison wrote that had the economic times been more normal, Bennett would likely have been regarded as a good, perhaps great, Canadian prime minister.^[6]

Bennett was also a noted talent spotter. He took note of and encouraged the young Lester Pearson in the early 1930s, and appointed Pearson to significant roles on two major government inquiries: the 1931 Royal Commission on Grain Futures, and the 1934 Royal Commission on Price Spreads. Bennett saw that Pearson was recognized with an O.B.E. after he shone in that work, arranged a bonus of $1,800, and invited him to a London conference.^[15] Former Prime Minister John Turner, who as a child knew Bennett while he was prime minister, praised Bennett's promotion of Turner's economist mother to the highest civil service post held by a Canadian woman to that time.^[16]

Retirement and death[link]

Bennett retired to Britain in 1938, and, on June 12, 1941, became the first and only former Canadian Prime Minister to be elevated to the peerage as Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada.^[17][18]

He died after suffering a heart attack while taking a bath on June 26, 1947, at Mickleham. He was exactly one week shy of his 77th birthday. He is buried there in St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham. He is the only former Prime Minister not buried in Canada. Unmarried, Bennett was survived by nephews William Herridge, Jr., and Robert Coats and by brother Ronald V. Bennett. The viscountcy became extinct on his death.

Bennett was ranked #12 by a survey of Canadian historians out of the then 20 Prime Ministers of Canada through Jean Chrétien. The results of the survey were included in the book Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders by J.L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.

Supreme Court appointments[link]

Bennett chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:

• Oswald Smith Crocket (September 21, 1932 – April 13, 1943)
• Frank Joseph Hughes (March 17, 1933 – February 13, 1935)
• Sir Lyman Poore Duff (as Chief Justice, (March 17, 1933 – January 2, 1944; appointed a Puisne Justice under Prime Minister Laurier, June 4, 1906)
• Henry Hague Davis (January 31, 1935 – June 30, 1944)
• Patrick Kerwin (July 20, 1935 – February 2, 1963)

Other appointments[link]

Bennett was the Honorary Colonel of The Calgary Highlanders from the year of their designation as such in 1921 to his death in 1947. He visited the Regiment in England during the war, and always ensured the 1st Battalion had a turkey dinner at Christmas every year they were overseas, including the Christmas of 1944 when the battalion was holding front line positions in the Nijmegen Salient.

Bennett served as the Rector of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario from 1935–1937, even while he was still prime minister. At the time, this role covered mediation for significant disputes between Queen's students and the university administration.^[19]

Partial electoral record[link]

See also[link]

Canadian politics portal

• List of Canadian Prime Ministers
• Albert County Museum
• Juniper Hall

References[link]

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Richard Bedford Bennett

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Silver and Gold: Bennett and the Great Depression — Historical essay, illustrated with photographs
• R. B. Bennett - Parliament of Canada biography
• R.B. Bennett at Find A Grave

Links to related articles Party political offices Preceded by Hugh Guthrie Leader of the Conservative Party 1927–1938 Succeeded by Robert Manion Political offices Preceded by Charles Doherty Minister of Justice 1921 Succeeded by Lomer Gouin Preceded by Sir Henry Drayton Minister of Finance 1926 Succeeded by James Alexander Robb Preceded by Henry Herbert Stevens Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs 1926 Succeeded by Charles Stewart Minister of the Interior 1926 Minister of Mines 1926 Preceded by Arthur Meighen Leader of the Opposition 1927-1930 Succeeded by Mackenzie King Preceded by Mackenzie King Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs 1930-1935 Secretary of State for External Affairs 1930-1935 President of the Privy Council 1930-1935 Preceded by Charles Dunning Minister of Finance 1930–1932 Succeeded by Edgar Rhodes Preceded by Mackenzie King Leader of the Opposition 1935-1938 Succeeded by Robert Manion Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Preceded by Oswald Critchley MLA West Calgary 1898–1905 Succeeded by District Abolished Legislative Assembly of Alberta Preceded by William Henry Cushing MLA Calgary 1909–1911 Succeeded by Thomas Tweedie Preceded by Albert Robertson Leader of the Official Opposition in Alberta 1909–1910 Succeeded by Edward Michener Parliament of Canada Preceded by Maitland Stewart McCarthy Member of Parliament Calgary 1911–1917 Succeeded by District Abolished Preceded by Joseph Tweed Shaw Member of Parliament Calgary West 1925–1939 Succeeded by Douglas Cunnington Peerage of the United Kingdom New creation Viscount Bennett 1941–1947 Extinct v t e   Prime Ministers of Canada Macdonald Mackenzie Macdonald Abbott Thompson Bowell Tupper Laurier Borden Meighen King Meighen King Bennett King St. Laurent Diefenbaker Pearson Trudeau Clark Trudeau Turner Mulroney Campbell Chrétien Martin Harper Book Category Portal v t e   Ministers of Finance Galt · Rose · Hincks · Tilley · Cartwright · Tilley · McLelan · Tupper · Foster · Bowell (acting) · Foster · Fielding · White · Drayton (acting) · Fielding · Robb · Bennett · Robb · Dunning · Bennett · Rhodes · Dunning · Ralston · Ilsley · Abbott · Harris · Fleming · Nowlan · Gordon · Sharp · Benson · Turner · Drury (acting) · Macdonald · Chrétien · Crosbie · MacEachen · Lalonde · Wilson · Mazankowski · Loiselle · Martin · Manley · Goodale · Flaherty v t e Ministers of the Interior Secretaries of State for the Provinces (1867-1873) Archibald Howe Aikins (acting) Gibbs Ministers of the Interior of Canada (1873-1936) Campbell Laird Scott (acting) Mills J. Macdonald Macpherson White J. Macdonald (acting) Dewdney Daly H. Macdonald Scott (acting) Sifton Laurier (acting) Oliver Rogers Roche Meighen Lougheed Stewart Stevens (acting) Bennett Stewart Murphy Crerar v t e Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General Macdonald Dorion Smith (acting) Fournier Blake Laflamme Campbell Thompson Tupper Daly (acting) Dickey Mowat Mills Fitzpatrick Aylesworth Doherty Bennett Gouin Lapointe Guthrie (acting) Patenaude Lapointe Guthrie Geary Lapointe Michaud (acting) St. Laurent Ilsley St. Laurent Garson Fulton Fleming Chevrier Favreau McIlraith (acting) Cardin Trudeau Turner Lang Basford Lang Lalonde Flynn Chrétien MacGuigan Johnston Crosbie Hnatyshyn Clark (acting) Lewis Campbell Blais Rock McLellan Cauchon Cotler Toews Nicholson v t e   Ministers of Foreign Affairs Secretaries of State for External Affairs (1909-1983) Murphy Roche Borden Meighen King Meighen King Bennett King St. Laurent Pearson Diefenbaker Smith Diefenbaker Green Martin Sharp MacEachen Jamieson MacDonald MacGuigan Ministers of External Affairs (1983-1995) MacEachen Chrétien Clark McDougall Beatty Ouellet Ministers of Foreign Affairs (1995-) Ouellet Axworthy Manley Graham Pettigrew MacKay Bernier Emerson Cannon Baird v t e   Presidents of the Privy Council Blair Howe Kenny Tupper O'Connor McDonald Huntington Cauchon Blake O'Connor Masson Mousseau McLelan Macdonald Colby Abbott Ives Bowell Angers Laurier Borden Rowell Calder Normand King Meighen King Bennett King St-Laurent Chevrier Dorion Diefenbaker Lamontagne McIlraith Favreau Gordon Trudeau (acting) MacEachen (acting) D. Macdonald MacEachen Sharp MacEachen Baker Pinard Ouellet Nielsen Hnatyshyn Mazankowski Clark Blais Massé Dion Coderre Robillard Chong Van Loan Ambrose Verner Penashue v t e Superintendents-General of Indian Affairs Langevin Howe Aikins (acting) Gibbs Campbell Laird Scott (acting) Mills Macdonald White Macdonald (acting) Dewdney Daly H. Macdonald Scott (acting) Sifton Laurier (acting) Oliver Rogers Roche Meighen Lougheed Stewart Stevens (acting) Bennett (acting) Stewart Mackenzie Murphy Crerar1 1The offices of Minister of Immigration and Colonization, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Mines and Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs were abolished and the office of Minister of Mines and Resources was created and came in force on December 1, 1936. v t e   Leaders of the Official Opposition in Canada Mackenzie Macdonald Mackenzie Blake Laurier Tupper Borden Laurier McKenzie King Meighen King Guthrie Bennett King Bennett Manion Hanson Graydon Bracken Drew Rowe Drew Rowe Diefenbaker St. Laurent Pearson Diefenbaker Starr Stanfield Clark Trudeau Clark Nielsen Mulroney Turner Gray Chrétien Bouchard Duceppe Gauthier Duceppe Manning Grey Day Reynolds Harper Hill Harper Graham Dion Ignatieff Layton Turmel Mulcair v t e Alberta Leaders of the Opposition Robertson Bennett Michener Hoadley Ramsey Boyle C. Mitchell Bowen Walker Speakman Mahaffy Walker Page Prowse MacEwan Maccagno Lougheed Strom Henderson Clark Speaker Notley Martin Decore G. Mitchell Sapers MacBeth Nicol Taft Swann Sherman Smith v t e Leaders of the Conservative Party of Canada and its antecedents Liberal-Conservative (1867–1873) Macdonald Conservative (1873–1942) Macdonald Abbott Thompson Bowell Tupper Borden Meighen Bennett Manion Meighen Progressive Conservative (1942–2003) Bracken Drew Diefenbaker Stanfield Clark Mulroney Campbell Charest Clark MacKay Reform (1987–2000) Manning Canadian Alliance (2000–2003) Day Harper Conservative (2003–present) Harper v t e Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta Party leaders Haultain (NWT) ¤ Bennett Robertson Bennett Michener Hoadley Ramsey McGillivray Duggan Page Kirby Watkins Harradence Lougheed Getty Klein Stelmach Redford Leadership elections 1958 1962 1965 1985 1992 2006 2011

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]