Lil Wayne -The Living Rapper

Real Name: Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.

Date Of Birth: September 27, 1982

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Labels: Young Money Ent/Cash Money Records/Universal Motown

Nicknames: Nino Brown, Gangsta D, Weezy, Weezy F Baby, Wizzle, Young Wayne, Baby Jr, Birdman Jr, Young Tune, Tunechi, Best Rapper Alive, Rapper Eater, Mr. Carter, President Carter & Dr. Carter

Biography

A game-changing artist and an impervious celebrity, Lil Wayne began as his career as a near-novelty — a preteen delivering hardcore hip-hop — but through years of maturation and reinventing the mixtape game, he developed into a million-selling rapper with a massive body of work, one so inventive and cunning that it makes his famous claim of being the “best rapper alive” 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. Combining a strong work ethic with aggressive self-promotion, the 11-year-old convinced the Cash Money label to take him on, even if it was just of odd jobs around the office. A year later, in-house producer Mannie Fresh partnered him with the 14-year-old B.G. and dubbed the duo the B.G.’z. Although only B.G.’s name appeared on the cover, the 1995 album True Story has since been accepted as the B.G.’z debut album both by fans and the Cash Money label. 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, dropping the “D” from his first name in order to separate himself from an absent father. He joined B.G., Juvenile, and Young Turk for another Fresh project, the teen hardcore rap group the Hot Boys, who released their debut album, Get It How U Live!, in 1997. Two years later, Cash Money would sign a distribution deal with the major-label Universal. Mainstream distribution would help that year’s 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. While Fresh was primarily responsible for launching his career, Wayne was now much closer to Fresh’s fellow Big Tymer and Cash Money CEO Birdman. When Juvenile left the label, Wayne — or “Birdman Jr.” as he was calling himself — showed his allegiance to his CEO by releasing an album with a title much hotter than Juvie’s breakthrough effort. 500 Degreez landed in 2002 and while it went gold, rumors began flying about Cash Money’s financial troubles and possible demise. 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 marketing skills had become sharper, too, and it was no mistake that the album’s hit single, “Go DJ,” mentioned hip-hop’s greatest tastemakers right in the title. It reached number five on the singles chart, and with a guest shot on Destiny’s Child’s number three single, “Soldier,” Wayne had officially crossed over. On the flip side, 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. With no official follow-up to Tha Carter II in sight, numerous collaborative tracks kept the rapper in the mainstream with “Gimme That” by Chris Brown, “Make It Rain” by Fat Joe, and “Duffle Bag Boy” by Playaz Circle becoming three of the biggest hits.


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, including his help in signing Kevin Rudolf to Cash Money plus an appearance on Rudolf’s massive hit “Let It Rock.” 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 aboveground single “Every Girl,” plus the official album We Are Young Money that same year. His rock album, Rebirth, would finally see the light of day in early 2010.


Lil Wayne Awards & Nominations

Below, you can see a list of all the awards Lil Wayne has won since the start of his career. You can also see all of the awards Weezy has been nominated for too.
Awards:Award    Song/Album/Mixtape    Category
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    No Ceilings    Mixtape Of The Year
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    Drop The World    The People’s Crown
ASCAP Awards 2010    Mrs. Officer    Award Winning Rap Song
ASCAP Awards 2010    Forever    Award Winning Rap Song
BET Awards 2010    -    Best Group
BET Awards 2009    -    Best Male Hip Hop Artist
Grammy Awards 2009    Lollipop    Best Rap Song
Grammy Awards 2009    Swagga Like Us    Best Rap Performance By A Group
Grammy Awards 2009    Tha Carter III    Best Rap Album
Grammy Awards 2009    A Milli    Best Rap Solo Performance
MTV Europe Music Awards 2008    -    Artists Choice
MTV Video Music Awards 2008    Lollipop    Best Hip Hop Video
BET Awards 2008    Lollipop    Viewer’s Choice
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    -    MVP Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    A Milli    Track Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    Lollipop    Best Ringtone Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    Tha Carter III    CD Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    I’m So Hood (Remix)    Best Hip Hop Collabo
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    -    Lyricist Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    A Milli    People’s Champ
Ozone Awards 2008    -    Best Rap Artist
Ozone Awards 2008    -    Best Lyricist
Ozone Awards 2007    You    Best Rap/R&B Collaboration
Ozone Awards 2007    -    Mixtape Monster Award
Ozone Awards 2007    We Takin’ Over    Best Video
Ozone Awards 2007    -    Best Lyricist
Ozone Awards 2007    -    Best Male Rap Artist
BET Awards 2007    Stuntin’ Like My Daddy    Viewer’s Choice
BET Awards 2007    -    Best Male Hip Hop Artist
BET Hip Hop Awards 2007    Stuntin’ Like My Daddy    Alltel People’s Champ
Vibe Music Awards 2007    Da Drought III    Best Mixtape Of The Year
Vibe Music Awards 2007    -    Best Rapper
Vibe Music Awards 2007    We Takin’ Over    Coolest Collabo

Nominations:Award    Song/Album/Mixtape    Category
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    Forever    Instant Classic
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    Roger That    The People’s Crown
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    Always Strapped (Remix)    Remix Of The Year
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    I’m Single    Guerilla Video Of The Year
Sucker Free Summit Awards 2010    Roger That    Verse Of The Year
MuchMusic Video Awards 2010    Forever    UR FAVE Video
MuchMusic Video Awards 2010    Bed Rock    International Video Of The Year
MuchMusic Video Awards 2010    Forever    Int Vid Of The Year By A Canadian
BET Awards 2010    -    Best New Artist With YME
BET Awards 2010    Forever    Best Collaboration
BET Awards 2010    -    Viewer’s Choice Award
Teen Choice Awards 2010    -    Best Group
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    Mrs. Officer    Best Hip Hop Collabo
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    -    Lyricist Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    -    Best Hip Hop Style
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    -    MVP Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    -    Best Live Performer
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    -    Hustler Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2009    Every Girl    Track Of The Year
BET Awards 2009    Can’t Believe It    Viewer’s Choice
BET Awards 2009    A Milli    Viewer’s Choice
BET Awards 2009    Turnin’ Me On    Best Collaboration
BET Awards 2009    Turnin’ Me On    Viewer’s Choice
Grammy Awards 2009    Tha Carter III    Album Of The Year
Grammy Awards 2009    Swagga Like Us    Best Rap Song
Grammy Awards 2009    Mr. Carter    Best Rap Performance By A Duo
Grammy Awards 2009    Got Money    Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    Lollipop    Track Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    -    Best Live Performer
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    -    Mixtape Monster
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    -    Hustler Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    Lollipop    Best Hip Hop Video
BET Hip Hop Awards 2008    I’m So Hood (Remix)    Best Hip Hop Video
BET Awards 2008    I’m So Hood (Remix)    Best Collaboration
BET Awards 2008    -    Best Male Hip Hop Artist
American Music Awards 2008    Tha Carter III    Favorite Hip Hop/Rap Album
American Music Awards 2008    -    Favorite Male Hip Hop/Rap Artist
MTV Video Music Awards 2008    Lollipop    Best Male Video
MTV Europe Music Awards 2008    -    Urban Artist
Ozone Awards 2008    -    Mixtape Monster
Ozone Awards 2008    -    TJ’s DJ’s Hustler
Ozone Awards 2008    -    Best Rap Group
Ozone Awards 2008    Lollipop    Club Banger Of The Year
Ozone Awards 2008    Duffle Bag Boy    Club Banger Of The Year
Ozone Awards 2008    -    Pimp C Award
Teen Choice Awards 2008    -    Choice Rap Artist
BET Hip Hop Awards 2007    -    Lyricist Of The Year
BET Hip Hop Awards 2007    Stuntin’ Like My Daddy    Best Hip Hop Collabo
BET Hip Hop Awards 2007    -    Best Live Performance
BET Hip Hop Awards 2007    We Takin’ Over    Best Hip Hop Collabo
Grammy Awards 2006    Soldier    Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
MTV Video Music Awards 2006    Fireman    MTV2 Award
MTV Video Music Awards 2005    Soldier    Best Group Video
Vibe Music Awards 2005    Soldier    Coolest Collabo
BET Awards 2005    Soldier    Best Collaboration
Source Awards 2000    -    Best New Artist

Lil Wayne Filmography

Below, you will find Lil Wayne’s full filmography including movies and documentaries he has starred in, upcoming films and the TV shows Wayne has appeared on throughout his career.
Upcoming Films:
The Nino Brown Story (Part 3) – 2010
Like Father, Like Son – TBA
Movies/Documentaries:
The Nino Brown Story (Part 2) – 2010
Hurricane Season – 2009
Three Amigos – 2009
The Carter Documentary – 2009
The Nino Brown Story – 2008
The Come Up (Vol 17) (Wayne’s World Edition) – 2008
Kush 1, 2 & 3 – 2008
Who’s Your Caddy? – 2007
Baller Blockin’ – 2000
TV Appearances:
Freaknik: The Musical – 2010
The Mo’Nique Show – 2009
VH1: Behind the Music – 2009
The View – 2009
Jimmy Kimmel Live With Charles Gibson – 2009
Katie Couric’s “All Access” Grammy Special – 2009
David Letterman’s Top 10 List – 2009
ESPN: Around the Horn – 2009
Saturday Night Live – 2009
What’s “G” Gatorade Commercial – 2009
Chalk Nike Commercial – 2008
BET 106 & Park – 2008
BET’s Blueprint – 2008
The Boondocks: Invasion of the Katrinians – 2007