Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Born and raised in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, he was discovered by hometown rapper
Birdman in 1993 and signed with his record label,
Cash Money Records, at age eleven.
He emerged as the label's
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
artist until his departure in June 2018.
Carter was first placed in a duo with Cash Money labelmate
B.G. in 1994—known collectively as the B.G.'z—and they released the album ''True Story'' that year, although Carter (at the time known as Baby D) appeared on only three of its tracks. Carter and B.G. then formed the Southern hip-hop group
Hot Boys with labelmates
Juvenile and
Turk in 1997, and released their debut album, ''
Get It How U Live!
''Get It How U Live!!'' is the debut album by New Orleans hip-hop group the Hot Boys, released on October 28, 1997, on Cash Money Records. The album sold over 300,000 copies, primarily in New Orleans following B.G.'s success. It peaked at No ...
'' that year. The Hot Boys gained mainstream success after the release of their second album ''
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
'' (1999) and their appearance on B.G.'s single, "
Bling Bling". The group briefly disbanded after the album due to each member (besides Carter) parting ways with the label, although one further album—''
Let 'Em Burn'' (2003)—was released.
Carter's debut studio album, ''
Tha Block Is Hot'' (1999), was his breakthrough as a solo artist, quickly achieving commercial success. It was followed by ''
Lights Out'' (2000) and ''
500 Degreez'' (2003). Carter is credited with revolutionising the
mixtape
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
scene with his innovative approach in the 2000s. His fourth and fifth albums, ''
Tha Carter'' (2004) and ''
Tha Carter II'' (2005), both debuted within the top five of the
''Billboard'' 200 and received critical acclaim. His sixth album, ''
Tha Carter III'' (2008), yielded the pinnacle of Wayne's career, with first-week sales of over one million units domestically. It won the
Best Rap Album at the
51st Annual Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the ...
and was supported by his first
''Billboard'' Hot 100-number one single "
Lollipop" (featuring
Static Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr. (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American R&B and hip hop producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He is be ...
), and the top-ten singles "
A Milli" and "
Got Money" (featuring
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
).
Carter's seventh studio album, ''
Rebirth'' (2010), experimented with
rap rock and was released to generally negative critical reception. A month after its release, he began serving an 8-month jail sentence for criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in 2007. His eighth album, ''
I Am Not a Human Being
''I Am Not a Human Being'' is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010, and on compact disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Mot ...
'' (2010), was released during his incarceration, while his ninth album, ''
Tha Carter IV
''Tha Carter IV'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, sho ...
'' (2011), followed months after his release from prison. Despite mixed reviews, ''Tha Carter IV'' sold 964,000 units in its first-week in the U.S.
His twelfth studio album, ''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'' (2018)—preceded by ''
I Am Not a Human Being II'' (2013) and ''
Free Weezy Album'' (2015)—was released following long-term delays and label disputes, and was met with 480,000 in first-week sales. His thirteenth album,
''Funeral'' (2020), became his fifth non-consecutive number one album. He released his fourteenth album, ''
Tha Carter VI'', in June 2025.
Carter has sold over 120 million records worldwide, including over 25 million albums and 95 million digital tracks in the U.S, making him one of the
world's best-selling music artists.
He has won five
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
, eleven
BET Awards
The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...
, four
''Billboard'' Music Awards, two
MTV Video Music Awards and eight
NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...
. On September27, 2012, he became the first male artist to surpass
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
with the most entries on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, with 109 songs. Carter founded the record label
Young Money Entertainment
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB ...
in 2005, which has signed artists including
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
,
Tyga
Micheal Ray Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson](_blank)
and
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
.
Early life
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished
Hollygrove neighborhood of
Uptown New Orleans,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
's
17th Ward.
His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was two and his father permanently abandoned the family. In a 2009 interview, CBS News anchor
Katie Couric asked the rapper why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name. Carter replied, "I’ll tell you why I dropped the D right here on TV. I dropped the D because I am a junior. My father, he’s livin', and he is not in my life and he’s never been in my life. So I don't wanna be Dwayne. I’d rather be Wayne.” Couric asked if his father knew that, and Carter, chuckling, said, “He knows it now.”
Carter has said that he considers his deceased stepfather Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald to be his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to McDonald.
Carter was enrolled in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School. He later attended
Eleanor McMain Secondary School for two years, where he was an honor student and a member of the drama club, playing the
Tin Man in the school's production of ''
The Wiz''.
Despite matriculating to
Marion Abramson Senior High School, Carter left during his tenth grade year to pursue a GED. Carter's mother made the decision to remove him from school for his safety. At 15, Carter was already finding success in the music industry; his mother decided he needed to leave high school after discovering the gun he packed in his school bag for protection.
Carter wrote his first rap song at age eight.
In the summer of 1991, he met rapper and
Cash Money Records co-founder
Bryan "Baby" Williams (known currently as Birdman), who mentored him and encouraged his love of hip-hop; Birdman included Carter on several Cash Money tracks, and he (in return) would often record freestyle raps on Williams' answering machine.
In 1994, at age 12, Carter suffered a near-fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.
At the time, he said the injury was accidental. However, in September 2018, Carter claimed in interviews that it was an attempted suicide after he was told by his mother that he would have to end his rap-related associations. Carter credits off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler (1956–2022), who he calls "Uncle Bob", with saving his life by insisting the dying child be driven immediately to hospital in a police car rather than waiting for an ambulance to become available. Other accounts indicate that several officers played a part in deciding on and implementing that course of action.
Career
1994–1999: Career beginnings and Hot Boys
After recovering from his self-inflicted gunshot wound, Carter linked with Christopher Dorsey, a local New Orleans rapper known as
B.G., his longtime friend, future Cash Money labelmate and Hot Boys bandmate. They would later form their duo, the B.G.'z, with B.G. being named "Lil Doogie" and Carter being "Baby D".
They only released one album under the group name, ''True Story'' (1995).
In 1997, Carter and Dorsey then joined the hip-hop quartet, the
Hot Boys, along with rappers and labelmates,
Juvenile, and
Turk. Having joined at age 14, Carter was the youngest member at the time. Hot Boys' debut album, ''
Get It How U Live!
''Get It How U Live!!'' is the debut album by New Orleans hip-hop group the Hot Boys, released on October 28, 1997, on Cash Money Records. The album sold over 300,000 copies, primarily in New Orleans following B.G.'s success. It peaked at No ...
'', was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group's major-label debut ''
Guerrilla Warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
'',
which respectively reached number one on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart and number five on the
''Billboard'' 200.
During their career, the Hot Boys had two charting singles, "
We on Fire" from ''Get It How U Live!'' and "
I Need a Hot Girl" from ''Guerrilla Warfare''. The group shared a track, "
Bling Bling", alongside another Cash Money group, duo
Big Tymers
Big Tymers (also stylized as Big Tymer$) is an American hip hop duo composed of Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (rapper), Baby (later known as Birdman) and the label's in-house producer Mannie Fresh, both of whom originate from New Orlean ...
(consisting of Birdman and producer
Mannie Fresh). Carter's verse appeared only on the radio version of the song, while on the album version he performed on the chorus. "Bling Bling" appeared on Hot Boys member B.G.'s solo album, ''
Chopper City in the Ghetto'', released in April 1999. Carter was also featured on Juvenile's single "
Back That Azz Up", which reached number eighteen on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.
''
Let 'Em Burn'', a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded by the quartet during 1998 and 2000, was released in March 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, but underperformed on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number fourteen.
1999–2004: ''Tha Block Is Hot'', ''Lights Out'', and ''500 Degreez''
Carter's debut solo album, ''
Tha Block Is Hot'', was released on November 2, 1999, when he was 17 and featured significant contributions from the
Hot Boys. It debuted at number three on the
''Billboard'' 200 and was later certified platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in December 1999, less than a month after its release.
The album earned Carter a 1999 ''
Source'' magazine nomination for "Best New Artist",
and also became a Top Ten hit.
The lead single was
the album's title track, which its chorus was performed by Carter's former Hot Boys cohort, Juvenile and B.G.
His second album, ''
Lights Out'', was released on December 19, 2000. It failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut,
but was certified gold by RIAA in June 2001, nearly six months after its release.
Critics noted the lack of coherent narratives in his verses as evidence that he had yet to mature to the level of his fellow Hot Boys. The lead single was "Get Off the Corner", which was noticed for an improvement in its lyrical content and style. The second single, which received less attention, was "Shine" featuring the Hot Boys. Near the release of ''Lights Out'', Carter was featured on the single, "
Number One Stunna
"#1 Stunna" is the second official single by the Big Tymers, from their third studio album, ''I Got That Work''. The single was featured in the 2000 in film, 2000 stand-up comedy film, ''The Original Kings of Comedy'', and its stars Steve Harvey ...
" with
Big Tymers
Big Tymers (also stylized as Big Tymer$) is an American hip hop duo composed of Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (rapper), Baby (later known as Birdman) and the label's in-house producer Mannie Fresh, both of whom originate from New Orlean ...
and Juvenile, which peaked at number 24 on the
Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...
chart. The track, originally featured on Big Tymers' ''
I Got That Work'', would be used for the
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...
-directed comedy film, ''
The Original Kings of Comedy''.
Carter's third album, ''
500 Degreez'', was released in August 2002. It followed the format of his previous two, with significant contributions from the Hot Boys and
Mannie Fresh. While being certified gold like its predecessor,
it also failed to match the success of his debut.
The title was a reference to the recently estranged Hot Boys member Juvenile's debut solo studio album, ''
400 Degreez'' (1998).
Its lead single was "Way of Life", featuring Birdman and singer
TQ with narration by its producer, Mannie Fresh; it reached number 71 on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...
and number 23 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
charts.
The single featured a sample of
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
's
diss track
A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...
towards the
Notorious B.I.G., "
Hit 'Em Up" (1996), which itself sampled
Dennis Edwards and
Siedah Garrett's "
Don't Look Any Further" (1984). Despite the album's commercial failure, John Bush of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
praised ''500 Degreez'', while calling "Way of Life" an "infectious party hit".
After the release of ''500 Degreez'', Carter was featured on the single "
Neva Get Enuf" by
3LW, and later appeared on his future girlfriend, singer
Nivea's single, "Ya Ya Ya".
2004–2006: ''Tha Carter'', ''Tha Carter II'', and ''Like Father, Like Son''
On June 29, 2004, Carter's fourth studio album, ''
Tha Carter'', was released, marking what critics considered advancement in his rapping style and lyrical themes. In addition, the album's cover art featured the debut of Wayne's now-signature
dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle, hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in Hair#Texture, very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, ba ...
.
''Tha Carter'' gained Wayne significant recognition, selling 878,000 copies in the United States, while the single "
Go DJ" became a top five hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. After the release of ''Tha Carter'', Lil Wayne was featured on
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...
's single "
Soldier
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer.
Etymology
The wo ...
" alongside
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
rapper
T.I., which peaked at number three on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
charts.
In 2005, Carter appeared on a remix of singer
Bobby Valentino's "
Tell Me", which rose to number thirteen on the U.S. Hot R&B Songs chart. That same year, Carter was named the president of Cash Money Records, but was later granted his own label; he founded
Young Money Entertainment
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB ...
as an imprint of Cash Money and
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
.
However, as of late 2007, Carter reported having stepped down from the management of both labels and handed management of Young Money over to his longtime manager, Cortez Bryant.
''
Tha Carter II'', the sequel to 2004's ''Tha Carter'', was released on December 6, 2005. Mannie Fresh was not involved in the production of the album, as he had left the label prior, due to financial issues.
''Tha Carter II'' sold more than 238,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at number two on the
''Billboard'' 200; the album went on to sell two million copies worldwide. The lead single, "
Fireman", became a hit in the U.S., peaking at 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Other singles included "Grown Man" with
Currensy, "
Hustler Musik", and "
Shooter" with R&B singer
Robin Thicke.
In 2006, Carter collaborated with his label boss,
Birdman, for the album, ''
Like Father, Like Son'', which its first single "
Stuntin' Like My Daddy", reached number 21 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
2006–2007: Mixtapes and collaborations
Instead of a follow-up solo album, Carter began to reach his audience through a plethora of mixtapes and guest appearances on a variety of pop, R&B and hip hop singles.
Of his many mixtapes, ''
Dedication 2'' and ''
Da Drought 3'' received the most media exposure and critical review. ''Dedication 2'', released in 2006, paired Carter with
DJ Drama
Tyree Cinque Simmons (born April 22, 1978), known professionally as DJ Drama, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record executive and music promoter. He initially gained recognition as the DJ for Atlanta-based rapper T.I., and continued to gai ...
and contained the acclaimed socially conscious track, "Georgia Bush", a remix of
Field Mob
Field Mob is an American hip hop music, hip hop duo from Albany, Georgia, composed of artists Darion "Smoke" Crawford and Shawn Timothy "Shawn Jay" Johnson.
History Formation
Darion and Shawn grew up on the outskirts of Albany, Georgia, Albany ...
and
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
' "
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
", in which Carter critiqued former U.S. president
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's response to the effects of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
on the city of New Orleans. ''Da Drought 3'' was released the following year and was available for free legal download. It contained Carter rapping over a variety of beats from recent hits by other musicians. A number of prominent hip hop magazines such as ''
XXL'' and ''
Vibe''
covered the mixtape. Christian Hoard of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine considered the mixtapes ''
Da Drought 3'' and ''The Drought Is Over 2 (The Carter 3 Sessions)'' "among the best albums of 2007".
Despite no album release for two years, Carter appeared in numerous singles as a featured performer, including in 2006 with the remix to "
Gimme That" by
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
, "
Make It Rain" by
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper. He began recording as a member of Hip-hop, hip hop group D.I.T.C., Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.) in 1992, and pursued a sol ...
and "
You" by
Lloyd, and in 2007 with "
We Takin' Over" by
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
(also featuring
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
,
T.I.,
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
, Fat Joe, and Birdman), "
Duffle Bag Boy" by
Playaz Circle, "
Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" by
Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...
(also featuring Akon), and the remix to "
I'm So Hood" by
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
(also featuring
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
,
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
,
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
,
Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...
,
Big Boi
Antwan André Patton (born February 1, 1975), known professionally as Big Boi, is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Atlanta, he was one half of the Southern hip-hop duo Outkast along with rapper ...
, Fat Joe, Birdman, and Rick Ross). All these singles charted within the top 20 spots on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, Hot Rap Tracks, and
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
charts. On Birdman's 2007 album, ''
5 * Stunna'', Carter appeared on the singles "
100 Million" and "
I Run This" among several other tracks. Carter also appeared on tracks from albums, ''
Getback'' by
Little Brother, ''
American Gangster'' by
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
, and ''
Graduation
A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...
'' by
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
and ''
Insomniac'' by
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...
. "Make It Rain" (2006), a
Scott Storch production that peaked at number thirteen on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Rap Tracks chart, was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 2008.
''Vibe'' magazine ranked a list of 77 of Lil Wayne's songs from 2007 and ranked his verse in DJ Khaled's "We Takin Over" as his best of 2007, with "Dough Is What I Got" (a freestyle over the beat of Jay-Z's "
Show Me What You Got") from ''Da Drought 3''.
At the end of 2007, an MTV poll selected Lil Wayne as "
Hottest MC in the Game", ''The New Yorker'' magazine ranked him "Rapper of the Year",
and ''GQ'' magazine named him "Workaholic of the Year". In 2008, he was named "Best MC" by ''Rolling Stone''.
Another article, built around Lil Wayne's 2007 mixtape work, cites his creative practice as an example of post-performance creative practice.
2007–2010: ''Tha Carter III'', ''We Are Young Money'', and ''Rebirth''
In 2007, Carter stated that he would reunite with Hot Boys, with plans to release an album after B.G.'s solo album ''
Too Hood to Be Hollywood'' was completed. ''
Tha Carter III'' was originally scheduled to be released in 2007, but it was delayed after several recordings were leaked and distributed through mixtapes, including ''The Drought Is Over Pt. 2'' and ''The Drought Is Over Pt. 4''. Lil Wayne initially planned to release ''The Leak'', a separate album with leaked songs and four additional tracks, on December18, 2007, with ''Tha Carter III'' delayed to March18, 2008.
Instead, ''The Leak'' became an
EP with five songs and was released digitally on December25, 2007.
''
Tha Carter III'' was released on June10, 2008, with first-week sales of over 1 million copies, the first to do so since
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
's ''
The Massacre'' (2005). The album's first single, "
Lollipop", featuring
Static Major
Stephen Ellis Garrett Jr. (November 11, 1974 – February 25, 2008), known professionally as Static Major (and previously as Static), was an American R&B and hip hop producer, singer, rapper, and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky. He is be ...
, became the Carter's most successful song at the time, topping the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and becoming his first top ten single as a solo artist and his first number one on the chart. The third single "
Got Money", featuring T-Pain, peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard 100. ''Tha Carter III'' went on to win four Grammy Awards, including
Best Rap Album and
Best Rap Song, which he won for "Lollipop".
On July14, 2008, the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
certified ''Tha Carter III'' two times platinum. In October 2008, Lil Wayne announced plans to MTV News to re-release the album with new tracks, including a duet with
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
and remixes of "A Milli".
Carter also appeared on R&B singles "
Girls Around the World" by Lloyd, "
Love in This Club, Part II" by
Usher, "
Official Girl" by
Cassie, "
I'm So Paid" by
Akon
Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...
, "
Turnin' Me On" by
Keri Hilson, and "
Can't Believe It" by T-Pain; rap singles "
My Life" by
The Game, "Shawty Say" by
David Banner, "
Swagga Like Us" by
T.I., "Cutty Buddy" by
Mike Jones,
All My Life (In the Ghetto) by
Jay Rock and the remix to "Certified" by
Glasses Malone; and pop single "
Let It Rock" by new
Cash Money artist
Kevin Rudolf.
Throughout 2008, Carter performed at the
Voodoo Experience in October in New Orleans, which was described by Jonathan Cohen of ''Billboard'' as his biggest hometown headlining set of his career. He also performed at the
Virgin Mobile Music Fest with
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
, where they performed the remix of "Lollipop" and lip-synced to
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
's "
I Will Always Love You". Lil Wayne also performed at the
2008 MTV Video Music Awards with
Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...
("
All Summer Long"),
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
("DontGetIt (Misunderstood)") and
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
("
Got Money") and performed "Lollipop" and "Got Money" on the season premiere of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. He later performed at the
homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada.
United St ...
rally at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
and the 2008
BET Hip Hop Awards, where he received 12 nominations. He won eight awards at the
BET Hip Hop Awards, one of which included the "MVP" title. After
M.I.A. dropped out of performing on Carter's
I Am Music Tour due to her pregnancy,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
performed "Mr. Carter" with Lil Wayne at select shows.
After ''Tha Carter III'' sold over 3 million copies and became the best-selling record of 2008, Carter re-signed with
Cash Money Records for a multi-album deal.
On November11, 2008, Carter became the first hip hop act to perform at the
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...
, playing "
All Summer Long" alongside
Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...
, in which Carter inaudibly strummed guitar strings alongside the guitarist in Kid Rock's band. Shortly after, Wayne was nominated for eight
Grammys
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
– the most for any artist nominated that year. He was then named the first MTV Man of the Year at the end of 2008. He won the
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "
A Milli",
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for his appearance on
T.I.'s single "
Swagga Like Us", and
Best Rap Song for "Lollipop". ''Tha Carter III'' won the award for
Best Rap Album.
MTV News listed Carter number two on their 2009 list of the Hottest MCs in the Game.
Prior to the 2009 Grammy Awards, Wayne was featured in an interview with
Katie Couric.
On February7, 2009, he presented the
Top Ten List on CBS's ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
''. On April24, 2009, he appeared on ''
The View'', discussing his GED and addictions.
In September 2009, Carter was profiled in an episode of
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's ''
Behind the Music'' and was a presenter of the
2009 MTV Movie Awards. In film, Carter produced and composed music for and starred in the direct-to-video film ''
Hurricane Season''. A documentary of Carter, titled ''
The Carter
''The Carter'' is a 2009 documentary film about the American hip hop recording artist Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., better known as Lil Wayne. The film was directed by Adam Bhala Lough and produced by Joshua Krause and Quincy Jones III, and do ...
'', was released at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.
On December23, 2009, Carter released his label, Young Money's first compilation album, ''
We Are Young Money'', with its lead single being "
Every Girl". The second single was "
BedRock
In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...
", featuring
Lloyd, with the third being "
Roger That". On May24, 2010, the album was certified gold by the RIAA with over 500,000 copies sold. Carter is featured on the song, "
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
", with
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
for her greatest hits album, ''
Celebration'' (2009). He was also featured on a
Weezer
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
song, "Can't Stop Partying", on ''
Raditude'' (2009). In late 2008, Carter announced plans to reissue ''Tha Carter III'' with leftover recordings, and was to be titled ''Rebirth'', originally scheduled to be released on April7, 2009, before being delayed several times.
''
Rebirth'' instead became his sixth solo studio album, re-recorded with replaced material and later released on February2, 2010. The album received negative reviews from fans and critics, considering it Carter's worst album released since ''500 Degreez'' (2002).
To support its release and that of ''We Are Young Money'', Carter was featured on the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and headlined the 'Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Music Festival', a United States and Canada–only concert tour which began on July29, 2009. "
Prom Queen", the first official single, debuted on January27, 2009, immediately after a live Internet broadcast of his concert in San Diego on Ustream (now
IBM Cloud Video).
It peaked at number fifteen on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts. On December3, 2009, the second single, "
On Fire", produced by
Cool & Dre, was released.
Based on a sample of
Amy Holland
Amy Celeste Boersma (born August 15, 1953), known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop and rock singer. Her career spans more than 40 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following her Amy Holla ...
's "
She's on Fire" from the soundtrack to the 1983 film,
''Scarface'', "On Fire" peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. "
Drop the World", which features
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, was the album's third single; it was produced by a then-unknown
Hit-Boy.
2010–2013: ''I Am Not a Human Being'' series and ''Tha Carter IV''
In an interview on MTV's Mixtape Monday, Carter hinted at the release of ''
Tha Carter IV
''Tha Carter IV'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, sho ...
''. He later announced that it would be released in late 2009 before the holiday season.
[Lil Wayne to Release Two Albums This Year.]
''Rap-Up''. Retrieved February 12, 2009. Birdman had previously stated that ''Tha Carter IV'' would be packaged with ''Rebirth'' as a double disc album. Carter denied this, saying that "''Tha Carter IV'' deserves ''Tha Carter IV''", adding that ''
We Are Young Money'' may be packaged with ''Rebirth''. These albums were eventually released separately.
Carter released his eighth album, ''
I Am Not a Human Being
''I Am Not a Human Being'' is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010, and on compact disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Mot ...
'', on his 28th birthday, September27, 2010. The album was released during Carter's incarceration on a weapon possession charge. The album has sold over 953,000 copies in the U.S. and spawned the successful single "
Right Above It", which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also debuted at number two, but later climbed to number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, making Carter the first rapper while incarcerated (since Tupac Shakur's ''
Me Against the World'', released in 1995) to have a number one album.

''Tha Carter IV'' was delayed into 2011, after Lil Wayne began recording from scratch after his release from prison. He described his first song since his release as "a 2010 version of ''
A Milli'' on steroids". The lead single from ''Tha Carter IV'', "
6 Foot 7 Foot" featuring Cory Gunz, was released on December15, 2010. On March8, Carter released another song, "We Back Soon", though it was not included on the official track listing of ''Tha Carter IV''.
The second single, "
John", featuring
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
, was released on March24. In an interview on March29, Carter announced that he would retire at age 35; saying that "I would feel selfish still going to the studio when it's such a vital point" in the lives of his four children.
Throughout a two-year period between 2010 and 2012, Carter has been featured in many hit singles such as "
I Made It (Cash Money Heroes)" by
Kevin Rudolf, "
Miss Me", "
The Motto", and "
HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" by
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
, "
No Love" by
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, "
Hit the Lights" by
Jay Sean, "
Look at Me Now" by
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
, "
Welcome to My Hood", "
I'm on One", "
Take It to the Head", and "
No New Friends" by
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...
, "
Motivation
Motivation is an mental state, internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particul ...
" by
Kelly Rowland, "
Ballin'" by
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
, "
Strange Clouds" by
B.o.B, "
I Can Only Imagine" by
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...
, "
Faded" by
Tyga
Micheal Ray Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson](_blank)
, "
Pop That
"Pop That" is a song by Moroccan-American rapper French Montana featuring Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake and fellow American rappers Rick Ross and Lil Wayne. Released as the lead single from the former's debut studio album ''Excuse My Fr ...
" by
French Montana
Karim Kharbouch (Moroccan Arabic, Arabic: IPA pronunciation, æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he immigrated to New York ...
, and "
Bandz a Make Her Dance" by
Juicy J
Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established ...
.

The artwork for ''Tha Carter IV'' was unveiled on April20. Originally scheduled to be released on May16, it was delayed several times until being confirmed for release on August 29, 2011.
On May26, the album's third single, "
How to Love", was released. He released another track, "Dear Anne (Stan Part 2)", in June. In preparation for ''Tha Carter IV'', Carter released a mixtape, ''
Sorry 4 the Wait'', in similarity to his mixtape ''
No Ceilings'' (2009); the mixtape was re-released on streaming services in January 2022 with four additional tracks.
Finally released on August 29, 2011, ''Tha Carter IV'' debuted at number one on the
''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of 964,000 copies (overshadowing the first-week sales of
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
and
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
's ''
Watch the Throne''), making it Carter's third chart-topping album of his career. On January8, 2012, according to
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
, Carter was the seventh all-time best-selling artist for
digital track sales with 36,788,000 million to the end of 2011.
In October 2011, it was reported that Carter was working on sequels to both ''I Am Not a Human Being'' and ''Rebirth''. In January 2012, Birdman announced that he and Carter had finished recording ''Like Father, Like Son 2''.
On November22, 2012, Carter announced that ''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'' would be his final album, as he wanted to pursue other interests.
After a one-year delay, ''
I Am Not a Human Being II'' was released on March26, 2013, debuting at number two on the
''Billboard'' 200 selling 217,000 copies in its first week; "
My Homies Still", "
Love Me", and "
No Worries" were released as singles prior to its release. The album was met with generally mixed reviews, with most critics noticing the declining quality of his releases. Carter toured North America with
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
and
T.I. on the second America's Most Wanted Festival. On May3, 2013,
Pepsi
Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
dropped Carter, who was a spokesperson for
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew in some countries and colloquially known as Dew in some areas, is a soft drink brand owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage Bottler (company), bottlers Barney and A ...
, due to him performing offensive lyrics about
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
icon
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African American youth, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, ...
on the remix to rapper
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
's single, "
Karate Chop". On September1, 2013, Carter released ''
Dedication 5
''Dedication 5'' is the twelfth Mixtape#Mixtapes in hip hop, mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was hosted by DJ Drama and was released on September 1, 2013. It is the fifth installment of Lil Wayne's "''Dedication''" series, following its p ...
'', the fifth instalment of the ''Dedication'' mixtape series. The mixtape featured 29 tracks, with guest appearances from several members of Young Money.
2014–2019: ''Free Weezy Album'' and ''Tha Carter V''
On October18, 2013, former Cash Money Records vice president of promotion Mel Smith, tweeted: "Happy Friday!! New YMCMB music coming soon!! Carter 5."
Nearly four months later, in an interview with ''The Griffin'', released on February14, 2014, Smith spoke on the upcoming album: "We're very close to dropping the album. It's going to be a huge surprise to everyone ... I can't release the date because he wants to surprise people."
On February15, during Drake's performance at the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities in New Orleans, Carter appeared as a guest performer before announcing that ''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'' would be released on May5, 2014. In March 2014, Carter again said during an interview at
SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
that ''Tha Carter V'' would be his last album.
On March27, 2014, Carter's manager Cortez Bryant announced that the album had been delayed. Carter then serviced released a single "
Believe Me", which features vocals from Drake, to
mainstream urban radio in the United States on May6, 2014. Three more singles, "
Krazy", "Grindin'" (featuring Drake) and "Start a Fire" (featuring
Christina Milian
Christina Milian ( , Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 20 ...
), were also released, but ultimately scrapped from the album.
Carter and Drake embarked on their joint tour,
Drake vs. Lil Wayne (running from August 8 to September 28, 2014), determining who is "the best rapper on tour and in the world". The concept of the tour was based on the ''
Street Fighter
is a Media mix, Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. Street Fighter 1, The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by List of Street Fighter video games, six other ma ...
'' franchise. It was the third-largest grossing hip hop concert tour of 2014 behind
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
and
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
's
Monster Tour, and Jay-Z and
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
's
On the Run Tour.
In late 2014, Carter claimed that the album's release was postponed due to his financial disputes with Cash Money.
On January20, 2015, Carter self-released ''
Sorry 4 the Wait 2'', a sequel to his
2011 mixtape, to compensate for the continued delay of ''Tha Carter V''. In February 2015, due to ''Tha Carter V''s delay, Carter announced that a free album would be released prior to the fifth installment in his popular series. In June 2015, Carter joined
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
's
TIDAL, as an artist owner, kicking off the partnership by exclusively releasing a single on the service titled "Glory". He also announced plans on his own TIDAL X concert series. On July4, 2015, Carter released ''
Free Weezy Album'', exclusively through TIDAL, under Young Money and Republic Records. On January27, 2016, when rapper
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
released his "Felt Like Cappin" EP, Carter is featured on the lead single titled "Back on That Bullshit". On March4, 2016, 2 Chainz released his third studio album, ''
ColleGrove''. The album was initially a collaborative effort between 2 Chainz and Carter, but due to his record label issues, only 2 Chainz was credited as the primary artist. On June28, 2016, Carter was one of several artists who appeared on the track "
Sucker for Pain" for the film ''
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...
''. In September 2016, Carter tweeted "I AM NOW DEFENSELESS and mentally DEFEATED", followed by stating "I'm done", hinting at a possible retirement. Many rappers responded with respect and encouragement.
In 2017, Carter announced he had signed with Jay-Z's
Roc Nation, although he later stated that there was no official paperwork that he signed to the label. On August8, 2017, he released the song "
Like a Man" with sound engineer Onhel. On June7, 2018, it was announced that Carter had been released from Cash Money Records and would be releasing ''Tha Carter V'' via Young Money and Republic Records.
In September 2016, Carter's song, "No Mercy", debuted as the theme song for ''
Skip and Shannon: Undisputed'', a sports talk show on
FS1. On Christmas Day 2017, Carter released the mixtape ''
Dedication 6'', the sixth installment of the "Gangsta Grillz" chronology. The second part was released on January26, 2018.
''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'' was finally released on September27, 2018, the day of Carter's 36th birthday, debuting at number one on the U.S.
''Billboard'' 200 with 480,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s, including 140,000 pure album sales. It is the second-largest streaming week for an album behind former Young Money labelmate
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
's ''
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
'' with 433 million streams. It is also Carter's fourth number-one ''Billboard'' 200 album. Every song on the album charted on the ''Billboard'' 100, while simultaneously charting 4 songs in the top 10, also becoming the first artist to debut two songs in the top five. One of the album's singles, "
Uproar", produced by
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...
, was its leading, reaching number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it features a sample from rapper
G. Dep's 2001 single, "
Special Delivery". ''Tha Carter V'' has since been certified 2× platinum by the RIAA.
2020–2021: ''Funeral'' and ''Trust Fund Babies''
While Carter was working on ''Tha Carter V'', it was announced that his next album would be titled ''
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
''. On January23, 2020, he revealed the album's release date and album artwork. ''Funeral'' was released on January31, and debuted at number one on the U.S.
''Billboard'' 200, with 139,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s, becoming his fifth U.S. number-one album. The album received generally mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. On February2, 2020, Lil Wayne competed in
season three of ''
The Masked Singer'' after the
Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...
as "Robot". He was the first to be eliminated. Carter featured on
Lil Baby's track "Forever", a track from Baby's second studio album,
''My Turn'', which was released on February28, 2020.
The song's music video was released on March3, 2020. This marked the second collaboration for the two artists in 2020, with the first being on Carter's single, "I Do It".
On April24, 2020, Lil Wayne, along with
Litt Live (formerly at the time, Dash Radio), launched his own radio show, Young Money Radio, on
Apple Music
Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...
through its subdivision
Apple Music 1
Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...
. Wayne described the show as having "heavyweights calling in discussing sports, music, comedy, everything!". On July3, Lil Wayne released his eleventh studio album, ''
Free Weezy Album'' (2015) on streaming services to commemorate its five-year anniversary. The album charted at number 77 on the
''Billboard'' 200 the following week. On May29, Wayne released the deluxe edition of ''Funeral'' featuring artists such as Doja Cat, Tory Lanez, Lil Uzi Vert, Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine and Jessie Reyez. On August28, Wayne released another old project, his 2009 mixtape ''
No Ceilings'', for commercial release. He also celebrated the release by collaborating with
ASAP Ferg on the song "No Ceilings".
Wayne was featured on
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...
's album ''
Top
Top most commonly refers to:
* Top, a basic term of orientation, distinguished from bottom, front, back, and sides
* Spinning top, a ubiquitous traditional toy
* Top (clothing), clothing designed to be worn over the torso
* Mountain top, a moun ...
'' on the track "
My Window", released on September11. His verse received praise from critics. On September25, he released the deluxe edition of his twelfth album ''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'', to celebrate the album's second anniversary; it consists of songs that did not make the cut on the original album.
On November27, 2020, Lil Wayne released the mixtape, ''
No Ceilings 3'', while announcing the album, ''I Am Not a Human Being III'', for 2021,
although it would not be released that year due to delays. On October1, 2021, Wayne and
Rich the Kid
Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), known professionally as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. After a number of independent mixtapes, he signed with Interscope Records in 2017 to release his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'' ...
released a collaborative mixtape titled ''
Trust Fund Babies'', along with a music video for the single "
Feelin' Like Tunechi". The mixtape took roughly a month and a half to record. On their working relationship, Wayne said, "For me, it's the chemistry, it's the camaraderie because first of all, Rich like my little bro and me and Rich been rockin' for a minute".
2023–present: ''Welcome 2 Collegrove'' and ''Tha Carter VI''
On March31, 2023, Wayne dropped his first ever
greatest hits album
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
titled ''
I Am Music''. It included the then-unreleased "
Kant Nobody", featuring
DMX, whose song, "Niggaz Done Started Something" (1998), was sampled through. Wayne and DMX previously collaborated on "Dogs Out", a track from the latter's posthumous album,
''Exodus'', which was released a month after his death in 2021. Wayne released a single titled "
Kat Food" on September1, 2023.
That October, Lil Wayne released a mixtape, ''
Tha Fix Before Tha VI''. On November3, 2023, Wayne was featured on the remix to
Ciara
Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...
and
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
's single "
How We Roll". That same month, he and
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
released a collaborative album, ''
Welcome 2 Collegrove''. A sequel to 2 Chainz's 2016 album, ''
ColleGrove'', Wayne was credited as a co-leading artist as he was previously unable to receive credit for its predecessor, due to his prior legal issues involving his Cash Money dispute.
On February 6, 2025, during an advert for
Cetaphil, Wayne announced that ''
Tha Carter VI'' would be released on June 6, 2025. On February 17, after being critical of his "Mona Lisa" collaborator Kendrick Lamar replacing him as the headliner of the
Super Bowl LIX halftime show, Carter performed for the
''Saturday Night Live'' 50th anniversary special.
Future and unreleased projects

Carter has announced several possible upcoming projects, including a collaborative album entitled ''I Can't Feel My Face'' with Harlem-based rapper
Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of now-defunct hip-hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group coho ...
, that has been in production for several years.
In late 2011, it was announced by Mack Maine that Carter and
Juelz Santana
LaRon Louis James Sr. (born February 18, 1982), better known by his stage name Juelz Santana, is an American rapper and member of now-defunct hip-hop group, the Diplomats (also known as Dipset). He is best known for his appearances on group coho ...
had gone back to work on their collaborative album ''I Can't Feel My Face'', which had been delayed for a few years due to "label politics".
On June19, 2008, Carter and
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
formed a duo called T-Wayne with plans to release an album, titled ''He Raps, He Sings''; however, those plans have died down due to much of the material recorded for the album being leaked. T-Pain ultimately released ''
T-Wayne'' as a mixtape in 2017.
According to an interview with
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
, in the December 2011 issue of ''
XXL'', plans for an upcoming album with Carter had been scrapped for the time being because of the
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
and
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
collaboration album ''
Watch the Throne'' (2011).
In April 2012, on the premiere of
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's ''Hip Hop POV'', Carter sat down with
Amanda Seales and spoke briefly about an album he put together titled ''Devol'' (loved, backwards), an album full of "love songs" that he wrote during his imprisonment at
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail.
Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...
. In May 2013, he confirmed the album will still be released.
Carter's once ongoing litigation with Cash Money prevented numerous completed projects from being released. In January 2017, Young Money revealed the title of a planned Carter album called ''Velvet''. The album ended up leaking online in November 2018.
Musical style and artistry
Known for his creative lyrical ability—which often uses
punchlines,
homonym
In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...
s,
word play
Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, ph ...
—and
braggadocio, Carter's music often deals with the subjects of wealth, drugs, and sex.
Carter has cited rapper
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...
as his biggest musical inspiration, saying "she's a huge influence of everything I've ever done". Another one of his major influences is American hip hop group
Goodie Mob. In an interview with
Genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
, Carter said "I've been listening to Goodie Mob since I was in the 7th grade". For his ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...
'' special, Carter paid tribute to Tupac by covering his music. He also pulled inspiration from Tupac's "
Keep Ya Head Up" for his 2011 single "
How to Love".
Additionally, he has mentioned
T-Pain
Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
,
Wyclef Jean
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...
,
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American musician. She is celebrated as one of the most influential musical artists of her generation. Hill is credited with breaking barriers for female rappers, contributing to the popular music, m ...
,
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer and songwriter. Influenced by rhythm and blues, R&B, Soul music, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...
,
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
, and
Lenny Kravitz as influences, stating "I viewed them seriously and was like, 'Wow, I could do that without being totally them." Carter and rapper
Calboy paid homage to Hill on their 2021 single "Miseducation" titled after Hill's 1998 album ''
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill''.
According to ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'', Carter credits
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
for inspiring him to freestyle rhymes while recording over an instrumental, as opposed to writing down his lyrics. Carter also credits
The Notorious B.I.G. as an influence.
Legacy
Lil Wayne is claimed to be "one of the most influential artists in the 21st century" and is many times called as "the greatest rapper of his generation", as well as one of the greatest rappers of all time. His musical style and usage of
autotune
Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles from the vocoder ...
influenced modern sound of hip-hop music and its subgenres, especially the development of
trap.
Many rappers and musicians have cited Lil Wayne as an influence on their careers and musical style, including
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
,
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
,
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
,
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
,
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
,
Tyga
Micheal Ray Stevenson[Micheal Ray Stevenson](_blank)
,
Future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
,
Lil B,
Young Thug,
Trippie Redd,
Lil Skies,
Playboi Carti,
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...
,
Lil Baby,
DaBaby
Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly Baby Jesus), is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he signed with Interscope Records in January 2019 in a joint ...
,
Polo G,
BlocBoy JB,
NLE Choppa,
Flo Milli, and
The Kid Laroi
Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard (born 17 August 2003), known professionally as the Kid Laroi (stylized as The Kid LAROI), is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter. He was first discovered by Triple J Unearthed in 2016 at the age of 13. As ...
. His lyrics have also been criticized for their controversial subject matter.
In November 2024, Lil Wayne, during the Lil WeezyAna Fest, received a
Key to the City from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. In the same tribute,
Master P
Percy Robert Miller (born April 29, 1967), better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relau ...
announced the creation of the
NOLA Walk of Fame and presented Wayne with a fleur-de-lis plaque to mark this honor. Additionally, February 6–7 will now be celebrated as "Lil Wayne Day" in New Orleans.
Personal life
Relationships and children
Carter has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born November29, 1998, when he was 16,
to his high school sweetheart and later ex-wife
Toya Johnson. Internet rumors circulated in August 2008 that Carter's daughter had died in an auto accident; he immediately dispelled them. His second child, son Dwayne III, was born on October22, 2008, at
The Christ Hospital in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
to former radio personality Sarah Vivan. His third child, son Kameron,
was born to actress
Lauren London
Lauren Nicole London (born December 5, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films and televisions shows including ''ATL (film), ATL'' (2006), This Christmas (2007 film), ''This Christmas'' (2007), ''Madea's Big Happy Fami ...
on September9, 2009. His fourth child, son Neal, was born on November30, 2009, to singer
Nivea.
Carter met his high school sweetheart Toya Johnson, when he was 15 and she was 14, respectively. After dating
on and off for seven years, they married on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2004, and divorced in January 2006. Johnson cited her inability to cope with his lifestyle and the fact he had communicated with his other former romantic partners prior. More specifically, his career kept him away from their home for long periods of time. Despite being divorced, the two have remained good friends and continued to jointly support their daughter, Reginae.
In February 2002, after he first broke up with Johnson, he began dating singer Nivea.
On the 2007 song "Something You Forgot", he explained his feelings for Nivea, whom he got engaged to in December 2002 but broke off the engagement with in August 2003. Nivea stated that Carter tried to make her quit doing music so that he could take care of her, but also acknowledged that the song was written about her.
Previously having known each other since 1999, Carter and Lauren London reconciled following his divorce from Johnson in 2006, but broke up again in 2009, after London found out that she was pregnant at the same time as Carter's ex-girlfriend, Nivea.
In a May 2011 radio interview, London said of her relationship with Wayne and his fatherhood, "I met Wayne when I was 15 years old. I've known him a very long time, and we were in a relationship that didn't make it. We tried more than once to revive it, and we were engaged briefly years ago, but we eventually parted ways. People see the 'Lil Wayne' personality and think they know who he really is. My son's father is an intelligent, loving, and lovable person who will always be a dear friend. And that will never change. That is all." On the ''500 Degreez'' track, "Young'n Blues", he discussed his breakup with Toya Johnson and his issues with London, while he nicknamed the latter "young
Cali
Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...
sweet thing".
Carter began dating rapper
Trina in 2005, after featuring on her single, "Don't Trip". The two were discussing future plans for engagement and moving to
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
to live together. However, in 2006, after Trina suffered a miscarriage from what was later confirmed to be her and Carter's unborn child, they have grown distant from one another. It was during that time when Trina developed an affair with Carter's would be rival, rapper
Young Buck. In October 2007, the relationship ended after Trina realized that it was not properly empathized. According to her, it was the cause of the pair "being young and not knowing what
e weredoing".
The two reunited to collaborate for the 2013 single, "Wowzerz", and 2019's "Situation",
and remain on good terms.
Carter and Nivea reconciled in early 2008, following Nivea's divorce from singer-songwriter
The-Dream. Both were re-engaged in 2009, but Nivea decided to end her relationship with Carter while pregnant with their son and they called off their engagement for the second time in June 2010, in the midst of Carter's prison sentence.
He dated model
Karrine Steffans (on and off) from 2007 to 2014. Carter briefly dated Dana Lee in 2012.
He entered into an intimate relationship with glamour model Tammy Torres from 2009 to 2010.
While imprisoned, Drake encouraged him not to rekindle his relationship with Torres, due to him already having had an encounter with her. After ending his relationship with Torres and mending over his falling out with Drake, Carter later got involved with Dhea Sodano from 2011 to 2019.
In July 2014, it was rumored that Carter was dating singer
Christina Milian
Christina Milian ( , Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 20 ...
, with whom he attended the
ESPY Awards. They later confirmed their relationship in mid-2015, after which they received criticism from their interconnected exes, singer Nivea and songwriter The-Dream. They split in August 2015, having collaborated on multiple singles, videos, and concert dates.
Wayne was engaged to model La'Tecia Thomas but called off the engagement in May 2020. A month later, it was announced that Wayne had started dating
Denise Bidot, another model. In November 2020, they reportedly broke up over Wayne's
endorsement of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Shortly after, it was reported that the couple had reconciled. Wayne and Bidot later broke up again in January 2022.
On October 18, 2024, Carter began dating chef LeahAngelie Murphy.
Carter's son, Neal Carter, currently performs music under the alias, Lil Novi.
Beliefs and interests
In an interview with ''
Blender'', Carter said that one of his favorite bands from childhood was rock group
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
, and cites them as a major influence in his music.

Carter got his first tattoo at age 14 of his dad's name and his second was "Cash Money" across his stomach.
His tattoos have grown to include a
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
verse on his leg, "I Am Music" on his forehead and
teardrops on his cheeks among many others. His most recent one is "Baked" on his forehead stylized as the
Baker Skateboards logo.
Carter identifies as a
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. While playing in
Newark Symphony Hall, Carter professed his belief "in
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and His son,
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
".
During his 2011 tour in Australia with
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
, before beginning his bracket he proclaimed his belief in God.
After earning his
GED, Carter enrolled at the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...
in January 2005. He dropped out in the same year due to his conflicting schedule. He also stated on ''
The View'' that he switched to the
University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...
and majored in psychology taking
online courses.
An article in ''Urb'' magazine in March 2007 asserted that Carter had been earning high grades at Houston.
In 2016, Carter purchased Player's Rep. Sports Agency, and became Young Money APAA sports, which hired NFL's first female sports agent, Nicole Lynn. She currently represents
Seth Roberts,
Corey Nelson,
Jordan Evans,
Malik Jefferson,
Erik Harris,
Quinnen Williams, as well as NCAA coaches, and two former No. 1 Pro Softball draft picks.
On October29, 2020, less than a week before the
presidential election, Carter posted an image of him and President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
to Twitter. In the caption for the photo, Carter stated that he and Trump had recently met to discuss criminal justice reform and Trump's Platinum Plan, an initiative which aims to raise access to capital in Black communities by almost $500 billion. Carter claimed Trump "listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done".
Health problems
On October25, 2012, Carter's private jet, bound for
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, made an
emergency landing
An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...
in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
due to an in-flight medical episode. Lil Wayne was transferred to a local hospital upon arrival.
TMZ
''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
and other media sources said that Carter had suffered a
seizure
A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
aboard the plane. His publicist denied this, saying that he was in fact treated for "a severe migraine and dehydration".
The following day, while flying from Texas to Los Angeles, Carter's private jet was reportedly again forced to make an emergency landing, this time in
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, after he suffered a second seizure and required further hospitalization.
His representative said that the reports of Carter's condition had been exaggerated, and that he was resting at his Louisiana home. In a November 2012 interview with
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, Carter stated that he was taking seizure medication, on doctors' orders, due to the aforementioned incidents.
On March14, 2013, TMZ reported that Carter had been treated at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...
in Los Angeles on the evening of March12, after having seizures while on a music video set with Young Money rapper
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
. He was reportedly released in the early hours of March13. On March15, TMZ published a second story, claiming that hours after his release on March13, Carter was found unconscious after experiencing further seizures, and was brought back to Cedars-Sinai, where he was admitted to the
intensive care unit
An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine.
An inten ...
in
critical condition.
The article alleged the latest seizures were found to be linked to high amounts of
codeine in Carter's system, possibly due to bingeing on
purple drank after his initial hospital release.
Multiple celebrities, including
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
and
Birdman, were photographed on March15 and 16 visiting Carter at Cedars-Sinai.
Several members of
Young Money Entertainment
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB ...
, including president
Mack Maine, criticized media reports on Carter's hospitalization, particularly those of TMZ, alleging that they exaggerated the severity of his condition and falsely implied that he was on his
deathbed (such as by saying that he was in a medically
induced coma
An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...
), triggering what the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' called "the most overheated celebrity deathwatch in recent years". In separate interviews on March18, Mack Maine and Birdman disputed TMZ's reports, and stated that in fact there were not multiple seizures or multiple hospital visits. They explained that after Carter began seizing on the way to the music video shoot on March12, an ambulance was called and he was transported to the hospital, where he was admitted and remained continuously thereafter. They also refuted the claims that Carter's seizures are drug-induced, saying that they are an ongoing problem for which doctors have been unable to identify a cause.
Carter was released from the hospital late on March18, following a six-day stay. He addressed his condition via a
vlog
A vlog (), also known as a video blog or video log, is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one ta ...
, on March21 saying he was more than good.
Carter had two seizures in June 2016, during a cross-country flight from
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and landed in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
.
His plane was only two minutes in the air when the second seizure occurred, forcing the plane to land in Omaha once again. Less than a month later, he had another seizure, supposedly due to not taking his epilepsy medication.
Carter canceled a Las Vegas show on September3, 2017, having had a seizure in a Chicago hospital earlier that day, where he was brought after being found unconscious in a hotel room.
In June 2023, Carter acknowledged that he now had trouble remembering his songs due to memory problems caused by his epilepsy.
Philanthropy
On February19, 2008, Carter and his manager Cortez Bryant revisited their
alma mater McMain Secondary School to get students to design an invitation to the gala introducing Carter's nonprofit One Family Foundation.
Other ventures
Young Money Entertainment
Books
Carter wrote a memoir of his experience in Rikers Island called ''
Gone Til' November: A Journal of Rikers Island'' that was released October11, 2016.
Cannabis industry
In December 2019, Carter announced his own cannabis brand under the name of GKUA Ultra Premium.
Sports media
On September24, 2008, Carter published his first blog for
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
in their issue, ''
ESPN The Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue, with the cover line "NEXT.," was published on March 11, 1998 (cover date March 23, 1998), and featured K ...
''. Carter said that he was a fan of tennis, the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
, the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
, the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
and the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. To commemorate the Packers' making it to
Super Bowl XLV, he spoofed
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to re ...
's hit song "
Black and Yellow" (which were the colors of the Packers' opponents, the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
) in a song titled "Green and Yellow". He released a second version of the song in 2021, which was requested by the Packers, and updated with the current roster. Carter has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
party.
On January6, 2009, Carter was a guest debater against
Skip Bayless on the "1st & 10" segment of ''
ESPN First Take''. On February10, 2009, he appeared on ESPN's
Around the Horn and beat out veterans
Woody Paige,
Jay Mariotti and fellow New Orleanian
Michael Smith to win that show's episode.
Carter made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show ''Around The Horn'' on February10, 2009. Carter created the intro song "No Mercy" for the
Fox Sports 1
Fox Sports 1 (branded on-air as FS1) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 airs an array of live sporting events, including Majo ...
sports debate show ''
Undisputed''. After
Shannon Sharpe's departure from the show, Carter created a new theme song for ''Undisputed:'' "Good Morning". Carter also joined the series as a regular guest opposite Bayless.
Carter has mentioned being a fan of Latvian tennis player
Jelena Ostapenko, and was extended an invite to the
2024 US Open. Carter also thanked Ostapenko, who attended Drake's tour featuring Lil Wayne.
Legal issues
Arrests, incarceration, and presidential pardon
On July22, 2007, Carter was arrested in New York City following a performance at the
Beacon Theatre; the
New York City Police Department
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
discovered Carter and another man smoking
marijuana
Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
near a tour bus. After taking Carter into custody, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol near his person. The gun, which was registered to his manager, was in a bag located near the rapper.
He was charged with
criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana.
Following a performance at
Qwest Arena
Idaho Central Arena (originally Bank of America Centre, formerly Qwest Arena and CenturyLink Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Its seating capacity is 5,002 for ice hockey, 5,300 for basketball ...
in
Boise, Idaho, Carter was arrested October5, 2007, on felony fugitive charges after
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
authorities accused the rapper of possessing a controlled substance. The incident was later described as a "mix-up" and the fugitive charges were dropped.
On January23, 2008, Carter was arrested alongside two others. His tour bus was stopped by
Border Patrol agents near
Yuma, Arizona. A K-9 Unit recovered of marijuana, almost of cocaine, of
ecstasy, and $22,000 in cash. Carter was charged with four felonies: possession of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was granted permission to travel outside of the state and remain out of custody on the $10,185 bond he posted.
On May6, 2008, Carter returned to court in Arizona to plead not guilty to the charges. A
bench warrant was issued on March17, 2010, when Carter did not show for a final trial management conference. However, he was already incarcerated, serving a one-year sentence on
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail.
Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...
on weapons charges. On June22, 2010, Carter pleaded guilty to the charges. As part of the plea deal he was able to serve 36 months of probation, which he was sentenced to on June30, 2010.
On December18, 2009, Carter and 11 others were detained at the
Falfurrias, Texas, border patrol checkpoint after an unknown amount of marijuana was found on two of his tour buses.
On October22, 2009, Carter pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He was due for sentencing in February 2010 and was expected to receive a one-year county jail sentence,
but on February9, 2010, Carter's attorney announced that the sentencing was delayed until March2 due to dental surgery,
which was performed on February16. The surgery included eight root canals, the replacement of several tooth implants, as well as the addition of a few new implants and work on his remaining original teeth.
On March2, 2010, sentencing was postponed again when the courthouse reported a fire in the basement.
On March8, 2010, Carter was given a one-year sentence, which he served on Rikers Island. His lawyer said the rapper expected to be held in protective custody, separated from other prisoners.
In May 2010, Carter was found by Rikers Island correctional staff to be in possession of contraband (an MP3 player, charger, and headphones). In April 2010, Carter's friends created a website called Weezy Thanx You, which published letters written by Carter while incarcerated.
In the first letter, titled "Gone 'til November", Carter said he was staying in good spirits thinking about his children and spending his time working out regularly and reading
the Bible every day.
Carter was released from Rikers Island Jail on November4, 2010, after serving eight months of his year-long sentence.
On December12, 2020, Carter pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge brought against him by the
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. This plea stemmed from an incident during December of the previous year, when Carter was arrested in Florida after transporting a loaded handgun on his private jet from California. As a convicted felon, he is barred from possessing such weapons. He was pardoned by U.S. President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
on January19, 2021, his last full day in office.
Lawsuits
On July24, 2008,
Abkco Music filed a
lawsuit
A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...
against Carter for
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
and
unfair competition
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. ...
, specifically referring to ''
Tha Carter III'' track "Playing with Fire".
In the lawsuit, Abkco says that the song was obviously derived from the Rolling Stones' "Play with Fire (The Rolling Stones song), Play with Fire", to which Abkco owns the rights.
Subsequently, "Playing with Fire" was removed from the track list of ''Tha Carter III'' on all Digital music store, online music stores and replaced with the
David Banner produced track, "Pussy Monster".
In February 2009, production company RMF Productions filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Carter following a $100,000 advance payment for three shows, all of which were cancelled by the artist.
In October 2009, Carter,
Birdman,
Cash Money Records, and various music distribution outlets were sued for copyright infringement by Thomas Marasciullo, who says his voice was used without permission. The rappers asked him to record some "Italian-styled spoken word recordings" in 2006. The lyrics were allegedly used on "Respect" and other tracks from the rappers' collaboration album ''
Like Father, Like Son'' and Birdman's ''
5 * Stunna''.
In March 2011, producer Deezle (Darius Harrison) sued Carter and his parent labels Cash Money Records over unpaid royalties from ''Tha Carter III''. Two months later, that May, producer Bangladesh also filed a lawsuit against Wayne over unpaid royalties as well.
In early June 2011, another producer named David Kirkwood filed a lawsuit against Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records on claims that the labels have failed to pay him over $1.5 million in royalties and production services for his work on the album, also including his songwriting on "Love Me or Hate Me", a bonus song featured only on the deluxe edition of the album.
Also in June 2011, Dallas producers Play-N-Skillz filed a lawsuit against him, saying Carter owes them at least $1 million in unpaid royalties for "
Got Money" from his album ''Tha Carter III''. The single has sold over 2 million copies since being released.
In July 2011, Done Deal Enterprises, a production company based in Georgia, filed suit against Carter, Universal Music Group, Cash Money Records and Young Money Entertainment, claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges Carter stole the song "BedRock", featured on the compilation album ''We Are Young Money'', and seeks damages of $15 million.
In November 2012, Wayne was ordered to pay Quincy Jones III $2.2 million based on a lawsuit which stated that the rapper blocked the release of Jones's film ''The Carter'', therefore infringing on its profits.
Controversies and feuds
Juvenile
Carter began feuding with former
Hot Boys member and
Cash Money Records labelmate
Juvenile in 2002, after Juvenile took offense to Carter naming his third studio album ''
500 Degreez'', a diss aimed towards Juvenile whose last album was named ''
400 Degreez''. Juvenile responded with a diss track on his 2002 album ''600 Degreez'', titled "A Hoe". In the song, Juvenile questions Carter's sexuality, and says he's a fake gangster. The two squashed their beef for a short period in 2004, with Carter and
Birdman appearing in the music video for Juvenile and Soulja Slim's song, Slow Motion (Juvenile song), Slow Motion. Carter later paid tribute to the Hot Boys with a song called "I Miss My Dawgs" on 2004's
Tha Carter. Juvenile responded by calling the song "fake", and criticized Carter for releasing a tribute song and later promoting the album on BET and having "nothing good to say about them". The two eventually reconciled once again, and Juvenile re-signed with Cash Money Records in 2014.
Young Buck
Young Buck released a song called "Off Parole", featuring Tony Yayo, which insulted Carter. Young Buck said that Carter could not be angry, because Young Buck spoke the truth. Young Buck also said "You think you got a problem with Juve and B.G.; you'll have a true problem with me", referring to the Cash Money-Juvenile/B.G feud. One of the reasons 50 Cent stated he was dismissing Young Buck was what he called "inconsistent behavior" which included appearing on stage with Carter, then seemingly dissing him on records with G-Unit.
After he was dismissed, Young Buck appeared in the music video "My Life (Game song), My Life" by
The Game, which featured Carter on the song's chorus.
[DJ Skee (August 1, 2008) . Retrieved July 6, 2009.] As of 2009, Young Buck and Carter have squashed their beef and also linked up to record a track "Up's and Down's" for Young Buck's ''Back on My Buck Shit'' mixtape.
Pusha T
Tension between Wayne and Pusha T had been going on for years, beginning soon after Clipse and
Birdman worked on "What Happened to That Boy", the latter's 2002 single. In 2006, Wayne felt the Clipse song "Mr. Me Too" was directed at him which caused more tension between the two. In 2012, after much speculation that Pusha T was subliminally dissing Canadian rapper and Wayne's Young Money signee
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
in several songs, the speculation heightened after the release of Pusha T's "Exodus 23:1" song. Lil Wayne quickly responded on online social networking service Twitter and later released a diss track titled "Goulish". In the first verse, Wayne raps "Fuck Pusha T and anybody that love him / His head up his ass, I'mma have to head-butt him". Pusha T called Wayne's diss track "horrible" and said he felt it did not deserve a response. Both men have downplayed the feud, with Wayne saying he's over it. However, in November 2012, Pusha T dissed Wayne and
Birdman on a new
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
song titled "Tell Me What They Mad For". In December 2014, once the feud between Lil Wayne and Birdman arose, Pusha T sent out a tweet encouraging Lil Wayne to sign to GOOD Music, G.O.O.D. Music, which also insulted Birdman for his hand-rubbing habit.
Jay-Z
In a 2009 interview with Tropical TV,
Birdman disputed the MTV poll that voted
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
"The Hottest MC in the Game", stating that Lil Wayne was a better rapper and made more money.
In early 2011, when Jay-Z and
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
's single "H•A•M" was released, Jay-Z took shots at
Birdman, saying "Really, you got Baby money" and "[you] ain't got Beyoncé, my lady's money!". On August24, 2011, a song called "It's Good" by Lil Wayne (featuring
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
and Jadakiss) was leaked online and included Lil Wayne responding "Talkin' 'bout baby money? I gotcha baby money. Kidnap your bitch, get that, How much you love your lady? money". Jadakiss later absolved himself of involvement in any brewing beef on his official Twitter feed.
Dispute with Cash Money Records
On December 4, 2014, just five days before ''Tha Carter V'' was due to be released, Carter issued a statement saying the album would not be released on its expected release date, due to his displeasure with
Cash Money Records label-boss
Birdman, refusing to release the album although it had been completed. Carter also expressed his feelings by stating he felt both he and his creativity were being held "prisoner".
Upon ''Sorry for the Wait 2''s release on January 20, 2015, he continuously diss track, disses Birdman and Cash Money Records, several times throughout the mixtape. Birdman was reported to be upset with this. In late January 2015, Carter sued Birdman and Cash Money Records for $51 million. Carter and Birdman supposedly reconciled after being seen at
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals and creatures
* A male duck
* Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
's NYE Party, at Miami's Club Liv, and in studio.
On January 27, 2024, both Carter and Birdman reunited during a studio session, putting an end to their nine-year quarrel.
Political and racial views
In 2013, Carter received criticism after a video released by TMZ showed him apparently stepping on the U.S. flag. Carter later explained that "It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States", and that he was shooting a video for a song on his upcoming album, "God Bless Amerika". He says the purpose of the flag was to show that "behind the American Flag was the Hoods of America".
In late 2016, Carter made statements critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, saying, "I don't feel connected to a damn thing that ain't got nothin' to do with me. If you do, you crazy as shit," adding that his status as a wealthy black man who has white fans is evidence that black people are valued in the United States.
Discography

Studio albums
*''
Tha Block Is Hot'' (1999)
*''
Lights Out'' (2000)
*''
500 Degreez'' (2002)
*''
Tha Carter'' (2004)
*''
Tha Carter II'' (2005)
*''
Tha Carter III'' (2008)
*''
Rebirth'' (2010)
*''
I Am Not a Human Being
''I Am Not a Human Being'' is the eighth studio album by the American rapper Lil Wayne. It had a digital release on September 27, 2010, and on compact disc on October 12, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Mot ...
'' (2010)
*''
Tha Carter IV
''Tha Carter IV'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011, through Cash Money Records, Universal Republic Records and Young Money Entertainment. Recording sessions for the album began in late 2008, sho ...
'' (2011)
*''
I Am Not a Human Being II'' (2013)
*''
Free Weezy Album'' (2015)
*''
Tha Carter V
''Tha Carter V'' is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on September 27, 2018, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. The album's release date coincided with the day of Lil Wayne's 36th birthday. T ...
'' (2018)
*''
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
'' (2020)
*''
Tha Carter VI'' (2025)
Collaborative albums
*''
Like Father, Like Son'' (with
Birdman) (2006)
*''
Welcome 2 Collegrove'' (with
2 Chainz
Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...
) (2023)
Tours
Headlining
*
I Am Music Tour (2008-2009)
* America's Most Wanted Tour (2009)
* I Am Music II Tour (2011)
* Sorry For The Wait 2 Tour (2015)
* The Dedication Tour (2016)
* Kloser 2 U Tour (2017)
* I Ain't Shit Without You (2018)
* Welcome To Tha Carter Tour (2023)
* Tha Carter VI Tour (2025)
Co-headlining
* Cash Money/Ruff Ryders Tour (2000)
*
Drake vs. Lil Wayne (2014)
* Blink-182 and Lil Wayne Tour (2019)
* The HotBoys Reunion Tour (2024-2025)
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
See also
* List of celebrities who own cannabis businesses
* List of artists who reached number one in the United States
* List of highest-certified music artists in the United States
* List of best-selling singles in the United States
* List of best-selling singles
* List of best-selling albums by year in the United States
* List of artists who reached number one on the UK singles chart
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Lil Wayneon Spotify
{{Authority control
Lil Wayne,
1982 births
Living people
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American rappers
20th-century American singers
21st-century African-American male actors
21st-century African-American male singers
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American rappers
African-American business executives
African-American Catholics
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
African-American male singer-songwriters
African-American record producers
African-American skateboarders
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American chief executives
American hip-hop record producers
American hip-hop singers
American male singer-songwriters
American male television actors
American music industry executives
American people convicted of drug offenses
American shooting survivors
Bloods
Businesspeople from New Orleans
Cash Money Millionaires members
Cash Money Records artists
Fox Sports 1 people
Grammy Award winners for rap music
Hardcore hip-hop artists
Hot Boys members
Male actors from New Orleans
MTV Video Music Award winners
People pardoned by Donald Trump
People with epilepsy
Pop rappers
Rappers from New Orleans
Record producers from Louisiana
Republic Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Louisiana
Southern hip-hop musicians
Trap musicians
Universal Motown Records artists
Universal Records artists
University of Phoenix alumni
World Music Awards winners
Young Money Entertainment artists