Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At age nine, Lil Wayne Cash Money Records was the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The BG'z with BG. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also rappers Juvenile, BG, and Young Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live! that year. Lil Wayne got most of his success with the size of the group selling album Guerrilla Warfare, released in 1999. In 1999, Lil Wayne released his debut album Tha Block Is Hot Platinum, 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), Lil Wayne reached higher popularity in 2004 with Tha Carter, the single "Go DJ" included Wayne also appeared Destiny's Child on the 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 and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. the first week of release. It included the number one single "Lollipop" and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Lil Wayne made his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010, primarily a negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon following an incident in July 2007. While in prison he released an album titled I Am not a human being in September 2010, with Young Money artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj and Lil Twist. His ninth studio album and first since his release from prison, Tha Carter IV, was released on August 29, 2011. [2] 964,000 copies sold in the U.S. the first week.
