November 4, 2023 | Shannon Quinn

Rhythmic Facts About Lil Wayne


"I always believe that to be the best, you have to smell like the best, dress like the best, act like the best. When you throw your trash in the garbage can, it has to be better than anybody else who ever threw trash in the garbage can". — Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne is a multi-Grammy Award winning rapper who has been selling records since the age of 11. Here are 43 things you may not know about him.


1. In The Beginning

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1982. He grew up in a neighborhood called Hollygrove, which is one of the poorest and roughest parts of the city.

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2. Child Star

Even as a kid, Lil Wayne had a natural talent for rapping; he wrote his first song when he was eight. When he was only 11 years old, he was signed with the record label Cash Money Records. He came out with an album called True Story.

Lil Wayne facts Getty Images

3. Packing Heat

When he was only 11 years old, Lil Wayne started carrying his first pistol, a tiny .32 Derringer. During an interview, Wayne said, "You can’t go nowhere not strapped. That’s life".

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

4. Mama’s Boy

Wayne pulled a blade on his first stepfather, Terry, after Terry was intimidating Wayne's mother. Wayne never cut Terry, but the stepfather left the family soon after the incident.

Lil Wayne FactsFlickr

5. Kids and Guns Don’t Mix

When Wayne was 12,he accidentally shot himself in the chest with his stepfather's .44 Taurus Magnum. The projectile missed his heart by only two inches and shot straight out of his back. For two weeks, Wayne was in the hospital on life support.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

6. Parenting

Wayne’s mother disapproved of the Cash Money Records crowd since she knew that many of the rappers had delinquent records. For two years, she forced Wayne to focus on school rather than rapping.

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

7. The Brains

Wayne had straight As when he was in public school, and earned his high school diploma by taking the test for the GED. He also attended college at the University of Houston. During an interview, he said that college felt like this first time he ever really went to school, compared to the chaos of his urban public high school. When he realized his rap career was becoming more serious, Wayne left Houston and took online classes through University of Phoenix to finish his Bachelor’s Degree.

Lil Wayne factsWikimedia Commons, Another Believer

8. Daddy Issues

Although though his real name is "Dwayne," the rapper decide to drop the "D" and go by "Wayne". He never got to meet his father, and he didn’t want to grow up to be anything like him.

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

9. Good Morning, Son

Lil Wayne finally began to have a good father-son relationship with his second stepfather, who was nicknamed “Rabbit". He said that Rabbit is the man who he considered to be his "real" father. Sadly, Rabbit was gunned down when Lil Wayne was only 14.

Lil Wayne factsWikipedia

10. Good Choice

When he was younger, Wayne called himself  "Shrimp Daddy" in homage to the 90s rapper Pimp Daddy. He later changed it to Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

11. No Job, No Problem

Since he started rapping young, Lil Wayne has never worked a job except for an unpaid volunteer gig he did at a summer camp.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

12. Hustle Harder

From 1997 to 2012, Wayne rapped in 597 guest features, although only a fraction of them are widely known to the public.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

13. Growing Up Fast

Wayne lost his virginity when he was only 11 years old to a girl who was 13. At 16, his 14-year-old high school girlfriend, Antonia Johnson, got pregnant. They now have a daughter named Reginae.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

14. Boy Band Beginnings

Lil Wayne was in a rap group called The Hot Boys when he was 15. One of their popular songs was "We On Fire".

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

15. Wedding Bells

In 2004, Wayne married his high school sweetheart Antonia Johnson. They got a divorce in 2006 but remain good friends and continue to raise Reginae together.

Lil Wayne FactsGetty Images

16. Wasn’t Meant to Be

In 2005, Wayne almost joined a group called Boyz N Da Hood. He worked with them on a collaboration, but ultimately decided not to get together with the group.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

17. Lone Wolf

When he was 17 years old, Wayne started his solo career. His first album was called The Block is Hot. The record went platinum and earned him the award as "Best New Artist" from Source magazine. That first album actually doesn’t have any swearing in it: Wayne's mom asked him to watch his language.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

18. You’re Talking To The Sergeant

Lil Wayne was featured in the Destiny’s Child song "Soldier," and it helped him to become more recognized in the mainstream music scene.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

19. The Golden Phonograph

Lil Wayne has won a total of 5 Grammy Awards, and he has been nominated 24 times. He has also performed during the Grammys multiple times.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

20. Baby Mama

In 2008, Lil Wayne met a high-school-aged woman, Sarah Vivian, at a club he visited after one of his concerts in Cincinnati, Ohio. He got her pregnant and they had a son, Dwayne Carter III.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

21. Sk8er Boi

In his free time, Wayne loves to skateboard. During an interview with ESPN, he said that skateboarding is very therapeutic for him because it forces him to clear his head. He said that the feeling he gets when he finally lands a new trick is almost as satisfying as winning a Grammy Award.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

22. Boss

Since he had been with the record company nearly all his life, he became the obviously choice as the new CEO of Cash Money Records. He also started a new record label of his own: Young Money Records.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

23. Behind Bars

In 2007, Wayne was convicted for drug and weapon possession. He spent 242 days in Riker’s jailhouse out of his year-long sentence. He was released on good behavior. When asked what he did to pass the time, Wayne said he mostly played UNO.

Lil Wayne FactsGetty Images

24. Not For Nothing

In the world of rap, spending time in lockup actually gives an artist more street cred. After he was released from jailhouse, Wayne's records sold even more than before.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

25. Baby Mama #2

Wayne had a short-term relationship with an actress named Lauren London, who got pregnant with his third child. They had a son together, Cameron. Similar to the first two baby-mamas, London was only 15 years old at the time. Wayne and London were secretly engaged for a while, but eventually broke up.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

26. The Mentor

Lil Wayne was responsible for mentoring some of rap and hip hop’s biggest stars, including Drake and Nicki Minaj.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

27. Just Like Dad

Wayne’s daughter Reginae Carter loves to rap, too. She joined Young Money Entertainment when she was 14 years old, and joined an R&B group called OMG Girlz.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

28. No Pen Required

In 2002, Wayne decided to stop trying to write his lyrics ahead of time and began freestyling. He believes that freestyling makes the words become more meaningful.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

29. Smells Like Teen Spirit

While he obviously looks up to other rappers, and he even has a tattoo in honor of Jay-Z on his face, Wayne says that his favorite band is Nirvana.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

30. No Judgement

Wayne is quoted saying that he never listens to his competitors' work, and sticks to listening to music outside of the rap genre. He doesn’t want to be influenced or feel the need to compare himself to other rappers.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

31. Health Issues

Lil Wayne suffers from epilepsy and has had multiple seizures throughout his life.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

32. Baby Mama #3

Wayne met a singer named Nivea B. Hamilton, whom he got pregnant with baby number four. The couple were engaged for a short period of time, and recorded a song together called, "She Feelin Me," but they eventually cut things off. They have a son together named Neal.

Lil Wayne factsWikipedia

33. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Wayne is Roman Catholic, and he takes time to go to church while he is on tour.

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

34. Inside Look

In 2014, Lil Wayne started his own YouTube channel where he planned to do weekly "Weezy Wednesday" videos with behind-the-scenes facts about his life.

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

35. The Big Bucks

According to Forbes, Lil Wayne earns roughly $600,000 every time he performs in public.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

36. Hot Merchandise

Wayne has his own clothing line called TRUKFIT. The brand's site explains that when Wayne was growing up in New Orleans, a truck selling designer clothing would pull up in his neighbourhood, creating lineups for the merchandise. Whenever anyone was wearing something nice like a Ralph Lauren Polo, it was called a "trukfit" instead of an outfit.

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

37. What Time Is It?

Wayne also has a watch brand called Wize and Ope. The logo has a cute teddy bear-type creature, but the brand’s site says that the logo is an alien named Wize, who studied Earth culture from space. Wize visited the planet, got to know people, and became more "ope" or "open minded".

Lil Wayne factsGetty Images

38. Giving Back

Wayne started a charity called the One Family Foundation in order to help underprivileged youth in New Orleans. The charity gave a lot of aid to families after Hurricane Katrina.

Lil Wayne factsPixabay

39. Mr. President

During his Presidency, Barack Obama revealed that he was a fan of Lil Wayne.

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40. Filming Frenzy

Lil Wayne has credits in over 60 TV shows and movies.

CRWN: A Conversatin With Lil Wayne And Elliott Wilson.Getty Images

41. Fizzy Pop

The rapper has a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Mountain Dew.

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

42. In the Spot

In 2015, Wayne threatened to sue production companies, who had got their hands on a Lil Wayne adult tape that allegedly showed him with nothing but his socks on,  with two more-than-accommodating women. Lil Wayne said that he certainly did not consent to the recording, and made it clear that if any company produced it, he would "sue the heck out of them".

Lil Wayne FactsShutterstock

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13


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