lil wayne biography

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Lil Wayne

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Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne in 2006

Background information

Birth name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.

Born September 27, 1982 (1982-09-27) (age 28)

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Genres Hip hop

Occupations Rapper, CEOInstruments Vocals, Guitars[1]

Years active 1992present

Labels Young Money, Cash Money, Universal Motown

Associated acts Big Tymers, Birdman, Drake, Cash Money

Millionaires, Hot Boys, Juelz Santana, Kevin Rudolf, T-Pain, Young

MoneyWebsite lilwayne-online.com

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better

known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the


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age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the

youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z,

with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which

also included rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. Hot Boys debuted

with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne gained most of hissuccess with the group's major selling album Guerrilla Warfare,

released in 1999. Also in 1999, Lil Wayne released his Platinum

debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in

the U.S.

Although his next two albums Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez

(2002) were not as successful (only reaching Gold status), LilWayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, which

included the single "Go D.J." Wayne also appeared on the

Destiny's Child top ten single "Soldier" that year. In 2005, the

sequel to Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, was released. In 2006 and

2007, Lil Wayne released several mixtapes and appeared on

several popular rap and R&B singles. His most successful album,

Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 which went on to sell over 1

million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. It included thenumber-one single "Lollipop" and won the Grammy Award for

Best Rap Album. Lil Wayne released his debut rock album,

Rebirth, in 2010 to primarily negative reception from critics. The

album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began

serving an 8 month prison sentence in New York after being

convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an

incident in July 2007. While in jail he released another album

entitled I Am Not a Human Being in September 2010, featuringYoung Money artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist.

Contents

[hide]


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* 1 Early life

* 2 Music career

o 2.1 199799: The Hot Boys

o 2.2 200002: Lights Out and 500 Degreez

o 2.3 200407: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations

o 2.4 200809: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money

o 2.5 2010present: Rebirth and I Am Not a Human Being

o 2.6 2010-present: Tha Carter IV

o 2.7 2006-present: Future projects

* 3 Television and film career

* 4 Personal life

o 4.1 Family

o 4.2 Higher education

o 4.3 Sports and musical interestso 4.4 Philanthropy

o 4.5 Drug use and arrests

o 4.6 New York weapon case

o 4.7 Lawsuits

o 4.8 Public references by Barack Obama

* 5 Discography

* 6 Filmography

* 7 Awards

* 8 References


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* 9 External links

Early life

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the

Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] Carter

was born when his mother, a chef, was 19 years old. His parents

were divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently

abandoned the family. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of

Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor

McMain Secondary School.[2][3] He wrote his first rap song at ageeight.[4] In the summer of 1991, he met Bryan Williams, rapper

and owner of Cash Money Records. Carter recorded freestyle raps

on Williams's answering machine leading him to mentor the

young Carter and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs.

He also recorded his first ever collaboration album True Story with

rapper B.G.. At the time, Carter was 11, and B.G. was 14, and was

billed as "The B.G.'z".[5] When he was 12, he played the part of

the Tin Man in his middle school drama club's production of TheWiz.[6] He also accidentally shot himself with a .44 caliber gun at

the age of 13, with the bullet missing his heart by two inches.[2]

At McMain Magnet School, Carter was an honor student, but he

dropped out at the age of 14 to focus on a musical career.[7]

Music career

199799: The Hot Boys

Main article: Hot Boys

In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile,

B.G., and Turk. At age 15, Carter was the youngest member at


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that time. Hot Boys' debut album Get It How U Live! was released

the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut

Guerrilla Warfare,[1] which reached No. 1 on the Billboard

magazine Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 on the

Billboard 200.[8] During their career, the Hot Boys had twocharting singles, "We on Fire" from Get It How U Live! and "I Need

a Hot Girl" from Guerrilla Warfare.[9] Carter was also featured on

Juvenile's single "Back That Azz Up", which reached No. 18 on the

Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles &

Tracks.[10] Let 'Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased

tracks recorded during 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several

years after the group disbanded.[11] It reached No. 3 on the Top

R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.[8]

Carter's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot at age 17 featured

significant contributions from the Hot Boys and was certified 2x

platinum, climbing to No. 3 on the Billboard album charts.[1] The

album earned him a 1999 Source magazine award nomination for

"Best New Artist",[12] and also became a Top Ten hit.[1] The lead

single was "Tha Block Is Hot". After the release of Tha Block isHot, Carter was featured on the single, "Bling Bling", with B.G.,

Juvenile, and Big Tymers. His verse was featured on the radio

edition, and on the album version, only his hook was featured on

the single.

200002: Lights Out and 500 Degreez

His 2000 follow-up album Lights Out failed to attain the level ofsuccess achieved by his debut[1] but was certified gold by RIAA.

[13] Critics pointed to the lack of coherent narratives in his verses

as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow

Hot Boys.[14] The lead single was "Get Off The Corner" which was

noticed for an improvement in lyrical content and style, it also


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received a music video. The second single which received less

attention was "Shine" featuring The Hot Boys. Near the release of

Lights Out, Lil Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna"

with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot

Rap Tracks charts.

In 2001, Lil Wayne was shot in the chest in Florida after "some

groupies" fired two shots through his tour bus window. He

recalled the incident in 2008 interview: 'It [the bullet] 'didnt go all

the way in, cause the window slowed it down.'[2]

Lil Wayne's third album 500 Degreez, released in 2002, followed

the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from

the Hot Boys and Mannie Fresh. While certified Gold like its

predecessor,[13] it too failed to match the success of his debut.

[1] The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys

member Juvenile's recording, 400 Degreez.[15] The lead single

was "Way Of Life" which like the album failed to match the

success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez,he was featured in the single "Neva Get Enuf" by 3LW.[16]

200407: Tha Carter, Tha Carter II and collaborations

In the summer of 2004, Wayne's album Tha Carter was released,

marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style

and lyrical themes.[17] In addition, the album's cover art featured

the debut of Wayne's now-signature dreadlocks.[1] Tha Carter

gained Wayne significant recognition, selling over 1 million copies

in the United States, while the single "Go DJ" became a Top 5 Hit.

[18] After the release of Tha Carter, Lil Wayne was featured in

Destiny's Child's single "Soldier" with T.I., which peaked at No. 3

on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B Charts.[19] The song Get


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Something (featuring Mannie Fresh) was supposed to appear on

the album but failed to make the cut, however the music video

was released.[20]

Tha Carter II, the follow-up to the original Tha Carter album, was

released in December 2005, this time without production by

longtime Cash Money Records producer Mannie Fresh, who had

since left the label. Tha Carter II sold more than 238,000 copies in

its first week of release, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200

albums chart, and went on to sell 2,000,000 copies world wide.

The lead single, "Fireman," became a hit in the US, peaking at 32

on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "GrownMan", "Hustler Muzik", and "Shooter" (featuring R&B singer Robin

Thicke). Lil Wayne also appeared on a remix of Bobby Valentino's

"Tell Me", which rose to No. 13 on the U.S. R&B Charts.

In 2005, Lil Wayne was named president of Cash Money, and in

the same year he founded Young Money Entertainment as an

imprint of Cash Money.[21] However, as of late 2007, Lil Waynereported that he has stepped down from the management of both

labels and has handed management of Young Money over to

Cortez Bryant.[22]

Lil Wayne performing at the Beacon Theatre on July 23, 2007

In 2006, Lil Wayne collaborated with rapper Birdman for the

album Like Father, Like Son, whose first single "Stuntin' Like My

Daddy", reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Instead of a

follow-up solo album, Lil Wayne reached his audience through a

plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop

and hip-hop singles.[1] Of his many mixtapes, Dedication 2 and

Da Drought 3 received the most media exposure and critical


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review. Dedication 2, released in 2006, paired Lil Wayne with DJ

Drama and contained the acclaimed socially conscious track

"Georgia Bush," in which Lil Wayne critiqued former US president

George W. Bush's response to the effects of Hurricane Katrina on

the city of New Orleans. Da Drought 3 was released the followingyear and was available for free legal download. It contained Lil

Wayne rapping over a variety of beats from recent hits by other

musicians. Numerous of features in prominent hip-hop magazines

such as XXL[23] and Vibe[7] covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard

of Rolling Stone magazine considered the mixtapes Da Drought 3

and The Drought Is Over 2 "among the best albums of 2007."[3]

Despite no album release for two years, Lil Wayne appeared in

numerous singles as a featured performer, including "Gimme

That" by Chris Brown, "Make It Rain" by Fat Joe, "You" by Lloyd,

and "We Takin' Over" by DJ Khaled (also featuring Akon, T.I., Rick

Ross, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle,

"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by Wyclef Jean (also featuring Akon),

and the remix to "I'm So Hood" by DJ Khaled (also featuring T-

Pain, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Big Boi, Fat Joe,Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top

20 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Rap Tracks, and Hot

R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. On Birdman's 2007 album 5 * Stunna,

Lil Wayne appeared on the singles "100 Million" and "I Run This"

among several other tracks. Wayne also appeared on tracks from

albums Getback by Little Brother, American Gangster by Jay-Z,

and Graduation by Kanye West and Insomniac by Enrique Iglesias.

"Make it Rain", a Scott Storch production that peaked at number13 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart,

[24] was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap

Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.[25]


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Vibe magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007

and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of

2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-

Z's "Show Me What You Got") from Da Drought 3 the second

song.[7] At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as"Hottest MC in the Game",[26] The New Yorker magazine ranked

him "Rapper of the Year",[5] and GQ magazine named him

"Workaholic of the Year".[27] In 2008 he was named "Best Rock

Star Alive" by Blender magazine[2] and "Best MC" by Rolling

Stone.[3] Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape

work, cites his creative practice as an example of

postperformance creative practice.[28]

200809: Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money

Initially 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 initially decided to use the

leaked tracks, plus four new tracks, to make a separate album,

titled The Leak. The Leak was to be released December 18, 2007,

with the actual album being delayed until March 18, 2008,[29]

The release of The Leak in this format never came to fruition, but

an official EP titled The Leak and containing five tracks was

released digitally on December 25, 2007.[citation needed]

Tha Carter III was released on June 10, 2008, selling more than a

million copies in its first week of release, the first to do so since50 Cent's The Massacre in 2005.[30] The first single "Lollipop",

featuring Static became the rapper's most commercially

successful song at that point, topping the Billboard Hot 100,

making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist, as

well as his first No. 1 on the chart. His third single from Carter III',


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"Got Money" featuring T-Pain, peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard

100. Along with his album singles, Lil Wayne appeared on R&B

singles "Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "Love In This Club, Part

II" by Usher, "Official Girl" by Cassie, "I'm So Paid" by Akon,

"Turnin' Me On" by Keri Hilson, and "Can't Believe It" by T-Pain;rap singles "My Life" by The Game, "Shawty Say" by David

Banner, "Swagga Like Us" by T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by Mike Jones, All

My Life (In the Ghetto) by Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by

Glasses Malone; and pop single "Let It Rock" by new Cash Money

artist Kevin Rudolf. On July 14, 2008, the Recording Industry

Association of America certified Tha Carter III two times platinum.

[31] In an October 2008 interview with MTV News, Lil Wayne

announced plans to re-release this album with all new tracks,including a duet with Ludacris and remixes of "A Milli".[32]

Lil Wayne performing at General Motors Place concert in

Vancouver in January 2009.

The lineup for New Orleans' 2008 Voodoo Experience concert,

held in October, featured Lil Wayne. Jonathan Cohen of Billboard

magazine reported that the event would mark his biggest

hometown headlining set of his career.[33] Lil Wayne stated that

he would reunite with Hot Boys alongside Juvenile, Turk, and B.G.

They plan to release an album after B.G.'s solo album Too Hood to

Be Hollywood was completed.[34] Wayne also performed as the

2008 Virgin Mobile Music Fest with Kanye West, performing the

remix of "Lollipop" with West and also lip-syncing to Whitney

Houston's "I Will Always Love You".[35] Lil Wayne also performed

at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards with Kid Rock ("All SummerLong"), Leona Lewis ("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and T-Pain

("Got Money"). On the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, he

performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money".[36] He later performed at

the homecoming rally at Vanderbilt University[37] and the 2008

BET Hip Hop Awards with 12 nominations.[38] He won the "MVP"


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title at the BET Hip Hop Awards and seven others.[39] It was

revealed that M.I.A. dropped out of performing on the tour due to

her pregnancy, however Jay-Z is expected to perform with Wayne

on the song "Mr. Carter" at select shows.[40]

On November 11, 2008, Wayne became the first hip-hop act to

ever perform at the Country Music Association Awards. He played

alongside Kid Rock for the song, "All Summer Long", in which

Wayne did not rap but instead inaudibly strummed guitar strings

alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band.[41] Shortly after,

Wayne was nominated for eight Grammys the most for any

artist nominated that year.[42] Wayne was then named the firstever MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008.[43] He won the

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "A Milli", Best

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance in T.I.'s

single "Swagga Like Us", and Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". Tha

Carter III won the award for Best Rap Album.[44]

DJ Drama stated that there would be a third installation of theDedication mixtape series with Lil Wayne,[45] who insisted that it

will would be a full album under the title.[46] However despite the

fact Wayne wanted to release Dedication 3 as an album, it was

released as a mixtape on November 14, 2008.[citation needed]

MTV listed Lil Wayne number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest

MCs In The Game.[47]

On December 23, 2009, Wayne released a collaboration album

with Young Money, with the first single confirmed as "Every Girl".

[48] The second single is "BedRock", featuring Lloyd. The third


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single is "Roger That". On May 24, 2010, the album was certified

gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold.[49]

Wayne is featured on the song, "Revolver", with Madonna for her2009 greatest hits album, Celebration. He was also featured on a

Weezer song, "Can't Stop Partying", on their 2009 album,

Raditude.[50]

2010present: Rebirth and I Am Not a Human Being

In late 2008, Wayne stated that he would re-release The Carter IIIwith leftover tracks and call it Rebirth, several months later,

however, he announced Rebirth would instead release as his

debut rock album, maintaining its title as Rebirth.[51] To support

the release of Rebirth and a collaboration album with Young

Money Entertainment, Wayne headlined the 'Young Money

Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival'... a United States

and Canadaonly concert tour which started on July 29, 2009. The

Rebirth album was originally scheduled for a April 7, 2009 release,

however after numerous delays, the album was released on

February 2, 2010. For the anticipation of Rebirth, Wayne was

featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.[52]

"Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January 27,

2009 immediately after a live Internet broadcast on Ustream[53]

of his concert in San Diego.[54] "Prom Queen" peaked at number

15 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.[55] On December 3, 2009, Lil

Wayne's second single from the album, "On Fire", was released on

iTunes. "On Fire" was produced by Cool & Dre with Lil Wayne

playing the guitar with the aid of Pro Tools.[56] "On Fire" peaked

at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. "Drop the World",

which features Eminem, is the third single from the album.[56]


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Lil Wayne was thought to be releasing an EP entitled I Am Not a

Human Being, but it was confirmed that would be a full lenghth

LP. The album was released on September 27, 2010 which washis birthday. The album has sold over 250,000 copies in the U.S.

and has spawned a successful single in "Right Above It".

2010-present: Tha Carter IV

In an interview on MTV's Mixtape Monday, Wayne asserted the

possibility of an album titled Tha Carter IV.[57] Following Tha

Carter III's achievement of selling over 2 million copies, becoming2008's best-selling record, Wayne re-signed with Cash Money

Records for a multi-album deal.[58] Wayne said Tha Carter IV will

be released in 2009 just before the holidays.[59] Birdman had

previously stated that Tha Carter IV would be packaged with

Rebirth as a double disc album.[60] However, Wayne denied this

idea saying that "Tha Carter IV deserves Tha Carter IV". He went

on to say that We Are Young Money may be packaged with

Rebirth.[61][62] However, it was later confirmed that Rebirth andWe Are Young Money will be released separately and that Tha

Carter IV will be released during 2011. He started from scratch on

Tha Carter IV since getting released from jail.[63] He recorded his

first track since being released from jail and it was described as

being "a 2010 version of A Milli on streroids." The album is set to

feature multiple guests, including Tech N9ne. [64] The album will

be released during Q1 of 2011.[65]

2006-present: Future projects

He has announced several possible upcoming projects, including

a collaboration album I Can't Feel My Face with rapper Juelz

Santana that has been in production for several years.[66][67] He


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born when he was 15,[4] to his high school sweetheart Antonia

"Toya" Carter (ne Johnson). Wayne and Johnson married on

Valentine's Day of 2004 and divorced in 2006.[85] Internet

rumours started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter

had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up asfalse saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations

and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by

family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely

false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of

my family has been involved in any car accident."[86] His second

child, Dwayne III, was then born on October 22, 2008 at Christ

Hospital in Cincinnati.[87] His third child, Lennox Samuel Ari, was

born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009.[88] He hadhis fourth child, Neal, on November 30, 2009 with singer Nivea.

[89]

In a CBS interview with Katie Couric, Wayne described why he

goes by the name of "Wayne" instead of his given name, Dwayne.

Carter explained, "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my

father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in mylife. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Couric

asked Wayne if his father knew of this and Wayne replied with a

smile, "He knows now".[80]

Higher education

After earning his GED, Wayne enrolled at the University of

Houston in January 2005. He dropped out in the same year.[90]He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University

of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses.[91]

An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne

had been earning high grades at Houston.[92]


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Sports and musical interests

In an interview with Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of

his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, andcites them as a major influence in his music.[93]

On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for

ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was

a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los

Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox.[94] Wayne has

continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN SuperBowl party.[95]

Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show

Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.[96]

Along with Mack Maine, Wayne was in attendance of Game 3 ofthe opening round NBA playoff series between the Denver

Nuggets and the home team New Orleans Hornets on April 25,

2009.

Philanthropy

On February 19, 2008, Lil Wayne and Cortez Bryant revisited their

alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design

an invitation to the gala introducing Lil Wayne's nonprofit One

Family Foundation.[97] The website Change.org states: "The

mission of One Family Foundation, Inc. is to empower urban youth

by engaging them in opportunities to cultivate their talents and


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skills, educating them to become productive and economically

self-sufficient, and motivating them to dream beyond their

circumstances."[98]

Drug use and arrests

Wayne told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric on her All

Access Grammy Special in 2009 that he enjoys smoking

marijuana recreationally. He also stated that he is "not addicted"

to drinking purple drank (codeine cough syrup) any longer, like

some claimed he was.[80] He has been arrested for use or

possession of marijuana and other drugs.

Following a performance at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Lil

Wayne was arrested October 5, 2007 on felony fugitive charges

after Georgia authorities accused the rapper of possessing a

controlled substance.[99] The incident was later described as a

"mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.[100]

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 (3.7 oz) of

marijuana, almost 29 grams (1.0 oz) of cocaine, 41 grams (1.4 oz)

of MDMA, and $22,000 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.[101] On May 6, 2008, Wayne returned to court in

Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges.[102] A bench warrant

was issued on March 17, 2010 when Lil Wayne didn't show for a

final trial management conference.[103][104] However, the


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rapper was already in prison, serving a year-long sentence in

Rikers on weapons charges. On June 22, 2010 Wayne plead guilty

to the charges. As part of the plea deal he may serve 36 months

of probation.[105] On June 30, 2010, he was sentenced to 3 years

probation.[106]

On December 18, 2009, Wayne and 11 others were detained at

the Falfurrias, Texas border patrol checkpoint after an unknown

amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.[107]

New York weapon case

On July 22, 2007, Lil Wayne was arrested in New York City

following a performance at the Beacon Theatre; the New York City

Police Department discovered Lil Wayne and another man

smoking marijuana near a tour bus. After taking Lil Wayne into

custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol on his person. The

gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located

near the rapper.[108] He was charged with criminal possession of

a weapon and marijuana.[109][110]

On October 22, 2009, Lil Wayne pleaded guilty to attempted

criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in

February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year jail

sentence,[111] but on February 9, 2010, Lil Wayne's attorney

announced that the sentencing was delayed until March 2 due to

dental surgery,[112] which was performed on February 16. The

surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several

tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and

work on his remaining original teeth.[113]


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On March 2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the

courthouse reported a fire in the basement.[114]

On March 8, 2010, Lil Wayne was sentenced to a year in prison,which he served in Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper

expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other

prisoners.[115] He was released on good behavior.[115][116]

However, in May 2010 Wayne was found by Rikers Island

correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3

player, charger, and headphones).[117] However at that time, it

was reported by MTV and HipHopDX that Lil Wayne will be

released in November which is four months early, which was true.[118]

In April 2010, Lil Wayne's friends created a website called Weezy

Thanx You, which publishes letters written by Wayne in prison.

[119][120] In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", the

rapper described his daily routine, saying he works out a lot, and

reads the Bible every day.[119]

Wayne was released from Rikers Island prison facility on

November 4, 2010 after serving eight months of his year-long

sentence.[121]

Lawsuits

In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a

$1.3 million lawsuit against Wayne, following a $100,000 advance

payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the

artist.[122]


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On October 2009, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Cash Money Records and

various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright

infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who claims his voice wasused without permission. The rappers asked him to record some

"Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were

allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers'

collaboration album Like Father, Like Son and Birdman's 5 *

Stunna.[123]

Public references by Barack Obama

Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President

Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts.

Speaking to a largely African-American audience during a general

election campaign town hall speech in Georgia, then-U.S. Senator

Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their

dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for

shortcuts to fame and riches, stating: "You are probably not that

good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probablynot, in which case you need to stay in school."[124]

After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of

personal and familial responsibilityand the difficulty of achieving

Lil Wayne's lyrical skills or successduring an address to a

meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP,

telling the audience:

They might think theyve got a pretty jump shot or a pretty

good flow, but our kids cant all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne. I

want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and


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teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be

a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be President of

the United States of America.[125]

Obama also mentioned listening to Lil Wayne on his iPod:

My rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of

what predominated, but now I've got a little Nas and a little Lil

Wayne and some other stuff.[126]

Discography

Main article: Lil Wayne discography

* 1999: Tha 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

lil wayne biography

Documents