Lil Wayne
by JosephR on Jun.23, 2010, under Lil Wayne
Dwayne Carter, better known by his professional stage name Lil Wayne, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper who first achieved prominence while still in his teens.
Born 27th September 1982 and raised in New Orleans, Carter wrote his first rap song at age eight. He impressed record producer Birdman by freestyle rapping on his answering machine, and was soon recording a collaboration album with rapper B.G. At fifteen he then joined rap group the Hot Boys, who scored a number five album hit with Guerrilla Warfare and single hits We on Fire and Get It How U Live!, before going solo in 1999.
Carter’s debut solo album was Tha Block is Hot, which reached number three in the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum, while the lead single of the same name sold over two million copies. His next two albums, 2000’s Lights Out and 2002’s 500 Degreez, didn’t match the success of his debut and failed to produce any hit singles, although both were certified gold for selling over half a million copies.
However, Lil Wayne’s fortunes turned around with his next two releases – 2004’s Tha Carter and 2005’s Tha Carter II. The former sold over one million copies in the US, with lead single Go DJ reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100, while the latter debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. Three singles were released from the album: Fireman, Hustler Musik and Shooter.
Carter continued to gain prominence with a number of successful collaborations, including his appearance on Destiny’s Child hit single Soldier, a number three hit in the US, and Birdman’s album Like Father, Like Son. He also released the collaborative mixtape Dedication 2 with DJ Drama in 2006, containing the acclaimed track Georgia Bush, followed by 2007’s mixtape Da Drought 3. Over the next two years he appeared on singles with Chris Brown, Fat Joe, DJ Khaled, Wyclef Jean, Jay Z, Kanye West and others.
Lil Wayne’s sixth studio album, Tha Carter III, was released in June 2008 and shot straight to number one, selling one million copies in its first week and becoming 2008’s best-selling record. The album won Carter a Grammy and produced the hit singles Lollipop, A Milli, Got Money and Mrs. Officer. This was followed by Carter’s debut rock album Rebirth in February 2010, which has already produced four charting singles and been certified gold.
Lil Wayne is currently writing material for his next rap album Tha Carter IV.
