Born as Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Dwayne Michael Turner and Jacinda Carter, who was then 19 years old, Lil Wayne was forced to bid goodbye to his father who abandoned him and his mother right after he was born. During that time, he and his mother were forced to survive by themselves in the criminal-infested community at Hollygrove division of New Orleans. Fortunate enough, soon afterwards, his mother met Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald, who eventually became his stepfather. Years later, his stepfather moved the family out from the poverty-stricken Hollygrove to East New Orleans. By that time, Lil Wayne had begun to develop his interest in hip hop and rap music. Influenced
by Cash Money Recording artists like Pimp Daddy and U.N.L.V., he began rapping at block parties. His performance at one of the parties caught the attention of Lil Slim, a Cash Money rapper. Through the latter recording artist, Lil Wayne met the Cash Money Records moguls, Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Though his free styling talent left strong impressions on the two tycoons, Lil Wayne did not get a contract with Cash Money until he repeatedly left freestyles recording on Baby's answering machine. At the tender age of 11 years old, Lil Wayne at last got his shot to sign up with Cash Money, being the Records' youngest rapper. A year after signing the contract, Lil Wayne caught in an incident that almost took his life. He accidentally shot himself in chest with his stepfather gun, putting him on life support for two weeks.
Recovering from his incident, Lil Wayne marched on to welcome his first gig, in which he was hooked up with another newcomer, Lil' Doggie, later more well-known as B.G., to form a rap group "The B.G.'z". With this group, the young rapper only recorded and released one album, "True Story" (1995), which did not sell as expected. It was during this time that he was forced to dropped out of 10th grade, had a daughter, Reginae Carter, with high school sweetheart, Antonia, and was not allowed to meet Baby again. However, things quickly change for the better after his stepfather passed away in early 1997. Getting permission to work with Baby once more, he left his unsuccessful stories behind and then embarked to form a new group, called "The Hot Boys", with Juvenile, Turk, and B.G in 1997. Quickly, he and his group went on recording their notable debut album "Get It How You Live" (1997) followed by "Guerilla Warfare" (1999), both albums earned them mild fame throughout the South and Midwest. Despite the fact that the group was considerably successful, Lil Wayne and his friends officially went on their separate ways in 2001.
Though Lil Wayne had been known in several states by 1999, it wasn't until he released his solo debut, "Tha Block Is Hot" (1999), that he really got his big break, being known all over the States. His solo album peaked at number three on Billboard's album chart and at number one on Billboard Top R'n'B/Hip-Hop Albums, while at the
same time scored him a nomination for 2000 Source Award for New Artist of the Year, Solo. In the years to follow, the rapper who was originated from the 17th Ward of New Orleans released "Lights Out" (2000) and "500 Degreez" (2002), both failed to match the success of his seminal debut, receiving only gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His "500 Degreez" album got its name from Juvenile's multi-platinum album "400 Degreez" (1998). It was supposed to be the album that beat the sales record of Juvenile's, who left Cash Money earlier. However, the sales of the album proved to be disappointing, selling only 536,000 copies in U.S. and 900,000 copies worldwide.
In June 2004, this young American artist released his most recognized album yet, "Tha Carter" that peaked at number five on Billboard 200, and at number two on Billboard Top R'n'B/Hip-Hop Albums. Around this time, he collaborated with Destiny's Child and T.I. for the noteworthy Destiny's Child's song "Soldier", earning him prominent nominations, naming some were 2005 BET Award-Best Collaboration and 2006 Grammy Award-Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. Following the accomplishment of album "Tha Carter" and collaboration single "Soldier", he released "Tha Carter II" (2005) that debuted at number two on Billboard's album chart while its lead single "Fireman" became a hit peaking at number 32 on Billboard Hot 100. Once again, the rapper that is famous for the red bandanna tied on his right arm or leg received positive reviews and gathered notable nomination for the 2006 BET Hip-Hop Award, the 2006 Billboard Music Award and the 2007 BET Award. In the period of 2006 to 2007, he gained more fans by releasing a series of mixtapes, "Dedication" (2006) and "Dedication 2" (2006), whereas in 2007, he recorded another Carter-titled album "Tha Carter III", scheduled to be released on February 12, 2008, and received his first award, the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Award, for MVP of the Year.
