Lil Wayne

**Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.** (born September 26, 1982), known under his professional name as **Lil Wayne**, is an American rapper. Carter joined the Cash Money Records label as a teenager. He worked with rapper B.G. (under the name B.G.'z) on the album _True Story_ and they eventually recorded for the label. _Get It How U Live_ (1997) was Lil Wayne's first album with Southern hip hop group Hot Boys. _Tha Block Is Hot_, his solo debut, came out in 1999. _Tha Block_ debuted in the top ten on the U.S. _Billboard_ 200. Lil Wayne was nominated for "Best New Artist" from the magazine _Billboard_ the same year. Following this success, Wayne was soon featured on other rappers' singles, including "Bling Bling" by B.G. and "#1 Stunna" by the Big Tymers in 2000.

## Career

His first three albums _Tha Block Is Hot_, _Lights Out_ and _500 Degreez_ were released with little promotion. Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with his fourth album _Tha Carter_ and its two sequel albums _Tha Carter II_ (2005) and _Tha Carter III_ (2008). During this time, Lil Wayne appeared on several mixtapes and singles of other artists.

### 2008: _Tha Carter III_

Originally planned to be released in 2007, _Tha Carter III_s largest delay came after the majority of the tracks were leaked and distributed on mixtapes, such as "The Drought Is Over Pt. 2" and "The Drought Is Over Pt. 4". Lil Wayne at first decided to use the leaked tracks (plus four new tracks) to make a separate album, titled _Tha Carter III: The Leak_. _The Leak_ was to be released December 17, 2007, with the actual album being delayed until March 17, 2008, The release of _The Leak_ in this format never came to fruition. An official EP titled _The Leak_ contained five tracks and was released digitally on December 25, 2007.

### 2010: _Rebirth_ and _I Am Not a Human Being_

Following the success of _Tha Carter III_, Lil Wayne decided to record a rock album titled _Rebirth_. In the album, he is featured playing guitar and singing using Auto-Tune. The album was released in 2010. It was certified gold by the RIAA, despite a generally negative critical response.

Wayne's eighth album _I Am Not a Human Being_ was released during his prison sentence in New York.

### Legal issues

In March 2010, Lil Wayne served an 8-month sentence in a New York prison after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in 2007.

### Health issues

On March 12, 2013, Lil Wayne was hospitalized in Los Angeles after having many seizures. TMZ reported that Wayne is breathing through tubes and is moved to an Intensive Care Unite.

### Studio albums

- 1999: _Tha Block Is Hot (1.9 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2000: _Lights Out (900,000 copies in the U.S.)_
- 2002: _500 Degreez (555,000 copies in the U.S.)_
- 2004: _Tha Carter (1.8 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2005: _Tha Carter II (1.7 million copies the U.S.)_
- 2008: _Tha Carter III (6.6 million copies the U.S.)_
- 2010: _Rebirth (1 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2010: _I Am Not a Human Being (1 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2011: _Tha Carter IV_ (5.2 million copies in the U.S.)
- 2013: _I Am Not a Human Being II (2 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2018: _Tha Carter V (1 million copies in the U.S.)_
- 2020: _Funeral (38,000 copies in the U.S.)_

### Extended plays

- 2007: _The Leak_

### Mixtapes

- 2003: _SQ1_-_SQ7_ <small>(with Sqad Up)</small>
- 2003: _Da Drought_
- 2004: _Da Drought 2_
- 2004: _The Prefix_
- 2005: _The Suffix_
- 2005: _The Dedication_
- 2006: _Dedication 2_
- 2007: _Da Drought 3_
- 2008: _Dedication 3_
- 2009: _No Ceilings_
- 2011: _Sorry 4 the Wait_
- 2012: _Dedication 4_

### Movie

- _Baller Blockin_' (2000), Iceberg Shorty
- _Who's Your Caddy_ (2007), self
- _Hurricane Season_ (2009), Lamont
- _Freaknik: The Movie_ (2010), Trap Jesus

### Television

- _The Boondocks_ (2007), Jericho's son (voice)
- _The Masked Singer_ (2020), Robot/Himself

## Infobox (infobox)

- **embed**: yes
- **child**: yes


## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **origin**: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
- **current member of**: Hot Boys, Hot Boyz
- **website**:


## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Lil Wayne
- **image**: Lil Wayne Feb. 2020.jpg
- **caption**: Lil Wayne in 2020
- **birth name**: Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.
- **birth place**: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
- **awards**: List of awards and nominations received by Lil Wayne, Full list
- **education**: University of Houston
- **years active**: 1991–present
- **children**: 4