Lil Wayne Biography

Lil Wayne, a renowned American hip hop recording artist was born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. on September 27, 1982, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.His parents divorced when he was 2 years old and his father permanently abandoned the family. Lil Wayne also has a deceased stepfather, Rabbit, who he has said he considers his real father.

Lil Wayne started writing rap songs at just eight years of age and met American rapper, record producer and co-founder of ‘Cash Money Records’ Bryan Williams better known by stage names Birdman and Baby in 1991 who took him under his wings.

Lil Wayne’s first recording for Cash Money Records was True Stories in 1993, performing with another skilled rapper, B.G., under the name the BGs.In the year  1996, he joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk of which he was the youngest member at the time. Hot Boys’ debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year then followed by the group’s major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare in 1999 which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

That same year(1999), Lil Wayne launched his solo career with Tha Block Is Hot. The title track was a big hit, and the album reached the top of the hip-hop charts. Featuring appearances by members of the Hot Boys as well as the Big Tymers.

Lil Wayne released two other albums but they did not do as well but in 2004 the album Tha Carter was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album’s cover art featured the debut of Wayne’s now-signature dreadlocks. 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.

Lil Wayne then released Tha Carter II in December 2005. The album debuted at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard pop charts and brought more critical praise for Wayne. 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 worldwide.

Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, with first-week sales of over 1 million copies, the first to do so since 50 Cent’s The Massacre 2005.The first single, Lollipop, featuring Static Major, became the rapper’s most successful song at the time, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming his first top 10 single as a solo artist and his first number one on the chart.

In August 2011, Lil Wayne released Tha Carter IV which was quickly met with success. In its first four days online, the album saw 300,000 song downloads on iTunes—setting a new record on the media-downloading application. Hits from the album include ‘Mirror’ featuring the smooth vocals of R&B singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, and ‘It’s Good’ featuring fellow rappers Drake and Jadakiss.

Lil Wayne Girlfriend

In July 2014, it was rumored that Lil Wayne was dating singer Christina Milian whom he attended the ESPY Awards with. They later confirmed their relationship in mid-2015 after which they received criticism from their interconnected exes, singer Nivea and songwriter The-Dream. The couple split at the end of 2015.

Lil Wayne Children

Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was at the tender age of 16 to his high school sweetheart Antonia  Carter. They married on Valentine’s Day 2004 and divorced in 2006.

His second child, Dwayne III, was born on October 22, 2008, at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati to radio broadcaster Sarah Vivan. His third child Cameron Carter was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. His fourth child, Neal, was born on November 30, 2009, to singer Nivea.He also got rapper Trina pregnant but she suffered a miscarriage.

Lil Wayne Awards

The talented rapper has won numerous awards which include: World Music Awards, Vibe Music Awards, Teen Choice Awards, Ozone Awards, MTV Europe Music Award, MTV Video Music Award, MOBO Awards, Grammy Awards, BMI Awards, Billboard Music Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, BET Awards and several others.

Lil Wayne Net Worth

He has an estimated net worth $120 million, making him one of the richest rappers in the world.