Lil Wayne Bio

About
Latest Posts

Colin is a content creator based out of New York City. Colin loves rap music because it brings together various things that he enjoys, like art, fashion, and film. He spends his time writing and producing music when he's not working. He's eager to share with you his first hand experiences in the industry.

Lil Wayne is one of the best-selling rappers of all time. Wayne began his career at just 12 years old after signing a deal with Cash Money Records and has gone on to sell over 120 million records worldwide.

Even though Lil Wayne is best known for commercial hits like a Milli and Lollipop, my personal favorites are classics like Hustler Music and Mr. Carter ft. Jay-Z.

Wayne is one of those rare artists who has managed to obtain massive commercial success, while still being respected by true rap fans, which is what has kept him relevant in music for the last three decades. Here is a look at the life and career of Lil Wayne.

Full Name	Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.
Birth Date	September 27th, 1982
Birthplace	New Orleans, LA
Nick Name	Weezy, Tunechi
Nationality	American
Zodiac Sign	Libra
Siblings	None
Children	Reginae Carter, Kameron Carter, Neal Carter, Dwayne Carter III
Partner/Spouse	Nivea (2002-2003, 2009-2010), Lauren London (2007-2009), La’Tecia Thomas (2019 -2020), Denise Bidot (2020 -present)
Most Successful Songs / Albums	A Milli, Lollipop, 6 Foot, 7 Foot
Earnings	$15 – 30 million per year
Net Worth	$150 million
Social Media	IG: @liltunechi TW: @LilTunechi
Awards	11 BET Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 5 Grammy Awards, and 2 MTV VMA’s
Last Updated	5/3/2022

Birthplace

Lil Wayne was born on September 27th, 1982, and spent the first few years of his life growing up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, LA. Wayne has often paid homage to his old neighborhood on tracks like “Hollyweezy.” He eventually moved with his mother and stepfather to New Orleans East, before beginning his career as a rapper.

Parents

Wayne’s birth parents are Jacida Carter, aka Cita, and Dwayne Michael Turner. Cita was only 19 when she had Wayne and was still just finishing high school. Dwayne Sr. abandoned the family when Wayne was just two after he and Cita broke up. Wayne has never had a relationship with his biological father, which is why he dropped the D from his name and went by Wayne instead.

After Cita and Dwayne Sr. broke up, she worked as a cook and raised Wayne as a single mother. She briefly remarried a man named Terry, but the relationship didn’t last. Cita eventually met Reginald McDonald, aka Rabbit, who moved the family out of Hollygrove into New Orleans East.

Rabbit had a big influence on Wayne and helped convince his mother to let him pursue rap seriously. Unfortunately, Rabbit was abducted and murdered when the rapper was still young. But Wayne often referred to Rabbit as his real father and even got a tattoo in his memory, which said: “In Memory of Rabbit: It’s Up to Me”.

Early Life

Lil Wayne showed intelligence and a passion for music from a young age. He was enrolled in a gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School and later attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School, where he was an honor student. He briefly attended Marion Abrahamson Senior High School but dropped out at 14 to pursue a rap career.

He wrote his first song at just eight years old. Then his life changed forever in 1991 when he was introduced to Bryan “Baby” Williams, aka Birdman, who was the co-founder of Cash Money Records. Birdman saw something in Wayne and became his mentor. He encouraged Wayne’s love for music and let him appear on several early Cash Money Records.

But Wayne’s mother was not as encouraging of his music career at first and wasn’t sure about letting her son hang out with older guys like Birdman. So, she told her son that he could no longer rap or hang out with his friend from Cash Money.

Not long after that, 12-year-old Wayne suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound that nearly killed him. He found his stepfather Rabbit’s gun and shot himself in the chest. Luckily, he survived after being rushed to the hospital.

Wayne credits an off-duty police officer named Robert Hoobler (who the rapper calls Uncle Bob) for saving his life. Uncle Bob insisted Wayne be driven to the hospital in a police vehicle rather than wait for an ambulance, likely saving his life.

At the time, Wayne claimed that the gunshot was accidental. But many years later, he revealed that it was an intentional suicide attempt, after his mother told him he could no longer rap. He even went in more depth about the incident on the track Let it All Work Out on his 2018 album, Tha Carter V.

Career

Hot Boys

Wayne’s career started to take off in 1997 when he joined The Hot Boys, a group that consisted of other Cash Money Records artists BG, Juvenile, and Turk. Wayne was the youngest member of the group, having just dropped out of high school to pursue music.

The group released their debut album Guerilla Warfare in 1999, which charted at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 200. At the time, the label’s focus was more on the older members of the Hot Boys. But Wayne was quickly proving that he could hold his own as an artist.

Wayne also appeared on Juvenile’s popular single Back That Thang Up with another New Orleans legend, Mannie Fresh. This song was a huge hit for Cash Money and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard chart.

Solo Career

Wayne made his debut as a solo artist in 1999 with the album The Block is Hot. The record features several guest appearances from members of the Hot Boys, as well as Birdman and Mannie Fresh. The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was later certified platinum, cementing Wayne as a successful solo artist in his own right.

Due to label conflicts, the Hot Boys eventually broke up in 2001, leaving Wayne as the only artist left signed to Cash Money.

So, Wayne followed up with more solo albums, including Lights Out in 2000 and 500 Degreez in 2002. Both were certified gold but failed to attract as much attention as his debut album.

Tha Carter

Over the next few years, Wayne developed his craft and returned with the first installment in Tha Carter series in 2004. The album sold 878,000 copies in the US and featured the hit single Go DJ, produced by Mannie Fresh.

The following year, he dropped the sequel, Tha Carter II, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 and eventually sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. The album also produced several successful singles, including Fireman, Hustler Musik, and Shooter featuring Robin Thicke.

That same year, Wayne also founded his own imprint label Young Money Entertainment, under the Cash Money umbrella. It was through his Young Money label that he eventually signed major names like Drake and Nicki Minaj.

Mix Tape Run

Tha Carter I and II helped put Wayne back in the conversation as one of the biggest rappers in the game. But rather than follow up with another album right away, Wayne began dropping mixtapes and doing guest features at a record pace.

This mixtape run began with The Dedication in 2005, followed quickly after by Dedication 2, Da Drought 3, and Dedication 3. He also appeared as a guest feature on many popular singles and albums at the time, including, We Takin Over by DJ Khaled, Make It Rain by Fat Joe, and Barry Bonds by Kanye West.

During this period, Wayne’s non-stop work ethic helped establish him as one of the biggest names in music and both a respected MC and a pop icon.

The Carter III

Wayne’s 6th studio album, Tha Carter III, was announced in 2007 but was delayed several times after multiple tracks were leaked on the internet. Wayne eventually officially released these leaked tracks along with a few unreleased songs on a mixtape titled The Leak.

Tha Carter III eventually dropped on June 10th, 2008, with guest appearances from Jay-Z, T-Pain, Robin Thicke, Kanye West, Juelz Santana, and many more. It debuted at number one on Billboard and sold over 1 million copies in the first week. It also produced some of Wayne’s most successful singles, including A Milli, Lollipop, and Ms. Officer.

Tha Carter III received widespread acclaim from critics and fans, winning best rap album at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

After the success of Tha Carter III, Wayne followed up with a foray into rock music with the album Rebirth in 2010, followed up by a return to rap with the albums I am Not a Human Being in 2010 and Tha Carter IV in 2011. While all these albums were a commercial success, none of them quite reached the heights the rapper saw with Tha Carter III.

Label Problems

Starting in 2012, Wayne began teasing the release of the fifth installment of Tha Carter series, claiming that the project would be his final album. But due to a conflict with his mentor Birdman and his parent label, Cash Money, the album would not be released for another six years.

In 2014, Wayne started to voice his dissatisfaction with his label situation. A few days before Tha Carter V was set to be released, he announced that it was not dropping because he and his creativity were being held prisoner by Cash Money.

Over the next few years, Wayne took shots at his former mentor on stage and social media, eventually filing a $51 million lawsuit against the label for withholding his album.

In 2015, he signed a streaming deal with Tidal and dropped the album Free Wheezy exclusively on the platform. The rapper also continued to do features and release mixtapes, but the label situation was not allowing him to work at his highest potential.

Then finally, after years of court battles, Wayne was released from Cash Money Records in June 2018 and announced that he would be releasing Tha Carter V through Universal.

The album dropped on September 28th, 2018, and featured guest appearances from Snoop Dog, Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj, Xxxtentacion, and more. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was well-received by both critics and fans.

Since then, Wayne has reconciled with Birdman and continued to work on music. He released the album Funeral in 2020 and is currently working on Tha Carter VI and other projects.

Highlights

Family

Lil Wayne has four children. He had Reginae Carter with Toya Johnson in 1998, when the rapper was only 16 years old. In 2008, he had his first son, Dwayne Michael Carter III with his former girlfriend Sarah Vivian.

The following year, the rapper had another son, Cameron Carter with actress Lauren London. In the same year, Wayne welcomed his fourth child, Neal Carter, with singer Nivea.

Dating/Relationship History

Wayne has had several high-profile relationships. He began dating Nivea in 2002, and the two were engaged that same year but eventually called it off in 2003. They reconciled in 2008 and were reportedly engaged again but called it off in 2010. Wayne was also married to rapper and media personality Toya Johnson from 2004 to 2006.

He dated actress Lauren London from 2007 to 2009 and model LaTecia Thomas from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, he began dating plus-sized fashion model Denise Bidot. The two broke up briefly after Wayne endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 election. But they have reportedly reconciled and are still dating.

Controversies/Scandals

Wayne has had a fair amount of legal problems in the past. In 2007, he was arrested in New York City after police found a .40 caliber pistol in a bag near where he was standing, after a show at the Beacon Theater. He eventually pled guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and served eight months of a 1-year sentence on Riker’s Island.

Wayne has also had some severe health and substance abuse problems. He has been hospitalized multiple times for seizures that have been linked to an addiction to codeine.

The rapper also received some backlash after criticizing the Black Lives Matter Movement in 2016, after claiming that he’s never personally experienced racism in an interview with Nightline.

He also publicly supported Donald Trump for reelection in 2020, causing a stir amongst fans. A few months later, it was announced that Wayne would be receiving a presidential pardon for another gun case he caught in 2019, leading many to believe the two incidents were related.

Net Worth/ Career Earnings

Lil Wayne is one of the wealthiest rappers in the world, with a net worth of $150 million. His fortune comes from his multi-million record deal, a book deal, and other brand endorsements. He also makes much of his money touring and doing features for other artists. His yearly income is estimated to be between $15-and $30 million.

Real Estate

Wayne recently purchased a $15.4 million mansion in Hollywood Hills. The 12,000+ square foot home sits on 3.3 acres of land and features 7 bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. The same community is also home to many celebrities, including the Kardashians, Drake, The Weekend, Dwayne Wade, and more.

The rapper also purchased a 10,000+ square foot home in Miami Beach for $16.75 million back in 2018, after selling his previous residence in the same area for $10 million.

Famous Quotes

“The more time you spend contemplating what you should have done… you lose valuable time planning what you can and will do.” – Lil Wayne
“I tried to pay attention, but attention paid me.” – Lil Wayne
“I don’t need it to be easy. I just want it to be worth it.” – Lil Wayne

Discography

1999 – The Block is Hot
2000 – Lights Out
2002 – 500 Degreez
2004 – Tha Carter
2005 – Tha Carter II
2008 – Tha Carter III
2010 – Rebirth
2010 – I am Not a Human Being
2011 – Tha Carter IV
2013 – I Am Not a Human Being II
2015 – Free Weezy Album
2018 – Tha Carter V
2020 – Funeral

FAQs

Question: When Did Lil Wayne Start Rapping?

Answer: Lil Wayne started rapping when he was only 8 years old. He later met Bryan and Slim Williams, aka Birdman and Slim, founders of Cash Money Records. They took Wayne under their wing and put him on a few early Cash Money Records.

He appeared on the album True Stories in 1995 when he was just 12 years old, as one half of the duo the B.Gz. At the time Wayne was rapping under the name Baby D and the other rapper in the group was Lil Dougie, who later became BG. After being featured on several other Cash Money songs, Wayne eventually joined the Hot Boys at 14 and dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a rapper.

Question: Are Lil Wayne and Birdman Related?

Answer: Wayne and Birdman are not blood relatives. But early on in his career, Birdman served as his role model and father figure. Wayne’s own biological father abandoned the family when Wayne was only two years old.

Then his mother remarried a man named Rabbit, but he was murdered when he was still a teenager. This was right around the time that Wayne was getting serious about his rap career. Birdman noticed his talent very early on and became a surrogate father figure.

Birdman has often said that he looks at Wayne as his own son, a sentiment that Wayne has also expressed. In 2006, the two dropped a joint album called Like Father, Like Son and there was even a photo that went viral showing the two kissing at an event.

In response to the photo, Birdman said in an interview “I always looked at Wayne as my son and I always looked at it like, ’cause I was in the streets, and I thought this might be the last time he ever see me.

Despite their differences over the years, the two still have a strong relationship and are close to this day.

Question: Does Lil Wayne Write His Own Music?

Answer: While Wayne does not use ghostwriters or have much help coming up with his rhymes, he rarely writes anything down. The rapper claims that he has not written down a single bar since 2002. Similar to another hip-hop legend Jay-Z, Wayne feels like writing down his bars dilutes the process and makes it less authentic.

So, he comes up with all his lyrics on his own without the help of other rappers or songwriters. But he typically freestyles off the top of his head and doesn’t see the need to put pen to paper.

Sources:
MPNRC
Lil Wayne HQ
Wealthy Gorilla
Wealthy Genius
The Sun
Wiki
Dirt