Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Formerly a member of the rap group the Hot Boys, he joined the Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. He worked with B.G. on the album True Story and eventually recorded for the label. Get It How U Live, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne’s first album with Hot Boys, and Tha Block is Hot, his solo debut, came out 1999. Block debuted in the top ten on the American Billboard 200 chart and Lil Wayne was nominated for “Best New Artist” from The Source magazine the same year. Following this success, Wayne soon featured on other rappers’ singles, including “Bling Bling” by B.G. and “#1 Stunna” by the Big Tymers in 2000.

After his hit debut album Tha Block Is Hot and two more albums released with little promotion, Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with 2004′s Tha Carter and its two subsequent albums Tha Carter II (2005) and Tha Carter III (2008). He appears on several mixtapes and singles of other artists.

Early years

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, LouisianaCarter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School. At age eleven, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Lil Wayne recorded freestyle raps on Williams’ answering machine; Williams would eventually mentor the young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs. When he was 12, he played the part of the Tin Man in his middle school drama club’s production of The Wiz. He dropped out of school at age 14 but later earned his GED.

Personal life

Wayne has a daughter named Reginae Carter with Antonia “Toya” Johnson, his high school sweetheart. The two were married on Valentines Day of 2004; they divorced in 2006. During his acceptance speech for “Lyricist of the Year” at the 2008 BET Awards, Lil Wayne announced that he is expecting a son. His newborn son is, Dwayne Carter III, was born Oct. 22 at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. The child’s mother is still unknown. In an interview with Blender, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.

On January 23, 2008, Lil Wayne was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by Border Patrol agents near Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered 105 grams of marijuana (3.7 ounces), almost 29 grams of cocaine (1.02 ounces), 41 grams of MDMA (1.4 ounces) and $22,000 dollars in cash. Lil Wayne was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted. On May 6, 2008 Wayne returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges.

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