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Lil Wayne
Background information
Birth name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr
Also known as Weezy, Weezy F. Baby, Weezy Goldberg, Weezy Da Don, Young
Money, Birdman Jr., Raw Tunes, Lil' Weezy, Fireman, Young Wayne, The
Greatest Rapper Alive
Born September 27, 1979 (1979-09-27) (age 27)[1]
Origin New Orleans, Louisiana,
United States
Genre(s) Hip-Hop, Southern hip hop, Gangsta rap, Hardcore hip hop
Years active 1993-present
Label(s) Cash Money Records/Young Money Entertainment
Associated
acts Hot Boys, Young Money, Sqad Up, Birdman, Dipset, Juelz Santana,
Currency, Jim Jones
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr (born September 27, 1979 in New Orleans, Louisiana,
USA), better known as Lil' Wayne, is an American, Grammy-nominated rapper,
and is known as the president of the New Orleans-based label Cash Money
Records and the CEO of Young Money Entertainment.
Biography
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was grew up an only child (now has a younger
brother) in the poverty-stricken and crime-ridden Hollygrove neighbourhood
of New Orleans' 17th Ward. At the age of sixteen, his stepfather Reginald
"Rabbit" Carter died.
Wayne's first contact with hip-hop was listening to local Cash Money Records
artists like Pimp Daddy and U.N.L.V., whom he would credit as his earliest
influences. Wayne began rapping at block parties as a child, and his
performance at one of them caught the ear of Lil Slim, a Cash Money rapper
also from the neighborhood, who soon after the show gave him his phone
number. He went on an autograph signing session with Lil Slim, he met Cash
Money Records owners, Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. His
freestyling abilities impressed the Williams brothers, but they didn't sign
him at first. 11-year old Wayne started to record freestyles on Baby's
answering machine and haunted Cash Money offices nearly every day. When Baby
saw so much engagement in the young rapper, he soon signed him and hooked up
with another newcomer Lil' Doogie (who would later become famous as B.G.) to
form The B.G.'z. The group released their first and only album, True Story,
in 1995.
In 1997, Wayne formed the Hot Boys along with Juvenile, Turk, and B.G., and
they released their seminal debut CD Get It How You Live. The record's
success earned the young teenagers fans throughout the south and midwest. He
further distinguished himself on the Hot Boys' platinum selling Universal
debut Guerilla Warfare released in 1998, followed by their 2003 release Let
Em Burn.
In 1999, Wayne launched his solo career with the release of Tha Block Is
Hot. This was followed by Lights Out in 2000 and 500 Degreez in 2002, an
allusion to Juvenile's 400 Degreez.
In 2004, Wayne Carter released Tha Carter. This album is marked as a
personal milestone as he claimed to have finally perfected his trade. It was
also Tha Carter that finally earned him mass notability outside the south as
a talented lyricist, because at that time southern rappers were stereotyped
as having little to no lyrical ability.
On December 6, 2005 Wayne released Tha Carter II noticeably producing the
album without the prominent beats of Mannie Fresh. Tha Carter II sold more
than 238,000 copies debuting at no. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart
and has been certified platinum. The lead single off the album, "Fireman",
became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The
second single, "Grown Man", was solicited to urban radios in January of 2006
in hopes of spreading to Top 40 Mainstream and then to the Hot 100, but
failed to do so and failed to receive any attention due to lack of promotion
and no video.[citation needed] The third single "Hustler Musik" received a
video and gained minor attention also. "Hustler Musik" reached #87 on the
Billboard Hot 100.
Recently Wayne was recruited by the Boyz N Da Hood as their fourth member
after Young Jeezy left the group to engage in his solo career. Due to
scheduling conflicts involving the promotion of Tha Carter II, he would
never be formally named an active member of Boyz N Da Hood but maintains a
very good relationship with the group recording new tracks with them often.
Florida rapper Rick Ross was rumored to then replace Wayne and in essence,
Young Jeezy but he also has denied that he will be an official member of the
group. Lil Wayne will also be featured on Roman Verone's up coming mix CD
and LP due out soon.
In 2006 Lil Wayne released his critically acclaimed sequel to his Dedication
mixtape with DJ Drama called Dedication 2. On it, he included an outro track
entitled "Georgia....Bush" on which he addresses the problems surrounding
the government's response to Hurricane Katrina in his native New Orleans,
Lousiana and also places a large amount of blame on President George W.
Bush. The title comes from the chorus lyric: "Hurrican Katrina, we shoulda
called it Hurricane Georgia Bush." The track was recorded on the beat to
Ludacris' single "Georgia" which sampled the Ray Charles track "Georgia On
My Mind". This song is followed by a freestyle called "Weezy's Ambitions"
over 2Pac's Ambitionz Az a Ridah. The freestyle was originally done on
BET'sRap City following the release of Tha Carter II.
Lil Wayne is set to release two collaboration LPs. Originally, the mixtape I
Can't Feel My Face with Juelz Santana was released over the summer, but with
its extreme demand and popularity, there are now rumors of it becoming a
major-label commercially released LP. On October 31 2006, Wayne released an
album with his mentor Baby: Like Father, Like Son. Many confuse Baby as
Wayne's birth father, but this is not true, as evidenced by Wayne's singles
"Everything" (from Lights Out), and a song on Like Father, Like Son, where
Wayne says "My dad died when I was 16." Later in the month of April of 2007
Lil Wayne released a new mixtape album called "Da Drought 3".
He is also in the process of creating the Murda Game Chronicles Part
II:Blood Brothers the mixtape with The Game, which will not drop until
sometime near August.
Personal life
Lil Wayne had been linked to female rapper Trina since around the time of
the 2005 NBA All-Star Game at Pepsi Center in Denver. They later recorded a
single, Don't Trip, which appeared on her album Glamorest Life, and appeared
on the remix for Remy Ma's "Conceited (along with Papoose and Jae Millz).
After that rumors started flying around about what was going on between the
two. There were rumors that the two were dating or even engaged. On a radio
interview, Trina said that the relationship was more of a "brother-sister"
relationship. Later, on Victoria's RapBasement, Lil Wayne said he knew
nothing of the rumors.
Both would later retract that statement. In an issue of Sister 2 Sister
magazine, Trina would later say that she made a huge understatement at that
radio interview, and that "He's one of the sweetest people I've ever met...I
have so much love for him!" However, she just burst out in huge giggles when
further questions were asked, and she said "We're both happy. That's all the
world needs to know." In the March 2006 issue of VIBE magazine, Lil Wayne
said that this relationship was better than his past ones because "She's
(also) a rapper, so we understand each other." When asked about the ring, he
smiled and said, "She just likes rings. I saw a nice one, so I got it for
her." Lil Wayne and Trina have recently ended their relationship, which was
stated by Lil Wayne, himself, on BET's 106 and Park.
He would draw some media and fan attention with the leak of a picture of
himself and Bryan "Baby" Williams (a.k.a. Birdman) kissing.[1] It was
explained as a father-son kiss, and Williams later claimed it was a "black
variation" of Mafia affection.
Lil Wayne has recently purchased a sky box at the Louisiana Superdome with
Birdman.
Lil Wayne has a daughter named Reginae Carter, he named her after his step
father Reginald "Rabbit" Carter.
Lil Wayne has been attending the University of Houston in Houston, Texas
since early 2005, where he began studying political science. [2] According
to the Cash Money Records website, Wanye has since switched his major to
psychology. [3]
In the single "Know What I'm Doin'" Lil Wayne claims to have been shot.
During Wayne's childhood, he mistakenly shot himself with his stepfather's
gun.
Arrest
On August 14, 2006, Lil Wayne was arrested on charges of possession of less
than 1 ounce of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. Police
claim the rapper was in possession of several unlabeled bottles — one
containing 60 pills of Alprazolam, a generic form of Xanax that is used to
treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks; another containing 59 hydrocodone
pills — along with "two small burnt joints of marijuana," the report read. A
second man, Derrick Lawrence, 37, was also charged with possession of less
than 1 ounce of marijuana. He was released from Georgia's Fulton County Jail
on $11,000 bond following his arrest.
Bad Ass Grasshoppers
On June 3, 2007, Lil Wayne told the world about his new group, Bad Ass
Grasshoppers (B.A.G. for short). It is featured with other Young Money
artists. There first album will be called "Put The Party In The Bag" and he
said their first single will be called "Rap, Rock, R&B". They will soon
release their first mixtape called "Rap, Rock, R&B" which Wayne said would
introduce you to them.
Feuds
Jay-Z
After the retirement of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne claimed to be the best rapper
alive, since the best rapper retired. Even though Jay-Z mildly responded to
this claim, Lil Wayne continued to speak on the situation during interviews
(such as the one in Complex Magazine). Lil Wayne has made a diss track on
the instrumental of "Ether" by Nas titled "Fuck Jay-Z", and has taken
numerous subliminal shots at him. He has spoken on Jay's retiring efforts in
his Dedication 2 Mixtape, and also rapped lyrics to a countless amount of
Jay's instrumentals using his ryhme style. But in a recent interview with
XXL Lil' Wayne was asked about how he went from being the best rapper alive
since Jay-Z retired to being flat out better than Jay. Surprisingly enough,
Weezy offered an apology to Jay for the way that the magazine swayed his
comments.
Juvenile
In 2002, Juvenile left Cash Money Records because of a monetary dispute. Lil
Wayne released his album "500 Degreez" in hopes of doing better than
Juvenile, who previously released "400 Degreez". "500 Degreez" went gold and
couldn't match "400 Degreez".
However, on Tha Carter, Wayne recorded a song called "I Miss My Dawgs,"
where he talks about how much he missed the Hot Boys (Juvenile, BG, and
Turk). However, the rest of them dismissed the song as a publicity stunt,
and as a result he said "Fuck everybody who left Cash Money...I ain't got no
respect for none of 'em." Juvenile replied with a diss track which featured
UTP's Skip called "A Ho" which featured lyrics such as "What kind of n*gga
kiss a grown man? (a ho)...What kind of n*gga got tears and ain't kill shit?
(a ho)," which is a reference to the infamous mouth kiss between Wayne and
Birdman, as well as the tears tattooed by Wayne's eyes (usually a sign of
when a Blood has killed someone) despite never having killed anyone. Wayne
responded on his Dedication mixtape with DJ Drama with a freestyle to the
beat of Oh Boy by Cam'ron. Juve responded with the track "Say It To Me Now"
(featuring Kango Slim of Partners-N-Crime and produced by Scott Storch) from
his album Reality Check, which basically says that while he is still no
longer on speaking terms with Cash Money, he will no longer make any diss
tracks directed towards them because he feels it would be a waste of time.
There has recently been a track recorded "Do What U Wanna Do" by Skip And
Wacko of UTP, the song features Lil Wayne, Also stated in the song by Wacko,
"Since Katrina Juve quit so who gives a damn.".
Juvenile has a rumoured track called "Cash Money Re-United" with his old
labelmates B.G., Turk, and Mannie Fresh for his upcoming album Diary of a
Soulja. It also features Lil Wayne.
B.G.
In 2001, B.G. left Cash Money Records because the label did not give him
royalties over his deal.
B.G.'s beef was primarily with Baby, and his second Chopper City Records
album Life After Cash Money is full of subliminal disses towards Baby.
However, he was still on good terms with Lil' Wayne, until Wayne (over
disgust from his Hot Boys tribute "I Miss My Dawgs" from Tha Carter being
dismissed as a publicity stunt by Juvenile) made his controversial comment
"Fuck everybody who left Cash Money...I ain't got no respect for none of 'em."
In response, B.G. recorded the diss track "Triggaman" (set to the beat of
Wayne's Fireman) where he makes several disparaging comments about Wayne
including "First you were Rabbit's son, now you Birdman's J-R/How you gonna
tell your daughter she got three grandfathers?" and "First it was Nivea, now
you and Trina engaged/I got three homies that seen me nut it in her face"
(Wayne was linked with Trina at the time).
That track would lead the beef to be extended, as Trina released the mixtape
track "What's Beef?" where along with dissing her own rival Khia, she dissed
B.G. and Gillie Da Kid. In that track, she dissed him with the line "You's a
Cash Money Reject, a 9th Ward Soldier/Keep fuckin with that boy, you gon'
end up in a coma." B.G. responded (along with Chopper City Boy VL Mike) on
the mixtape track "Cannon Bust Back" where VL Mike dissed Trina saying "Keep
Geezy's name out your mouth, we don't want beef with no bitch/If that n*gga
ain't satisfyin' you can suck my dick/You crossed that line hoe, you got
problems with me/And if that n*gga say my name he ain't allowed to speak,"
however B.G. reserved his disses for Wayne, merely saying "Got a big ol'
dick peekin' at your bitch..." Wayne would break up with Trina soon after
B.G.'s diss was recorded.
However, soon after that, Birdman's cousin Tamara Williams was killed in a
car accident. B.G. called in at a radio station to send his condolences, as
Tamara had history with B.G. Birdman would respond by saying he accepted,
and was willing to set aside all the beef, to which B.G. responded that
although he's no longer on Cash Money, he can still sympathize with
Birdman's problems, thus ending the long beef between B.G. and Cash Money
Records.
However, he still has problems with Lil' Wayne, as he described on BET's Rap
City, where he says "Who? oh oh Jim Jones Jr.? ha ha nah, I know who your
talkin about, Now as a rapper shawty holdin it down, I can't take nothin
from shawty, He's one of the hottest lyricist out here. But as a man, Nah he
isn' a man, Wayne can't speak for himself."
Gillie da Kid
A degree of controversy has arisen surrounding Lil Wayne's lyrics, mostly
due to another rapper, Gillie da Kid, claiming that he has written some of
Lil Wayne's material. This has neither been confirmed nor disproven,
although both Wayne and Gillie remain firm in their views. Members of the
Hots & Sqad Up (Lil Wayne's old "crew") have previously stated that Lil
Wayne has never needed a ghost writer. Lil Wayne can be seen wearing a
diamond-studded pendant belonging to Gillie in one of his music
videos[citation needed], although this does not necessarily have any
correlation with the ghostwriting issue. Wayne also addresses his situation
with Gillie on multiple tracks throughout Da Drought 3. During their
dispute, Gillie also alleged that Lil Wayne may have been molested at a
young age by his mentor Baby [2]. This was in reference to the photo
released in November of 2006, which showed the two rappers exchanging a
kiss. He was quoted as saying the following:
If Baby met Wayne when he was 9—and Baby is about 50, so he had to be damn
near 40—at what age did Baby tell Wayne 'We're gonna start kissing?' Was
Wayne 12, and he 39? Was Wayne 15, and he 42? I'm just saying, you molested
that boy...When you think about Wayne is the only n***a that ain't left
[Cash Money Records]. Why?
– Gillie Da Kid, UNRWorld.com
Although Lil' Wayne never formally responded to the molestation accusations,
he has stateted in numerous interviews that the kiss between he and Baby was
not an intimate one.
Constantly being accused of having a ghostwriter for his most critically
acclaimed albums, Tha Carter 1, and Tha Carter 2, Wayne attempts to dispel
the rumors in this quote directed at Gillie: ” I don’t get it. How you could
write for me and I don’t write? I’m rich as a muthafucka, and you wrote for
me? Then why aren’t you rich? If I wrote for a nigga and this nigga’s on top
of the world right now, I’d be like, “Where’s my fuckin’ money? Where’s my
benefits?” I heard this nigga do an interview and say he got like $30
thousand a song. Show me one of them $30 thousand checks you got from
writing for me. Show me, ’cause I don’t know what you wrote for me. I don’t
write nothing, dawg. The only time I touch the pad is for someone else.”
Young Buck
Young Buck left Cash Money Records the same time Juvenile did and joined UTP
Records. Young Buck was unable to record with Cash Money and Juvenile
persuaded Buck to join him. Young Buck became involved with the beef between
Juvenile/BG & Lil Wayne. Recently in a song called "Off Parole" featuring
Tony Yayo, Young Buck talked about the infamous kiss between Lil Wayne &
Baby. Lil Wayne refused to say anything back. Later, Young Buck would
retract his comments about Lil' Wayne and invite him to his own concert to
settle their differences.
Tony Yayo
During the feud between G-Unit and the Diplomats, the Diplomats were linked
with Cash Money. Lil Wayne also collaborated with Fat Joe and Lloyd during
the time. Both singles "Make It Rain" and "You" received heavy airplay. Tony
Yayo stated in an interview, "I don't believe in Cam'ron. I don't believe in
Jim Jones. I don't believe in Baby. I don't believe in Lil Wayne. I don't
believe in Game. I don't believe in Fat Joe."
Acting career
Who's Your Caddy?
* Lil Wayne is playing the role of himself while Big Boi is shooting a a
music video on the local golf course.
Cut Throat City
* Cash Money Records founder and CEO Bryan "Baby" Williams and his star
artist Lil' Wayne have signed on to star in a new independent movie titled
Cut Throat City.
* The heist story starts in New Orleans' rough 9th Ward, also known as "Cut
Throat City." one of several films in the works centered on Hurricane
Katrina and its aftermath. The story, set in the Big Easy, follows a heist
that begins in the decimated Lower Ninth Ward and will touch on the
government’s neglect of the area.
* Cut Throat City is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2008
Ballers
* Ballers is a comedy set in the world of pro basketball. Due to a slow
production and lack of time, the films release date has been rumored to be
the summer of 2008.[citation needed] It features rappers like T.I. , Lil'
Wayne, Ludacris, and 50 Cent.
The Boondocks
* In Fall 2007, when then the second season of The Boondocks airs, Lil
Wayne's role as Huey and Riley's cousin from New Orleans will begin.
Baller Blockin
* Made in 2000, set in New Orleans' 3rd ward.
Discography
Albums
* 1999: Tha Block Is Hot
* 2000: Lights Out
* 2002: 500 Degreez
* 2004: Tha Carter
* 2005: Tha Carter II
* 2006: Like Father, Like Son (with Birdman)
* 2007: I Can't Feel My Face (with Juelz Santana)
* 2008: Tha Carter III
* 2008: Dedication III
* 2008: Put The Party In The Bag (with Bad Ass Grasshoppers)
Solo singles
* 1999: "Tha Block is Hot" (featuring BG, Juvenile, & Turk)
* 1999: "Respect Us" (featuring Juvenile)
* 2000: "Get Off the Corner"
* 2001: "Shine" (featuring Juvenile, BG, Turk, Nikki, & Mack 10
* 2001: "Everything"
* 2002: "Where You At"
* 2002: "Way of Life" (featuring Big Tymers & TQ)
* 2004: "Go DJ"
* 2004: "Bring It Back" (featuring Mannie Fresh)
* 2004: "Earthquake" (featuring Jazze Pha )
* 2004: "Get Something" (featuring Mannie Fresh)
* 2005: "Fireman"
* 2006: "Hustler Musik"
* 2006: "Money On My Mind"
* 2006: "Shooter" (featuring Robin Thicke)
Featured singles
* 1998: "Back That Azz Up" (Juvenile featuring Lil Wayne & Mannie Fresh)
* 1999: "Bling Bling" (BG featuring Juvenile, Lil Wayne, Turk & Big Tymers)
* 2000: "#1 Stunna" (Big Tymers featuring Lil Wayne & Juvenile)
* 2004: "Soldier" (Destiny's Child featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne)
* 2004: "Make It Work for You" (Juelz Santana featuring Lil Wayne & Young
Jeezy)
* 2005: "Tell Me [Remix]" (Bobby Valentino featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2005: "Grey Goose" (Allstar Cashville Prince featuring Lil Wayne & Yo
Gotti)
* 2005: "Don't Trip" (Trina featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "Gimme That [Remix]" (Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "Get Your Shine On" (Birdman featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "Touch It or Not" (Cam'Ron featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "You Know What" (Avant featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "Holla at Me" (DJ Khaled featuring Lil Wayne, Paul Wall, Fat Joe,
Rick Ross & Pitbull)
* 2006: "Hollywood Divorce" (OutKast featuring Lil Wayne & Snoop Dogg)
* 2006: "Make It Rain" (Fat Joe featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2006: "Make It Rain [Remix]" (Fat Joe featuring Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Rick
Ross, R. Kelly T.I., and Baby)
* 2006: "You" (Lloyd featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "Diamonds" (Fabolous featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "We Takin' Over" (DJ Khaled featuring Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat
Joe, Baby & Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "Lock U Down" (Mya featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "Screwed Up" (Trae featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "Easy" (Paula DeAnda featuring Lil Wayne)
* 2007: "9mm" (David Banner featuring Lil Wayne, Akon & Snoop Dogg)
* 2007: "Brown Paper Bag" (DJ Khaled featuring Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy,
Juelz Santana, Rick Ross, Dre & Fat Joe)
* 2007: "Me and My Money" (Chamillionaire featuring Lil Wayne)
Collaborative singles
* 2006: "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" (with Birdman)
* 2006: "Leather So Soft" (Birdman)
* 2006: "Know What I'm Doin'" (Birdman)
* 2007: "You Ain't Know" (with Birdman)
* 2007: "Army Gunz" (with Birdman)
* 2008: "Rap, Rock, R&B" (with Bad Ass Grasshoppers)
Extras
* Champaigne Deal (No Name Yet)
* Clothing Line (DOUBLE U)
References
1. ^ Fulton County Sheriff Jail. Fulton Sheriff. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
2. ^ Reid, Shaheem. "Lil' Wayne Hits the Books in H-Town, Stays With His
Cash Money Crew", MTV News, Feb 14, 2005. Retrieved on June 8, 2007.
3. ^ Lil Wayne (The Artists > Lil Wayne > Biography). Cash Money Records
Website. Retrieved on June 8, 2007.
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