Born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., on September 27, 1982, Lil Wayne lived his early childhood years in the town of Hollygrove in New Orleans, USA. Even at an early age he was enrolled in the gifted programs in his elementary school. By the time he was attending secondary school he was an active member in the drama club and well on his way to making his mark on the world.

By the time Lil Wayne was 11 years old, he had met the owner of Cash Money Records and began a relentless campaign of phone messages containing freestyle rap on Bryan Williams's answering machine. Eventually, Williams relented and mentored the boy, giving him the opportunity to record under his label.

At the young age of 12 the young rapper accidentally shot himself in the chest, luckily surviving but his attitude had changed and he later that year dropped out of school. He has since realized the importance of having his education and so has returned to complete his GED studies.

He first performed in 1997 as part of the group, Hot Boys which included such names as Turk, Juvenile and B.G., but Lil Wayne was the youngest of the group being only 15 at that time. Their debut album was released in 1997, titled "Get It How You Live!" and was followed up in 1999 with "Guerilla Warfare." A series of unreleased rap music tracks were released in 1999 and 2000 on an album "Let 'Em Burn." By 2003, the band went their separate ways and Lil Wayne, who had released a solo album in 1998, continued to focus on his own career.

His albums from 1998 onwards began with his debut solo album titled "Tha Block Is Hot," which came onto the charts at number three and hit platinum status very shortly thereafter. Other albums that followed were "Lights Out," "500 Degreez," and "Tha Carter." The later of these albums was considered to be a huge step forward for the young rappers career and music style.

Following "Tha Carter" was "Tha Carter II", in 2005 and sold over 200,000 copies during the first week on the shelves. That same year Lil Wayne became the president of Cash Money Enterprises and during that same year he founded Young Money Entertainment. By 2007, he relinquished his roles in both companies. He went to work on his next album but towards the end of the recording four tracks were leaked, so as a result, he released an album in the interim by the name of "The Leak" and followed it up shortly thereafter with his original album, "Tha Carter III." This album also did very well selling over a million copies in its first week of release in June of 2008.

On Valentines Day in 2004, Lil Wayne married Toya Johnson, his high school sweetheart, but the marriage was short-lived and the couple divorced in 2006. They did have a daughter; Reginae Carter and Lil Wayne also has a son, Dwayne Carter III, born on October 22, 2008, but the identity of the mother of his son, was never released.

The rapper also enrolled in university at the University of Huston in 2005 with plans of majoring in Political Science and had been taking several online courses to earn his degree. By the end of 2007, in spite of earning high grades in his courses, Lil Wayne discontinued his classes, but he does plan to eventually return to his studies.

Lil Wayne's biography is a fascinating story. We can expect more exciting tales to follow about this hot star.