Lil' Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter J.R. on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lil Wayne is also known as Birdman J.R., Raw Tune, Weezy F. Baby, Weezy, or Dwayne Carter (using the last name of his step father). Lil Wayne has stated that his favorite rappers are Tupac, Eminem, Pimp Daddy, U.N.L.V., Big Pun and Jay-Z, and underground rapper JO$H.                       <p>Hailing from the tough streets of Hollygrove in the 17th Ward of New Orleans, he was first recruited by Cash Money bosses Bryan "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. At a mere 11 years old, he had become the youngest artist on the Cash Money roster. The Williams' brothers tweaked and groomed Wayne's style, rearing him on early Cash Money artists like Pimp Daddy, UNLV, and BG. Starting off as a member of the super group, The Hot Boys (Juvenile, BG, Turk and Lil Wayne), Wayne shined as a true emerging rap talent, catapulting his solo career. <p>

It should be known that Wayne didn't rap about adolescent issues, unlike most child rappers who perform bubblegum rap until their late teens, like Lil Bow Wow and such. He did, however, refrain from swearing in his rhymes at the behest of his mother. <p>

Lil Wayne's old soul wisdom manifests itself in clever rhymes that balanced the young hustler's lifestyle with a sense of street reared insight. On a tribute to The Hot Boy brotherhood "Man, I Miss My Dogs," Wayne's sound is mature and exhibits much more skill. His voice is confident, deeper, and raspier than before. The body-bouncing first single, "Get Something," features party starter Mannie Fresh on the hook. As for the thematic content of his music, Wayne tackles more adult subjects including navigating life's paths, being a father, and managing money as a youth. The track "Ain't That A B!%$h" best exemplifies his growth as an artist. The song is an introspective account of the various misfortunes one confronts in life. Moreover, songs like "Travelin'," speak candidly to the experience Wayne has undergone in his tenure as a young hip-hop star. Here, Lil Wayne raps about the assortment of neighborhoods and communities he has seen in his voyages. <p>

Juvenile and B.G. made their solo debuts first in 1999 and racked up a pair of simultaneous big hits, "Back That Azz Up" and "Bling Bling," respectively. Lil Wayne made his solo debut later that year and similarly came out of the gate with a huge hit, the title track of his album, Tha Block Is Hot (1999). <p>

But the former Hot Boys hit in slump with their next releases, leading Cash Money to drop them from the label. However, they kept Lil' Wayne on their roster and his third album 2002's "500 Degreez" (the follow-up to his certified-gold sophomore release, 2000's "Lights Out") spawned a massive hit single "Way of Life", which helped the album become a massive selling success. <p>

In 2004, Wayne Carter released 'Tha Carter'. This album is marked as a personal milestone as he claimed to have finally perfected his trade. It was also 'Tha Carter' that finally earned Lil Wayne mass notability outside the south as a lyricist because at that time (and even still today), southern rappers are stereotyped with little to no lyrical ability. <p>

In 2005, Lil' Wayne went onto become the president of the Cash Money label at the age of 23, and started recording his next album, "Tha Carter, Vol 2". 'Tha Carter II' sold more than 238,000 copies debuting at no. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart and has been certified platinum. The lead single off the album, "Fireman", became a hit in the US, peaking at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The second single, "Grown Man", was solicited to urban radios in January of 2006 in hopes of spreading to Top 40 Mainstream and then to the Hot 100, but failed to do so and failed to receive any attention due to lack of promotion and no video. The third single "Hustler Muzik" howerver, received a video, and gained minor attention also. <p>

With five successful records under his blinged-up belt, Wayne has been credited as helping to kick-start the growth of southern hip hop. He is proud of this achievement and has said: "I love how the south is moving. What David Banner Lil' Flip and all of them are doing is hot. When we started, Baby and Slim declared the south was going to blow up and we did." <p>

As well as his own material, Lil' Wayne - who is a trendsetter and popularized the term 'drop it like it's hot' which Snoop Dogglater called his comeback single - has also featured on tracks by other artists, including: Destiny's Child's "Soldier", 3LW's "Neva Get Enuf" and Paul Wall's "March", to name a few. Although he may like to put up a front with his hard, gangsta image, Lil' Wayne proved he has a big heart by taking time out after Hurricane Katrina hit his native New Orleans in 2005, to help raise money for the victims whose lives were ruined by the disaster. <p>

Lollipop<p>

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bm-Z9kZ9iW8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bm-Z9kZ9iW8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>