Lil Wayne is a popular American rapper. Today he is considered one of the most successful and wealthy rappers in the United States. The young performer "rose from scratch."
Rich parents and sponsors did not stand behind him. His biography is a classic black guy success story.
Childhood and youth of Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.
Lil Wayne is the pseudonym of the rapper, under which the name of Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. is hidden. The young man was born on September 27, 1982 in the town of Holligrov, in New Orleans.
At the time of Dwayne's birth, his mother was barely 19 years old. She worked as a cook. Immediately after the birth of the boy, the father left the family. Now all the troubles of raising a child fell on the shoulders of the mother.
The act of the father hurt the child very much. He never met his dad again. At the first opportunity, the young man changed his name. He removed the "D", and now his entourage called him Wayne.
In the 1st grade, a black guy began to write poems. His school teachers noted that the boy was very artistic. Wayne was loved for his curiosity and good sense of humor.
However, the good side was blocked by bad behavior at school - the boy was often naughty and skipped classes.
In the early 1990s, Wayne met Brian Williams. He later became known under the pseudonym Birdman.
Brian drew attention to a talented guy who by that time had already begun to record the first compositions, and offered to record an album. This record was prepared by 11-year-old Wayne in a duet with Christopher Dorsey, known as BG
Despite its age, the debut album turned out to be very professional and "adult". After the release of his debut collection, Wayne realized that he wanted to connect his future life with music.
The young rapper began showing up less frequently at school. Soon he finally dropped out of school. He devoted all his time to music and writing new tracks. The local rap party accepted Wayne's work. From that moment, Wayne's creative path began.
The creative path and music of Lil Wayne
The beginning of the singer's professional career began after the release of the compilation Get It How U Live ”(with the participation of Terius Graham and Tab Wedge Jr.).
Soon the rappers decided to join forces. The new group was called the Hot Boys. The songs of the guys interested rap fans, so at one time the group was in great demand.
In the late 1990s, the band added another album, Guerilla Warfare, to their discography.
In the early 2000s, the rapper presented his second solo album Lights Out to his fans. This collection in its popularity gave way to the previous album. However, the record was still warmly received by fans and music experts.
In 2002, Lil Wayne presented his third solo album 500 Degrees to fans. Unfortunately, this collection turned out to be a "failure", only some tracks interested music lovers. It had no hits.
The Carter album became the most important collection in the American rapper's discography. The tracks that became part of the record had a unique manner of recitative.
The high quality of the recordings deserves considerable attention. The release of this album marked the peak of the rapper's popularity and allowed him to gain fans in almost every corner of the planet.
Lil Wayne's first album from The Carter series
The first disc from this collection of The Carter was released in 2004. According to music critics, the collection was released with a circulation of 1 million copies.
And this number includes only legal copies. Wayne's tracks have taken a leading position in the local charts. The rapper has reached a new level.
In 2005, the rapper released another album, The Carter II. The title track topped the American music charts for a long time.
From a commercial point of view, the record did not repeat the success of the previous album. The disc was released with a circulation of 300 thousand copies. In addition, in 2006, Lil Wayne released a joint album with Birdman Like Father, Like Son.
With the third album of The Carter, the rapper had some difficulties. Shortly before the rapper announced the release, several songs from the new album got into the network.
The American artist decided to include the "leaked" songs in the next album. The release of the record was also delayed.
The Carter III compilation was released to the music world only in 2008. Interestingly, the scandal with the "leaked" songs benefited the rapper.
In the first week, the artist sold more than 1 million copies of The Carter III. As a result, the record went platinum three times. Lil Wayne has cemented the status of the best American rapper.
The next album from this series appeared only in 2011. It’s not that the rapper didn’t have the materials to record a studio album, it’s just that at that time the performer began to have serious health problems, and besides, during this period of time he was under the guns of the police.
During the recording of the collections, the rapper managed to end up behind bars, quarrel with the owner of the recording studio, undergo a serious operation on his teeth and “get stuck” in another “dirty business”.
So the rapper's further albums were also among the problematic ones. Despite the constant breakdowns, fans have not turned their backs on the singer.
Lil Wayne's personal life
The rapper has never had problems with the attention of the female half of humanity. Fans have always been around the singer.
For the first time, an American rapper married his high school girlfriend Anthony Johnson. Soon after the modest painting, the woman gave birth to his daughter. The couple named the girl Regina.
Unfortunately, this marriage soon broke up. Anthony told reporters that she did not have the moral strength to endure her husband's constant infidelity.
The rapper did not grieve for long. Already in 2008, his son Duane was born. Wayne had a long romance with the beautiful Sarah Vivan. These relationships were not serious. Soon the couple broke up.
The rapper's next girlfriend was model Lauren London. The rapper immediately said that he was not going to lead his chosen one down the aisle. The model suited this situation, and she even gave birth to the celebrity son Cameron.
Wayne's fourth child, Neil, was born in 2009. However, it was not Lauren who gave birth to the son, but the popular singer Nivea.
The rapper did not stay with any of the previous women. He did not promise the girls "mountains of gold." But still committed to helping children. In 2014, the rapper had a new romance.
This time, the popular singer and actress Christina Milian became the beloved of the charismatic musician (by the way, Carter's height is 1,65 m). A year later, it became known that the couple broke up.
After that, the rapper was occasionally credited with relationships with various beauties. But no American beauty has yet been able to steal the heart of a rapper.
Now, to a large extent, the singer spends his strength on creativity and business. He also spends a lot of time with his first daughter Regina.
Rapper's offenses
Lil maintained a bad boy reputation. He did not hide the fact that he had problems with the law. And yes, it can't be hidden. For journalists, the rapper's problems with the law are an excuse to "inflate an elephant out of a fly."
On July 22, 2007, after performing at New York's historic Beacon Theater on Upper Broadway, Manhattan, the rapper was arrested by police.
The fact is that the artist's friends smoked marijuana. During a search in Wayne, not only drugs were found, but also a gun, which was officially registered to the manager.
In 2009, Carter admitted to illegal possession of weapons. He had to appear in court to hear the verdict. However, this time a lawyer came to court and announced that the rapper had an operation that day. The meeting was rescheduled several times.
In 2010, the rapper still went to jail. He was in a separate cell. In April, Carter's friends opened a website that published open letters from the artist, which he wrote from the camera. November 4, 2010 the rapper was released.
This is not all Wayne's problems with the law. Another bright and at the same time scandalous case occurred in 2011.
Georgia-based production company Done Deal Enterprises sued the rapper (also against Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Music Group) for copyright infringement.
The production company demanded $15 million in moral damages from the rapper. The lawsuit alleges that the performer stole the Bed Rock track.
Lil Wayne today
Today, most fans of Wayne's work are not watching his work, but his state of health. Journalists and presenters discuss one topic - the rapper's hospitalization.
In 2017, the performer was hospitalized. He had an epileptic seizure. This is not the first attack, Lil has been treated before.
In 2018, the rapper returned to creativity. He expanded his discography with the album Tha Carter V. From a commercial point of view, the album cannot be called a success. In total, a little more than 100 thousand copies of the record were sold.
In 2020, the rapper expanded his discography with the album THE FUNERAL. In addition, in 2020, the rapper managed to give a concert, as well as present a video clip for the song Mama Mia.
In December 2020, it turned out that Lil Wayne finally presented the continuation of the No Ceilings 3 trilogy. The rapper presented the “B-side” of the record. Recall that "side A" was released by the singer a couple of weeks ago.
The musical novelty is the main mixtape series in the artist's creative biography. Its essence lies in the fact that Lil uses the instrumentals of other people's tracks and writes his own freestyles to them.
