Superstar rapper Lil Wayne was born Da’Wayne Carter in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 27, 1982. He was one of
the original Hot Boys in 1997 but then went solo with his debut album The Block is Hot by 1999. In New Orleans,
Lil Wayne grew up in what was considered a rough part of town, Hollygrove and was an aspiring rapper at a young age.
He rapped at neighborhood parties and this is where he was overheard by a member of a group signed with
Cash Money Records, U.N.L.V. After exchanging contact information a meeting was set up between Lil Wayne and the
Cash Money CEOs, Brian “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams. At the age of twelve Lil’ Wayne was constantly
stopping by Cash Money Records and leaving freestyles on their answering machine. Eventually Cash Money Records
saw his potential and determination signed him as a rapper.
As Lil Wayne got deeper into the rap game he began to wear gain related attire. His mother became concerned and
decided to pull him out of Cash Money. After running away for a week he finally convinced his mother to let him
stay in Cash Money and that his behavior had nothing to do with them. However, shortly before Cash Money got big
something tragic happened. One day as Wayne played with a loaded gun, he accidently shot himself in the chest and
nearly bled to death. When the police arrived Wayne claimed that the unregistered gun belonged to his step-father.
His step-father was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison. Then, shortly after his step-father’s release
he was abducted and murdered. After hearing of the events Brian “Baby” Williams decided to step in and act as
Wayne’s father. Lil Wayne now has tattoos commemorating his step-father and the event.
As a teen rapper Lil Wayne did not take part in bubble gum rap as do many rappers of that age. Lil Wayne’s rap
was always strictly gangster rap, however he did refrain from cursing on his early tracks in respect for his mother.
Lil Wayne’s second and third albums were 2000’s Lights Out and 500 Degrees. From 500 Degrees the song Way of Life
was a hit and the album became a huge selling success. In 2004 Lil Wayne released The Carter which he claimed to
be a personal milestone at which he perfected his trade. Lil Wayne became the president of the Cash Money label in
2005 and began recording The Carter Vol. 2. The Carter II sold over 238,000 copies and was certified platinum,
debuting at number 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.
Today there is no question that Lil Wayne will go down in history as the best rapper of his generation.
Lil Wayne 2011 has recorded over 1,000 songs in a period of two years and according to MTV he has released more
music in that short period of time than the legendary Tupac did in his career. The Carter III sold 400,000 copies
on the first day and hit 1,000,000 the first week. Carter III was Lil’ Wayne’s first album to open at #1 on the
Billboard chart. Following the success of the Carter III Lil Wayne appeared on Saturday Night Live, and won four
Grammy awards including best rap album of the year. Lil’ Wayne began to show a strong interest in other
music genres when he performed at the country music awards with Kid Rock and instead of rapping he played guitar.
Lil Wayne 2011 was becoming more and more involved in rock music as he helped sign Kevin Rudolf to Cash Money and
by releasing his first rock album, Rebirth in early 2010.
In the midst of all of
Lil Wayne music success over his 13 year career, he hit a downfall when he was
recently sentenced to one year in prison. In 2007 he was arrested for having a loaded 40-calibre semi-automatic
on his tour bus. He plead guilty in October to the offence but the sentencing was postponed to the following
February. Then, it was then postponed again when Manhattan’s criminal court was shut down due to fire just when
the 27 year old rapper was on his way there. He was finally sentenced March 8,, 2010 and arrived to
Rikers Island jail March 9th. He is currently being held apart from the general population of the prison
because of his fame and could be released in 8 months with good behavior. However, Lil Wayne claims that
he will keep working while he is locked away and will have numerous raps ready when he returns home.
|
|
