Lil Wayne

Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., Lil Wayne grew up in New Orleans, US, quickly finding a love for music and hip hop. At 11 years old, Wayne had already gained a job at the Cash Money label, soon recording an album with fellow teenager B.G. As the duo, the B.G.'Z's, they released an album in 1995, titled "True Story," which found many fans of the youngsters. Lil Wayne then became involved with another group, the Hot Boys, which included B.G. alongside Juvenile and Young Turk. The teen hardcore rap outfit released their debut, "Get It How U Live!" in 1997, catching the attention of Universal Records who went on to distribute their second release, "Guerrilla Warfare," which went to the top of Billboard's R&B/Hip-hop charts.

Lil Wayne continued to appear on various Cash Money releases, collaborating with various members of the Hot Boys. In 2003, Wayne's first mixtape, "Da Drought," was released, drawing significant attention from the press, helping to build anticipation for his next full-length. "The Carter" arrived in 2004, breaking Wayne to a mainstream audience, bolstered by the number five single, "Go DJ." Further hit singles followed, becoming one of Cash Money's best-selling releases. "The Carter II" followed n 2005, bringing Wayne further success, selling Platinum.

Wayne continued to release endless mixtapes and appeared in collaborations for various artists, most notably Birdman on the album, "Like Father, Like Son.' After rave reviews of his "Dedication 2" mixtape, Wayne then featured on Chris Bown's

"Gimme That" and Fat Joe's "Make It Rain," keeping Wayne busy till his next album release. It was not until 2008 that a new album arrived, "The Carter III," which was marred by unauthorized album leaks. Despite these setbacks, the album became a huge hit, selling a million copies within its first week. By the end of the year, the album had earned Wayne four Grammy Awards, including 'Best Rap Album,' cementing Wayne's place in the mainstream.

Wayne then turned his hands to rock, appearing alongside Kid Rock at a live performance. His first rock album, "Rebirth," arrived in 2010, unfortunately coinciding with his arrest for possession of a weapon. Despite his arrest, Wayne was still able to release a ten-song EP, "I Am Not a Human Being" in September that year. Upon leaving prison, Wayne started work on a new record, 2011's "The Carter IV," which shot to the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Next, Wayne released the second volume of "I Am Not a Human Being," which debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 in March 2013.