Patrick Dhane Lanshaw (born October 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Lanshaw is a member of the rap collective

Hypnotize Minds Hypnotize Minds Productions, also known as Hypnotize Camp Posse or HCP, was an American record label founded by DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia in 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. The label served as the successor to Three 6 Mafia's previous ...

and owner of the independent label Wyte Music.

Early life

Growing up in Frayser, Lil Wyte discovered his rapping talent at a young age as he could rap

Sir Mix-a-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot or his CB handle Prime Minista, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1992 hit song " Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

's entire song "

Baby Got Back "Baby Got Back" is a song written, co-produced and recorded by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot. Released in May 1992 by Def American and Reprise as the second single from his third album, '' Mack Daddy'' (1992), the song samples the 1986 Detroi ...

" completely. He participated in freestyle battles at high school when he was in ninth grade. Lanshaw rapped with his friend "Lil Black", who inspired him to use the pseudonym "Lil Wyte" and write songs instead of freestyling. Lanshaw dropped out of high school, but eventually earned his

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

Music career

Lil Wyte was part of a local rap group, the Shelby Forest Click. The group's home-made

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

came to the attention of

Three 6 Mafia Three 6 Mafia is an American hip-hop group from Memphis, Tennessee, formed in 1991. Emerging as a horror-themed underground hip-hop group, they went on to enjoy mainstream success. The group's 1995 debut album ''Mystic Stylez'' became an influen ...

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 ...

and

DJ Paul Paul Duane Beauregard (born January 12, 1977), known professionally as DJ Paul, is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of hip hop group Three 6 Mafia and the brother of rapper Lord Infamous. DJ Paul is also the half ...

(one song in particular is said to have gotten him signed, a song titled Memphiz Playaz). Three 6 Mafia signed the rapper and worked later with his debut album. Lil Wyte appeared on

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), known professionally as Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of the hip-hop ...

's song "Crash da Club" from his album '' Layin' da Smack Down'' in 2002. His debut album ''

Doubt Me Now ''Doubt Me Now'' is the debut album by American rapper Lil Wyte, released March 4, 2003. The album became an underground hit among fans, selling over 135,000 copies independently, without any promotion. To date it has sold 360,000 copies. Fans al ...

'' was released in 2003 and it became popular, selling over 135,000 copies without promotion. The album ''

'' featured Juvenile,

Frayser Boy Cedric Kelvin Coleman, professionally known by his stage name Frayser Boy, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was formerly signed to Hypnotize Minds, the record label run by Three 6 Mafia founders DJ Paul and Juicy J, and had r ...

, La Chat and

Josey Scott Joseph Scott Sappington (born May 3, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the former lead vocalist of the rock band Saliva. In addition to Saliva, Scott co-wrote and performed "Hero" (which was used as one of the theme songs to the 200 ...

. The album had three popular songs: "Oxy Cotton", "My Smoking Song", and "Acid". He has been described as a rapid lyricist.

Personal life

Lil Wyte passed up the opportunity of writing the song "

It's Hard out Here for a Pimp "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" is a song written by American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, alongside Cedric Coleman, as the theme song to the American drama film ''Hustle & Flow'' (2005). It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and in ...

", because he could not relate to the lyrics of having more than one woman. Lil Wyte used three strains of

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 ...

to create his own strain of

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to cannabis products and cannabinoid molecules that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has a long history, but has not ...

called OG WYTE Kush. It's available in 11 states. The three original strains are OG Kush,

White Widow White Widow may refer to: * Samantha Lewthwaite (born 1983), terrorist suspect and widow of 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay * Sally-Anne Jones, British-born U.N.-designated recruiter and propaganda for the Islamic State (ISIS) * White Widow ...

and Grand Daddy Purp. In 2012 he was arrested in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...

, for DUI and drug possession.

Discography

;Studio albums ;Mixtapes *2008: ''Cocaine & Kush'' *2009: ''Cocaine Kush 2 (Love, Hate, Betrayal)'' *2009: ''Wyte Christmas'' *2010: ''Wyte Christmas 2 (Let It SNO)'' *2011: ''Wyte Christmas 3'' *2012: ''Wyte Out'' *2012: ''Wyte Boyz Wasted'' (with Barzz & J.P) *2013: ''Wyte Out Pt. 2'' *2013: ''July 16'' (with

JellyRoll Jason Bradley DeFord (born December 4, 1984), known professionally as Jelly Roll (originally stylized as JellyRoll), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Beginning his music career in 2003, he rose to mainstream prominence following ...

) *2013: ''Wyte Christmas 4'' *2014: ''Wyte Lytes'' (with DJ Hylyte) *2016: ''Wyte Christmas 6'' (with DJ Ritz)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

External links

*
Talkin' Ain't Walkin' , Lil Wyte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lil Wyte 1982 births Living people American crunk musicians American male rappers American music industry executives Asylum Records artists Businesspeople from Tennessee Horrorcore artists Rappers from Memphis, Tennessee Southern hip-hop musicians Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians