In 1994, at age 12, Carter suffered a near-fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. In the summer of 1991, he met rapper and Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan 'Baby' Williams (known currently as Birdman), who mentored him and encouraged his love of hip-hop Birdman included Carter on several Cash Money tracks, and Carter would often record freestyle raps on Williams' answering machine. Ĭarter wrote his first rap song at age eight. After matriculating to Marion Abramson Senior High School, Carter dropped out at age 14 to focus on his musical career. He later attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School for two years, where he was an honor student and a member of the drama club, playing the Tin Man in the school's production of The Wiz. Ĭarter was enrolled in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to McDonald. Carter has said that he considers his deceased stepfather Reginald 'Rabbit' McDonald to be his real father. Asked if his father knew of this, Carter replied, 'He knows now'. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne'. When CBS interviewer Katie Couric asked why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name, Carter explained that '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. His parents divorced when he was two and his father permanently abandoned the family. His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. was born on September 27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished Hollygrove neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana's 17th Ward. Wayne also currently serves as the chief executive officer (CEO) of his own label, Young Money Entertainment.ĭwayne Michael Carter Jr. On September 27, 2012, he became the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100, with 109 songs. He has won five Grammy Awards, 11 BET Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and eight NAACP Image Awards. Wayne has sold over 200 million records worldwide, including more than 25 million albums and 92 million digital tracks in the United States, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists. Wayne's thirteenth album, Funeral, was released in early 2020. His twelfth studio album Tha Carter V was released in 2018 after multiple delays. Tha Carter IV sold 964,000 copies in its first week in the United States. His eighth studio album I Am Not a Human Being (2010) was released during his incarceration, while his 2011 album Tha Carter IV was released following his release. A month later in March 2010, he began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007.

In February 2010, Wayne released his seventh studio album, Rebirth, which experimented with rap rock and was met with generally negative reviews. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and included the successful singles ' A Milli', ' Got Money' (featuring T-Pain), and ' Lollipop' (featuring Static Major)-the latter being his first single to top the Billboard Hot 100.

He gained more prominence within the music industry with his sixth album Tha Carter III (2008), with first-week sales of over one million copies in the US. He reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter (2004) and fifth album Tha Carter II (2005), as well as several mixtapes and collaborations throughout 20. Wayne's solo debut album, Tha Block Is Hot (1999), was his solo breakthrough. The Hot Boys became popular following the release of the album Guerrilla Warfare (1999) and the song ' Bling Bling'. soon joined the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with Cash Money label-mates Juvenile and Turk in 1997 they released their debut album Get It How U Live! in October that year. and they recorded an album, True Story, released that year, although Wayne (at the time known as Baby D) only appeared on three tracks. In 1997, Wayne was put in a duo with label-mate B.G. From then on, he was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records before ending his association with the company in June 2018. Wayne's career began in 1995, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. Regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation by XXL, he has often been cited as one of the greatest rappers of all time. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper and singer.

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