Lil Wayne Biography, Songs, & Albums |

Lil Wayne is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame in the late 1990s with his album Tha Block Is Hot, which was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His most successful album to date is 2008’s Tha Carter III, which sold over three million copies in the United States.

Lil Wayne is a rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. He is known for his hit songs Lollipop, A Milli and Go DJ.

Lil Wayne started out as a near-newcomer, a youngster who delivered intense Southern hip-hop. He evolved into a million-unit-selling artist with a massive body of work, one so inventive and cunning that his claim of being the “best rapper alive” is worth considering.

Through years of maturation and prolific output, during which the delivery of his humorous and wordplay-heavy rhymes gradually changed from ringing and pugnacious to stoned and rasped, he developed into a million-unit-selling artist with a massive body of work, one so inventive and cunning that it makes his claim Wayne made his debut at the age of twelve, earned his first platinum certification as a member of the Hot Boys just five years later, and quickly established himself as a strong solo artist with Tha Block Is Hot (1999), his first of 12 Top Ten albums on the Billboard 200.

With Tha Carter III, he achieved mainstream superstar status after a period of consistent production that included not just successful full-length albums but also reputation-building mixtapes and guest appearances on pop singles like Destiny’s Child’s “Soldier” (2004). (2008).

It was a triple-platinum smash that produced the number one pop song “Lollipop” and the number six follow-up “A Milli,” as well as three Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album. Despite numerous legal and creative setbacks in the 2010s, Wayne remained a consistent presence at the top of the charts with albums like Tha Carter IV (2011) and I Am Not a Human Being II (2013), additional hit singles as a headliner, and an ever-growing list of collaborative hits, including the multi-platinum “Sucker for Pain” (for the Suicide Squad soundtrack) (headlined by DJ Khaled in 2017). Wayne has topped the Billboard 200 with Tha Carter V (2018) and Funeral (2020) in the years after the latter hit, and he has continued to release non-album singles.

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and reared in the notorious New Orleans area of Hollygrove. As a student, he never felt that his real intellect was reflected in his grades. He discovered that music was the most effective means of expressing himself, and he started composing rhymes under the moniker Gangsta D.

The 11-year-old persuaded the Cash Money label to hire him, even if it was just for odd tasks around the office, by combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion. Mannie Fresh, an in-house producer, teamed him up with 14-year-old B.G. and christened the pair the B.G.’z a year later.

Despite the fact that just B.G.’s name appears on the cover, fans and the Cash Money label have recognized True Story as B.G.’s first album. Chopper City, released in 1997, was intended to be the follow-up, but Wayne shot himself in the chest with a 9mm handgun, thus it became a solo B.G. release.

In the same year, he changed his name to Lil Wayne, removing the “D” from his initial name to distinguish himself from an absent father. He worked on another Fresh project with B.G., Juvenile, and Young Turk, the adolescent hardcore rap trio the Hot Boys, who released their first album, Get It How U Live!, in 1997. Cash Money then secured a distribution agreement with Universal, a big label, two years later. Guerrilla Warfare, the Hot Boys’ album from that year, went to number one on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums list thanks to mainstream distribution.

Juvenile’s smash song “Back That Thing Up,” or “Back That Azz Up” as it debuted on Juvie’s album 400 Degreez, featured Lil Wayne in 1998. Wayne debuted his solo career a year later with Tha Block Is Hot, which included the smash song of the same name. Although the album was double-platinum, the rapper was still unknown in Middle America because to his tough lyrics and the gruff Cash Money sound.

His second album, Lights Out (2000), did not achieve the same level of popularity as his first, but it did reach gold, and with an appearance on the Big Tymers’ smash song “#1 Stunna,” his fan base was expanding. Wayne was now considerably closer to Fresh’s colleague Big Tymer and Cash Money CEO Birdman, despite the fact that Fresh was largely responsible for starting his career.

When Juvenile departed the company, Wayne, or “Birdman Jr.,” as he was then known, demonstrated his loyalty to his boss by releasing an album with a title that was much more popular than Juvie’s first. While 500 Degreez was charting in 2002, speculations about Cash Money’s financial woes and potential doom started to circulate. Wayne’s planned 2003 album was abandoned in favor of an underground mixtape dubbed Da Drought, since the rest of the Hot Boys had deserted.

After Da Drought received so much attention from the hip-hop press, Wayne got infatuated with the mixtape scene. He utilized these unofficial releases to build anticipation for his next official album, Tha Carter, which was his breakout effort. On one side, Mannie Fresh’s production made the album feel familiar, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he placed on the songs showed tremendous development.

His marketing abilities had improved as well, and it was no coincidence that the album’s smash song, “Go DJ,” had a reference to hip-most hop’s influential tastemakers right in the title. Wayne had finally gone over with a cameo appearance on Destiny’s Child’s number three song “Soldier,” which reached number five on the singles list. On the other hand, a series of mixtapes released in 2005 bolstered his street reputation, including the famous titles Dedication with DJ Drama and Tha Suffix with DJ Khaled.

As songs were leaked into the Internet and different DJs’ mixtapes, Cash Money’s future was no longer in question, and conventional music industry norms no longer appeared to apply. A Universal-funded video for “Get Something” was also a risky decision, since the song was never officially released.

Tha Carter II’s release in 2005 was a huge event, with over a quarter-million copies sold the week it was released, thanks to his unconventional marketing strategy. The songs “Fireman” and “Shooter,” both featuring Robin Thicke, were released as singles, and the album, which included no Mannie Fresh tracks for the first time, went platinum.

It also debuted Wayne’s Young Money gang, with Curren$y and Nicki Minaj making cameos, and came with a bonus CD featuring Swishahouse DJ Michael “5000” Watts screwing and chopping Wayne’s biggest songs. He worked with Birdman on the Like Father, Like Son album a year later, which included the smash track “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy.”

His mixtapes continued to be widely distributed, including the beautiful Dedication 2, which featured an iconic picture of the rapper on the cover as well as the much-discussed tune “Georgia…Bush,” a caustic reaction to President George W. Bush’s handling of the Katrina catastrophe. With no official follow-up to Tha Carter II on the horizon, many collaboration songs kept the rapper in the spotlight, with Chris Brown’s “Gimme That,” Fat Joe’s “Make It Rain,” and Playaz Circle’s “Duffle Bag Boy” being three of the greatest successes.

Wayne’s reputation for delayed releases was cemented when Tha Carter III was promised for 2007 but didn’t arrive until a year later. Unauthorized leaks of the album’s songs were a part of the issue, which was addressed by the official digital EP The Leak, which was published the same year. Tha Carter III was released in May 2008, and it was preceded by the number one single “Lollipop,” which sold over a million copies in its first week.

Wayne’s popular acceptability was shown with a performance on Saturday Night Live and a slew of Grammy Awards, including Best Rap Album. He again performed with Kid Rock at that year’s Country Music Awards, but instead of rapping, he played guitar. Wayne’s new engagement with rock music included his assistance in signing Kevin Rudolf to Cash Money Records, as well as a cameo on Rudolf’s huge song “Let It Rock.”

His intended rock album was teased with the song “Prom Queen” in 2009, but when it didn’t arrive in April as promised, the rapper was dubbed “King of Missed Street Dates” by the music press. Wayne was unconcerned, and he and his Young Money gang pushed forward, releasing the underground mixtape Young Money Is the Army, Better Yet the Navy, the aboveground single “Every Girl,” and the official album We Are Young Money in the same year.

Wayne’s rock album, Rebirth, was eventually released in early 2010, just as he was sentenced to nine months in jail for illegal possession of a firearm. The rapper was imprisoned on Riker’s Island, but that didn’t stop his ten-song EP, I Am Not a Human Being, from being released in September 2010. Tha Carter IV was eventually released in 2011, with the lead song “6 Foot 7 Foot” as the lead single. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.

Wayne released a second edition of I Am Not a Human Being in 2013, undeterred by accusations that a contentious lyric he provided to Future’s “Karate Chop” was in bad taste (he made a reference to Emmett Till, a black youth gruesomely killed in 1955 by white males).

The songs “No Worries” and “Love Me” helped the album reach number two on the charts. Following that, a series of songs for the long-delayed Tha Carter V were released, with “Believe Me,” featuring Drake, adding to Wayne’s slew of certified platinum successes. Another song from the soundtrack for 808: The Movie, “Nothing But Trouble,” starring Charlie Puth, was released in 2015. Wayne self-released Sorry 4 the Wait 2 the same year to make up for fan displeasure over Tha Carter V’s tardiness.

Wayne was involved in a court fight with Birdman and Cash Money Records by 2016, further jeopardizing Tha Carter V’s destiny. Due to the ongoing delays, Free Weezy Album was released as yet another mixtape to keep his fans entertained. By the end of the year, he’d released Gone ‘Til November, a book about his time on Riker’s Island, and had another success with “Sucker for Pain,” a duet for the Suicide Squad soundtrack.

The all-star collaboration topped the Billboard rap chart and reached third place on the R&B/hip-hop chart. The following year, DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” became one of Wayne’s most popular duets, topping the pop chart on its way to quintuple-platinum success. Wayne’s mostly collaborative efforts extended far into 2018, including a contribution to the Superfly soundtrack’s Future-driven soundtrack, until he eventually released Tha Carter V, the Carter series’ chart-topping conclusion. Wayne finished album 13 Funeral after joining blink-182 for a co-headlining tour and mashup song “What’s My Age Again/A Milli” in 2019.

The album was released in January 2024 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. It included a wide variety of guest MCs, including Jay Rock, Lil Baby, and XXXTentacion. Wayne re-released his 2015 mixtape Free Weezy Album as FWA in July of that year. Five years before, the project had been released exclusively on one streaming site, but the broader release was significantly different, with some tracks entirely removed and new mixes of songs that had previously contained uncleared samples.

The songs “B.B. King Freestyle (with Drake)” and “Funeral,” as well as the one-off single “Ain’t Got Time” featuring Fousheé, topped the Billboard charts Haven 2024. Lil Wayne is an American rapper and musician. He has released nine studio albums, four mixtapes, and one hundred thirty-eight singles (including seventy-nine as a featured artist). Reference: lil wayne 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lil Waynes best song ever?

Lil Waynes best song ever is I Feel Like Dying

Did Lil Wayne grow up poor?

Yes

What was Lil Waynes first rap name?

Lil Wayne was originally known as Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.