Lil Wayne began his career as a preteen delivering hardcore hip-hop, reinventing the mixtape game, he developed into a million-selling rapper and Label Executive. His famous claim of being the "best rapper alive" may be worth considering.
Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and raised in the infamous New Orleans neighborhood of Hollygrove, he was a straight-A student but never felt his true intelligence was expressed through any kind of report card. He found music was the best way to express himself, and after taking the name Gangsta D he began writing rhymes. A year later, producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.'z. The 1997 album Chopper City was supposed to be the follow-up, but when Wayne accidentally shot himself in the chest with a .44, it became a solo B.G. release. That same year, he officially took the moniker Lil Wayne. He joined B.G., Juvenile, and Young Turk for another Fresh project, the Hot Boys, who released their debut album, Get It How U Live!, in 1997. Two year's later Hot Boys album Guerrilla Warfare to reach the number one spot on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In 1998, Lil Wayne would appear on Juvenile's hit single "Back That Thing Up," or "Back That Azz Up" as it appeared on Juvie's album 400 Degreez. Wayne would launch his solo career a year later with the album Tha Block Is Hot, featuring the hit single title track. It went double platinum but the rapper was still unknown to Middle America, since his hardcore rhymes and the rough Cash Money sound had not yet crossed over.
His second album, Lights Out (2000), failed to match the success of its predecessor but it did go gold, and with an appearance on the Big Tymers' hit single "1 Stunna," his audience was certainly growing. The rest of the Hot Boys had defected and Wayne's planned 2003 album was scrapped, coming out instead as an underground mixtape called Da Drought. Wayne became enamored with the mixtape world after Da Drought drew so much attention from the hip-hop press. He used these underground releases to drum up anticipation for his next official album, the breakthrough effort Tha Carter. Released in 2004, the album seemed familiar on one hand with Mannie Fresh's production, but the Wayne on the cover was a dreadlocked surprise, and the rhymes he laid on the tracks showed significant growth. His street cred was supported by a slew of mixtapes released in 2005, including the popular titles Dedication with DJ Drama and Tha Suffix with DJ Khaled.
Cash Money's future was no longer in doubt and traditional music business rules no longer seemed to apply, as tracks would be leaked onto the Internet and various DJ's mixtapes. "Get Something" was another bold move, as a Universal-funded video was made without the track ever seeing official release. With his alternative marketing scheme working in overdrive, the 2005 landing of Tha Carter II was a major event, selling over a quarter-million copies the week of its release. "Fireman" and "Shooter" with Robin Thicke were released as singles, while the album -- which for the first time featured no Mannie Fresh productions -- went platinum. A year later he collaborated with Birdman for the Like Father, Like Son album, featuring the hit single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy." His mixtapes were still flooding the underground, including the stunning Dedication 2, which came with an iconic image of the rapper on the cover plus the much talked-about track "Georgia...Bush," a venomous response to President George W. Bush's handling of the Katrina disaster.
Lil Wayne "On Fire" music video
Tha Carter III was promised for 2007 but didn't arrive until a year later, setting off Wayne's infamous reputation of delayed releases. Part of the problem became unauthorized leaks of the album's tracks, something combated by the official, downloadable EP The Leak released that same year. Preceded by the number one hit "Lollipop," Tha Carter III arrived in May of 2008, selling more than a million copies in its first week of release. An appearance on Saturday Night Live and four Grammy awards -- including Best Rap Album -- spoke to Wayne's mainstream acceptance. He also performed at that year's Country Music Awards with Kid Rock, but rather than rap, he played guitar. The guitar playing was part of Wayne's new involvement with rock music. His planned rock album was previewed with the 2009 single "Prom Queen," but when the album failed to meet its promised April release, the music press began to portray the rapper as the king of missed street dates. Unconcerned, Wayne forged ahead with his Young Money crew, releasing the underground mixtape Young Money Is the Army, Better Yet the Navy, the aboveground single "Every Girl," plus the official album We Are Young Money that same year. His rock album, Rebirth, finally saw the light of day in early 2010.
