Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Lil Wayne's career began in 1991 at the age of nine, when he was discovered by Bryan "Baby" Williams and joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo The B.G.'z, alongside fellow New Orleans-based rapper B.G., then known as Lil' Doogie. In 1996, Lil Wayne and B.G. joined the southern hip hop group Hot Boys, with Cash Money label-mates Juvenile and Turk. Hot Boys debuted with Get It How U Live!, that same year. Most of the group's success came with their platinum-selling album Guerrilla Warfare (1999) and the 1999 single "Bling Bling". For many years, he was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records, before ending his long-tenured deal with the company in June 2018.
Lil Wayne's solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot (1999) was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His subsequent albums, Lights Out (2000) and 500 Degreez (2002), went on to be certified gold. Wayne reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), which was led by the single "Go D.J." and his appearance on Destiny's Child's Top 10 single "Soldier", that same year. The album was followed by Tha Carter II (2005), as well as several mixtapes and collaborations throughout 2006 and 2007. Wayne gained more prominence with his sixth album Tha Carter III (2008), which became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales of over one million copies in the United States. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and includes the hit singles "Lollipop", "A Milli" and "Got Money".
Following the success of Tha Carter III, Wayne decided to record a rock-esque album titled Rebirth. The album, released in 2010, was certified gold by the RIAA, despite a generally negative critical response. In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. Wayne's eighth album I Am Not a Human Being (2010), was released during his incarceration. His 2011 album and first following his release, Tha Carter IV, sold 964,000 copies in its first week of availability in the United States. It includes the singles "6 Foot 7 Foot", "How to Love" and "She Will". On September 27, 2012, Lil Wayne passed Elvis Presley as the male with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 109 songs. The record has since been passed by other artists. Lil Wayne's twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V, has been delayed multiple times and has no scheduled release date. Lil Wayne has sold over 100 million records worldwide, including more than 15 million albums and 37 million digital tracks in United States, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Lil Wayne also currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of his own label imprint, Young Money Entertainment.
T-Wayne is a collaborative mixtape by American hip hop artists T-Pain and Lil Wayne. Recorded in 2009, the album was delayed due to Lil Wayne's legal troubles and was unexpectedly released for free streaming on May 19, 2017, by Nappy Boy Entertainment & Young Money Entertainment. T-Pain initially leaked a cover for the album and then several hours later posted it in its entirety for free download on mixtape sharing sites.
Genre: R&B, hip hop
Release date: May 19, 2017
In Tune We Trust is the second extended play (EP) by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on July 5, 2017, under Young Money Entertainment. The four songs on the EP were recorded by Lil Wayne during his ongoing feud with Cash Money Records. Lil Wayne stated that he would give his fans new material before Tha Carter V is finally released. Lil Wayne decided to put the EP on the streaming services DatPiff and SoundCloud. A music video for the track Loyalty was released on the WorldStarHipHop YouTube page. The EP features a freestyle over rapper Playboi Carti's breakout hit Magnolia.
Genre: Southern hip hop
Release date: Jul 5, 2017
Dedication 6 is a two part mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. The first part of the mixtape was released on December 25, 2017. A second part of the mixtape titled Dedication 6: Reloaded was released on January 26, 2018. It is the sixth installment of Lil Wayne's "Dedication" series, following its predecessors The Dedication, Dedication 2, Dedication 3, Dedication 4 and Dedication 5. It is the sixth installment of Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" chronology.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Dec 25, 2017
Tha Carter V is the upcoming twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. The album is scheduled to be released by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album was preceded by the singles "Believe Me", "Krazy", "Grindin", and "Start a Fire".
Genre: Hip hop
Sorry 4 the Wait 2 is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on January 20, 2015 to compensate for the continued delay of his eleventh studio album Tha Carter V. It is the sequel to Wayne's Sorry 4 the Wait (2011) mixtape, which served for the same purpose during the delay of his ninth album Tha Carter IV (2011). The mixtape features seventeen tracks, with 13 remixes and 4 original songs, along with guest appearances from Drake, Christina Milian, Mack Maine, 2 Chainz and SnL.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Jan 20, 2015
Free Weezy Album (abbreviated as FWA) is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne. It was released on July 4, 2015, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records, exclusively on TIDAL.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Jul 4, 2015
No Ceilings 2 is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on November 26, 2015. The mixtape was released through Young Money Entertainment now that Wayne parted ways with Cash Money Records. Two of the mixtape's rumored track are both a remix of Drake's Back to Back and Drake and Future's Where Ya At. It features guest appearances from Baby E, Curren$y, Euro, Future, Gudda Gudda, Hoodybaby, Jae Millz, King Los, Lucci Lou, Mannie Fresh, Shanell, Stephanie Acevedo, T@, Turk, & Yo Gotti
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Nov 26, 2015
Dedication 5 is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. The mixtape was released on September 1, 2013. It is the fifth installment of Lil Wayne's "Dedication" series, following its predecessors The Dedication, Dedication 2, Dedication 3 and Dedication 4. It's also the fifth installment of Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" Pentalogy. The mixtape features guest appearances from The Weeknd, Chance the Rapper, Jae Millz, Future, Birdman, Mack Maine, T.I., Vado and Kidd Kidd among others.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Sep 1, 2013
Dedication 4 is a mixtape by Lil Wayne. The mixtape was originally supposed to be released on August 15, 2012, but got pushed several times and was released on September 3, 2012. It is the fourth installment of Lil Wayne's Dedication series, following its predecessors The Dedication, Dedication 2 and Dedication 3. It's also the fourth installment of Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" pentalogy.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Sep 3, 2012
Sorry 4 the Wait is a mixtape by the New Orleans native rapper Lil Wayne, named as an attempt to apologize for the continued delay of his ninth album, Tha Carter IV. Wayne said the mixtape would have about ten songs and be similar to No Ceilings, with him using other artists' tracks and making a cover track. It was released for digital download on July 13, 2011, and received mixed reviews from music critics.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Jul 13, 2011
Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, shortly after Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III (2008) was released to strong sales and critical acclaim: however, the sessions were put on hold, as Lil Wayne claimed he did not want to follow an album he held in high regard so quickly with another, potentially inferior release. In the interim, Lil Wayne released his two other albums in 2010: the largely rock-themed Rebirth, and I Am Not a Human Being. The latter was reportedly composed from unreleased material from the original Tha Carter IV sessions, as the album was released whilst Wayne served a prison sentence at Rikers Island prison for illegal possession of a weapon, and was thus unable to record any new material: this also meant Tha Carter IV's recording sessions were once more put on hold.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Aug 29, 2011
Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. The album's production was primarily handled by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ Nasty & LVM, Kevin Rudolf, and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. Rebirth was promoted as Wayne's rock music debut, though it includes some hip hop tracks.
Genre: Rap rock
Release date: Feb 2, 2010
No Ceilings is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was scheduled to be released on October 31, 2009, but was leaked before the official date. No Ceilings was officially released on October 31 (Halloween), with 4 additional tracks. The mixtape is available as a free and legal download and it generally received positive reviews from critics.
Release date: Oct 31, 2009
Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on June 10, 2008, by Cash Money and Universal Motown. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream. The album's cover art features a baby picture of Wayne and is similar to covers of hip hop albums such as Nas's Illmatic (1994) and Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die (1994). Amid release delays and leaks, Tha Carter III became one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Jun 10, 2008
Dedication 3 is a mixtape by DJ Drama and Lil Wayne. It is the sequel to its predecessors, The Dedication and the highly successful Dedication 2, becoming the third in Lil Wayne's "Gangsta Grillz" pentalogy. Lil Wayne also told MTV, "Tha Carter IV is nice but you need to be looking for Dedication 3". Although Dedication 3 was a major success, it failed to match that of its predecessors but did gain some attention. The mixtape has sold over 70,000 copies in the United States, despite being available for free download. Besides the interludes, a majority of the mixtape has Wayne using auto-tune and rapping alongside artists signed to his label, Young Money Entertainment.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Nov 14, 2008
Da Drought 3 is a two-disc mixtape by Lil Wayne, released on April 13, 2007. It is widely regarded as one of his best mixtapes, receiving rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and MTV News.
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Apr 13, 2007
The Leak is the first extended play (EP) by American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne. It was released on December 25, 2007, under Cash Money Records. The five songs on the EP were recorded by Lil Wayne during Tha Carter III sessions. The songs were ultimately leaked online by an unknown source, Wayne later compiled the songs and called the project The Leak. Lil Wayne decided to put out The Leak for his fans, so that they could have the CDQ versions of the songs. The EP was later used as a bonus disc for the deluxe edition of Tha Carter III (2008). The EP is estimated to have sold over 250,000 copies and downloads.
Genre: Southern hip hop
Release date: Dec 25, 2007
Tha Carter II is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on December 6, 2005, by Cash Money, Young Money, and Universal. The album serves as a sequel to his fourth album Tha Carter (2004). Its music incorporates southern hip hop styles. As executive producers, Birdman and Ronald "Slim" Williams enlisted a variety of collaborators, including The Runners, Robin Thicke, and The Heatmakerz. Tha Carter II is widely considered by critics and fans to be one of Lil Wayne's best albums.
Genre: Southern hip hop, gangsta rap, Hip hop
Release date: Dec 6, 2005
Tha Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on June 29, 2004, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. The album was mostly produced from Cash Money's former in-house producer Mannie Fresh, who had worked with Lil Wayne before Fresh left the label. The album is based on "The Carter", the empire crack house from the 1991 movie New Jack City, and his last name.
Genre: Southern hip hop, gangsta rap
Release date: Jun 29, 2004
500 Degreez is the third studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on July 23, 2002, by Cash Money Records. The album's title was inspired by the album 400 Degreez (1998), by a fellow rapper Juvenile (who was his labelmate).
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Jul 23, 2002
Lights Out is the second studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on December 19, 2000, by Cash Money Records. The album debuted at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 116,000 copies its first week. On June 12, 2001, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: Dec 19, 2000
Tha Block Is Hot is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne; it was released on November 2, 1999, by Cash Money Records. The album is nearly free of profanity, due to his mother's wishes, although there are some uses of "fuck".
Genre: Gangsta Rap, Bounce music, Southern hip hop
Release date: Nov 2, 1999