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Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his
stage name Lil Wayne, is an
American rapper. Currently part of the newly reunited rap group
Hot Boys, he joined the
Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. He worked with
B.G. on the album
True Story and eventually recorded for the label.
Get It How U Live, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne's first album with Hot Boys, and
Tha Block is Hot, his solo debut, came out 1999.
Block debuted in the top ten on the American
Billboard 200 chart and Lil Wayne was nominated for "Best New Artist" from
The Source magazine the same year. Following this success, Wayne soon featured on other rappers' singles, including "Bling Bling" by
B.G. and "#1 Stunna" by the
Big Tymers in 2000.
After his hit debut album
Tha Block Is Hot and two more albums released with little promotion, Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with 2004's
Tha Carter and its two subsequent albums
Tha Carter II (2005) and
Tha Carter III (2008). During that period, he appeared on several mixtapes and singles of other artists.