Lil Wayne is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, frequently listed as one of the best rappers of all time and is widely regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation.


But before this, before Lil Wayne gave the world hits like "Fireman," "Hustler Musik," "Lollipop," "A Milli," and "Got Money," before he won a slew of accolades for his musical accomplishments, including three coveted Grammy Awards for the now-famous "Carter 3" album.

Before a prison sentence, health problems, and a conflict with Birdman caused his life to take a dramatic turn. Once more, there was the greatest lil of them all before there was ever a Lil zen, Lil pump, Lil Uzi Vert, or even a Lil dickie. Out of all the well-known rap artists of the late 2000s, including Eminem, Jay-Z, and 50 cent, Lil Wayne was inarguably the biggest.

Weezy, as he is often called, helped launch a new generation of upcoming artists who would rule the next age.

Dwayne Michael Carter's win appeared to be eroding. Only one month after his album's release, the New Orleans rapper was found guilty of marijuana possession and possession of an unlicensed handgun and was given a year in Rikers Island jail, one of New York's most notorious prisons.

After serving 242 days, he was freed from prison for good behavior. He then released the album "I Am Not A Human Being," which made him the second artist after Tupac to have a record reach the top of the Billboard charts while they were both still in prison.

Without further ado, let's jump in to the early life and career of Lil Wayne before he became famous.


Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., better known as Lil Wayne, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on September 27, 1982. He spent his early years in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana's 17th Ward's underprivileged Hollygrove area. 

At the age of 19, his mother who is a cook, gave birth to him. He described how severely abusive his father was. According to him, his father would visit every other day while he and his mother were still living with his father's mother, to beat up his mother before leaving because he never stayed. 

When he was two years old, his parents got divorced, and his father abandoned the family for good. When CBS journalist Katie Couric questioned him about why he chose the name Wayne rather than his given name, Carter responded, "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 my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". 

Wayne regarded Reginald Rabbit McDonald, his stepfather, as his real father. Sadly, Rabbit was sadly killed before he could witness his son's success. Wayne has a tattoo honoring the man as a way to remember him.

Lil Wayne attended Lafayette Elementary School, where he did exceptionally well academically. He took part in the talented program at the school. He also developed a fondness for hip-hop music at the same period. He started freestyling at neighborhood block parties when he was nine years old, going by the rap names Shrimp Daddy among other, before deciding on Lil Wayne. 


When he was a youngster, he would take a mic and serve up to any MC, no matter their age. He said that he began rapping at the age of eight. Around this time, two New Orleans youngsters trying to launch their own record label—Brian Baby Williams and Ronald Slim Williams—started to take notice of him.

Then, Baby Williams, later known as Birdman, believed that Lil Wayne had the potential to become very successful and hired him to work for their new firm, Cash Money Records.

He released his debut album, "True story," when he was just 11 years old, and with it came some early success benefits.

Wayne had a chest gunshot wound from a self-inflicted gunshot in 1994 when he was only 12 years old. He said the injury was unintentional at the time. But decades later, he  claimed that it was an attempted suicide, after being warned by his mother that he would have to stop his rap-related affiliations. 

Lil Wayne claims Robert Hoobler, an off-duty police officer he calls "Uncle Bob," saved his life by ordering the dying boy to be taken directly to the hospital in a police car rather than waiting for an ambulance to arrive.


After quitting school at the age of 14, Wayne continued working with Cash money Records as a member of the dubious-sounding group known as 'Hot guys'. This was a New Orleans based group consisting of Rappers from New Orleans and from the surrounding region.

The hot boys became a hip-hop phenomenon in 1999 after releasing two albums, "Get it how you live" and "Guerrilla warfare." Many people saw them as the rap genre's response to the explosion of pop bands that had been happening in the 1990s.

Even a word that has been adopted as a trademark in rap culture is attributed to him. Bling-bling is Wayne's original invention.

Wayne released his first solo album, Tha Block Is Hot, when he was 16 years old, and the album would double platinum. Around this time, he and Toyah Wright, his high school sweetheart, welcomed their first child, a daughter they called Regina.

Between 2000 and 2002, Wayne put out two further CDs, 'Lights out' and '500 degreez' because the genre was popular. 

People didn't start to take notice of Lil Wayne's abilities as a solo artist until the release of 2004's The Carter and the hit single Go DJ. After receiving his GED in 2005, Lil Wayne went back to school to study psychology at the University of Houston.


He released The Carter 2 that same year, which included popular songs like Firemen, Hustler Musik and Best Rapper Alive. In 2006, he also established Young Money Entertainment, his own label under Cash Money, where he started hiring new musicians and quickly built up a sizable roster. 

Stuntin' like my daddy, another standout track from Wayne and Birdman's collaborative album like father like son, was also released. Despite some rumors regarding his mentor, Lil Wayne was a true superstar, and was swiftly moving up the ranks, winning the title of best rapper alive and reigning lord in hip-hop.

The carter 3 by Lil Wayne, which included the singles lollipop, got money, mr carter, miss officer, and the famous 'A milli' was released in the spring of 2008 and the album sold more than 2.8 million copies. 

In 2009, he won three Grammys: best rap album, best rap song for lollipop, and best rap solo performance for milli. That evening, he also shared an award for his collaboration with T.I Kanye, and Jay-Z on the song "Swagger Like Us." 

He released we are young money  in 2009 alongside his new lineup of artists, which included tyga, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. The compilation featured tracks such as bedrock and every girl. 


In march of 2010, after the release of rebirth, lil wayne was sentenced to a year at Rikers for past charges of marijuana and illegal firearm possession. Several label mates including drake nikki and birdman well they spoke out in his defense.

Little Wayne's eighth studio album, "I am not a human being," was released in the fall of that year while he was still incarcerated. His early release from Rikers allowed him to start writing new music right away, the fourth installment of the Carter series was later released in the summer of 2011.

Although it received 300,000 song downloads in a week, its predecessor, the carter 3, was considered to have put out a stronger effort.

Little Wayne was likely the most prolific rapper as of 2012, and between 1997 and 2012, he made 597 appearances as a guest artist on other artists' to.

The tenth solo album, "I'm not a human being 2," was released in the spring of 2013; it received positive reviews and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200.

Lil Wayne is without a doubt a loving father and a family man. He currently has four children with four different women.

He has several problems in recent years. In 2012, he had two seizures within a 48-hour period, making his plane two emergency landings. On the set of a music video in 2013, he experienced another seizure and he then revealed that he has epilepsy and is susceptible to seizures.


Weezy's 11th studio album, titled "free wheezy," was made available via title in 2015.  The carter 5, his 12th studio album was later released in June of 2018. He later left Cash Money Records after years-long feud with the label.