He was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.[3] Dwayne was in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School, and was in the drama club in middle school.[4] At age eleven, he met Bryan Williams, rapper and owner of Cash Money Records. Wayne recorded freestyle raps on Williams' answering machine; Williams would eventually mentor the young Wayne and include him in Cash Money-distributed songs.[5] He dropped out of school at age 14, but then later gained his credits.[4] Wayne had a daughter named Reginae Carter with Antonia "Toya" Johnson, his high school sweetheart. The two later divorced.[6]
In an interview with Blender, Wayne revealed that one of his favorite bands growing up was Nirvana, including their song "Smells Like Teen Spirit".Career with Hot Boys
In 1997, Wayne formed the group Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, Turk, and B.G., who released their debut CD Get It How You Live that year. In 1998, the group's major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare was released; it was followed in 2003 by Let Em Burn.
The first music album to feature Lil Wayne's vocals was the debut album of the Cash Money-signed group Hot Boys titled Get It How U Live!, released in 1997; Lil Wayne was the youngest member of that group. In 1998, Wayne was featured on the song "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile. The second album by the group, titled Guerrilla Warfare, was released in 1999 before Wayne's solo debut was released.[3]
Solo career
His solo career began with Tha Block is Hot in 1999. After releasing the albums Lights Out in 2000 and 500 Degreez in 2002 to little success, in 2004 he released the bestseller Tha Carter and eventually was featured in the popular song "Soldier" by the R&B group Destiny's Child. Tha Carter II followed in 2005. In June 2008, "Tha Carter III" was released.[3]
Wayne's debut solo album Tha Block Is Hot featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys and went double platinum, climbing to #3 on the Billboard album charts.[3] The album earned Wayne a 1999 Source magazine award nomination for "Best New Artist",[8] and also became a Top Ten hit.[3] After the release of Tha Block is Hot, Wayne was featured on the single, "Bling Bling", with B.G., Juvenile, Turk, and Big Tymers.
His 2000 follow-up album Lights Out failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut[3] but was certified gold by RIAA.[9] At this point in his development as an emcee, Wayne was criticized for coasting on his fame and the collective success of the Hot Boys. 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.[10] Near the release of Lights Out, Wayne was featured on the single, "1# Stunna" with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which rose to 24th place on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.
Wayne's third album 500 Degreez, released 2002, followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys and Mannie Fresh. While certified Gold like its predecessor[9], it too failed to match the success of Wayne's debut.[3] The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's recording, 400 Degreez.[11] After the release of 500 Degreez, Wayne was featured in the single, "Neva Get Enuf" with 3LW.[12]