Dwayne Carter, popularly known as Lil Wayne is a household name in the music industry. He is an American Rapper who has achieved quite a feat in his career path as a musician.
Profile Summary
| Full Name/Stage Name | Dwayne Michael Carter Jr/Lil Wayne |
| Date of Birth | September 27, 1982 |
| Nationality | American |
| Famous as | Lil Wayne |
| Occupation | American Rapper, Singer, Songwriter, and Record Executive. |
| Net Worth | $170 Million. |
Who Is Dwayne Carter?
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. otherwise known as Lil Wayne, is an American Rapper, Singer, Songwriter, and Record Executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label. From then on, Wayne was the flagship artist of Cash Money Records before ending his association with the company in June 2018. Regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation by XXL, he has often been cited as one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Early Life and Education of Dwayne Carter
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished Hollygrove neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana’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. When CBS interviewer Katie Couric asked why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name, Carter explained that “I dropped the D because I’m a junior and my father is living and he’s not in my life and he’s never been in my life. So, I don’t want to be Dwayne, I’d rather be Wayne”. Asked if his father knew of this, Carter replied, “He knows 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’s.
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. After matriculating to Marion Abramson Senior High School, Carter dropped out at age 14 to focus on his musical career.
After being successful with his music career, he thought it would be good to complete his studies finally, and he joined the University of Phoenix. Unfortunately, he was unable to balance his studies and career due to his tight schedule, and this made him drop out of school again that same year.
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 Carter 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. Decades later Carter claimed 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, who he calls “Uncle Bob”, with saving his life by insisting the dying child be driven immediately to the 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 Journey of Dwayne Carter
In 1997, Carter joined the Hot Boys along with rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk. At age 14, Carter was the youngest member at the time. Hot Boys’ debut album Get It How U Live! was released the same year, followed in 1999 by the group’s major-label debut Guerrilla Warfare, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 5 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. Carter was also featured on Juvenile’s single “Back That Azz Up”, which reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Let ‘Em Burn, a compilation album of unreleased tracks recorded between 1999 and 2000, came out in 2003, several years after the group disbanded. It reached No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200.
Carter’s debut solo album, Tha Block Is Hot, was released when he was 17 and featured significant contributions from the Hot Boys. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified platinum by the RIAA less than two months 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 “Tha Block Is Hot”. After the release of Tha Block Is Hot, Carter was featured on the single “Bling Bling”, with B.G., Juvenile, and Big Tymers. Carter’s verse appeared only on the radio version of the song, while on the album version he performed in the chorus.
His second album, Lights Out, was released in 2000, and failed to attain the level of success achieved by his debut but was certified gold by RIAA. 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” with Big Tymers and Juvenile, which peaked at number 24 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.
Carter’s third album, 500 Degreez, was released in 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 recording, 400 Degreez. The lead single was “Way of Life” which failed to match the success of his previous singles. After the release of 500 Degreez, Carter was featured on the single “Neva Get Enuf” by 3LW.
Retirement Plans of Dwayne Carter
On March 29, 2011, in an interview with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez, Carter announced that he would retire at age 35; saying “I have four kids”, and that “I would feel selfish still going to the studio when it’s such a vital point in their lives.” He said in November 2012 that Tha Carter V will be his last album as he wanted to go into other interests.
In March 2014, Carter reconfirmed at SXSW that Tha Carter V will be his last album during his keynote with interviewer Elliot Wilson
In September 2016, regarding his contract dispute with Cash Money, he indicated a possible retirement on Twitter saying, “I AM NOW DEFENSELESS and mentally DEFEATED” and then said, “I leave gracefully and thankful I luh my fanz but I’m done.” Many rappers responded with respect and encouragement.
Relationship Life of Dwayne Carter
Dwayne Carter is said to have four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born November 29, 1998, when he was 16, to his high school sweetheart Toya Johnson. They later married on Valentine’s Day 2004 and divorced in 2006. Internet rumors started circulating in August 2008 that Carter’s daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying “Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who cares and loves her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident.”
His second child, Dwayne III, was born on October 22, 2008, at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati to radio broadcaster Sarah Vivan. His third child, Cameron, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. His fourth child, Neal, was born on November 30, 2009, to singer Nivea. Trina also became pregnant with Carter’s child, but later suffered a miscarriage.
In July 2014, it was rumored that Carter was dating singer Christina Milian whom he attended the ESPY Awards. They later confirmed their relationship in mid-2019 after which they received criticism from their interconnected exes, singer Nivea and songwriter The-Dream. They split at the end of 2015 after collaborating on various singles, videos, and concert dates.
Wayne was engaged to model La’Tecia Thomas but called off the engagement in May 2020.
In June 2020, 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. Shortly after, it was reported that the couple had reconciled.
Health Issues of Dwayne Carter
On October 25, 2012, Carter’s private jet, bound for Los Angeles, made an emergency landing in Texas due to an in-flight medical episode. Lil Wayne was transferred to a local hospital upon arrival. TMZ and other media sources said that Carter had suffered a seizure aboard the plane. His publicist denied this, saying that he was 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, 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, Carter revealed that he was taking seizure medication, on doctors’ orders, due to the aforementioned incidents.
On March 14, 2013, TMZ reported that Carter had been treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on the evening of March 12, after having seizures while on a music video set with Young Money rapper Nicki Minaj. He was reportedly released in the early hours of March 13. On March 15, TMZ published a second story, claiming that hours after his release on March 13, Carter was found unconscious after experiencing further seizures, and was brought back to Cedars-Sinai, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit 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 binging on a purple drink after his initial hospital release. Multiple celebrities, including Drake and Birdman, were photographed on March 15 and 16 visiting Carter at Cedars-Sinai.
Several members of Young Money Entertainment, 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), triggering what the Washington Post called “the most overheated celebrity deathwatch in recent years”. In separate interviews on March 18, Mack Maine and Birdman disputed TMZ’s reports and stated that 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 March 12, 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 March 18, following a six-day stay. Lil Wayne addressed his condition via a vlog, on March 21 saying he was more than good.
Carter had two seizures in June 2016, during a cross-country flight from Wisconsin to California, and landed in Omaha, Nebraska. 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 September 3, 2017, having had a seizure in a Chicago hospital earlier that day, where he was brought after being found unconscious in a hotel room.
Lawsuits Filed Against Dwayne Carter
On July 24, 2008, Abkco Music Inc filed a lawsuit against Carter for copyright infringement and unfair competition, specifically referring to Tha Carter III‘s track “Playing with Fire”. In the lawsuit, Abkco says that the song was derived from The Rolling Stones’ “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 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 canceled 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.
In May 2011, producer Bangladesh also filed a lawsuit against Weezy & Co. 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 that stated that the rapper blocked the release of Jones’s film The Carter, therefore infringing on its profits.
Dwayne Carter Net Worth
As of December 2022, Dwayne Carter’s net worth is roughly $170 Million.
Conclusion
Lil Wayne’s solo debut album Tha Block Is Hot (1999) was his solo breakthrough, and he reached higher popularity with his fourth album Tha Carter (2004), and fifth album Tha Carter II (2005), as well as several mixtapes and collaborations throughout 2006 and 2007. He gained more prominence within the music industry with his sixth album Tha Carter III (2008), with first-week sales of over one million copies in the US. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and included successful singles “A Milli”, “Got Money” (featuring T-Pain), and “Lollipop” (featuring Static Major)—the latter being his first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
On February 19, 2008, Carter and 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.
