Juggernaut of the Rap Game: Lil Wayne

Juggernaut of the Rap Game: Lil Wayne

There is much more to Lil Wayne than an unusual voice and bizarre appearance.

His perseverance and passion allowed him to penetrate an industry that is difficult to enter into: the music industry. His drive and determination did not cease upon entering this world; instead, he has become an unstoppable force, a juggernaut, in his occupation. Lil Wayne has given away more music than most artists' dream of selling, yet he has managed to become one of the top selling rappers of all time. He has had a multitude of successes. He has four Grammy wins, countless other industry awards, and can be found collaborating with almost every artist in the Hip Hop and R&B genres. This advantageous super star has not forgotten about those around him. Lil Wayne has chosen to help those in need by developing an organization to help those less fortunate. Wayne, the self proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive" is just that: the best rapper alive.

This self proclaimed Best Rapper Alive goes many aliases, Weezy, Lil Weezy, and Weezy F. Baby, and of course Lil Wayne. However, his real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. The son of Cynthia and Dwayne Carter Sr., he was born September 27, 1982. Although there is some debate about his actual birth date, this is the most common date used (Rockworth, 2008). Lil Wayne grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana in a section of town called Hollygrove. Hollygrove is known for its crime, poverty, and gangs (Rockworth, 2008). Living in this environment, Lil Wayne saw his share of trouble. He admits to selling drugs to his classmates and shooting himself in the chest at the age of twelve with a forty-four caliber handgun (Tyrangiel, 2008). Hollygrove is not only known for devastating crime and poverty, but is also known for its production of soul singers and for the start of "Dirty South Rap" (Frere-Jones, 2011). Even though Wayne's childhood was plagued with violence. This Southern Rap Star chose a different path.

Lil Wayne has never been short on confidence. At the age of nine, a friend introduced him to the CEO's of Cash Money Records, brothers Ronald 'Slim' and Bryan 'Birdman' Williams. After Wayne broke out with a freestyle rap and spelling out the words "Hollygrove" in it, he was given their business card. Wayne would leave numerous messages for "Slim" and "Birdman" after receiving their business card. The messages Wayne left would consist of freestyle rap. Wayne was extremely persistent and his perseverance definitely paid off. He began hanging around the Cash Money offices and studios. Wayne would perform for all the big talent and was seen as kind of their mascot. Finally at the age of eleven he got his break, performing on B.G.'s Cash Money album "True Story" (Answers.com 2011), and a star was born. After performing with various Cash Money artists Juvenile, B.G., and Turk, Lil Wayne went solo. At the age of sixteen he released "The Block is Hot"; this platinum award winning album sold over 229,500 albums in the first week and was number three on the Billboard 200 (lilwayne-online.com, 2011).

With a lyrical style as unique as his writing style, Billboard Magazine wasn't the only one noticing Lil Wayne. With his venomous growl and the ability to construct unimaginable metaphors and similes, Wayne has been described as "Red Foxx covering a Bob Dylan tune" (Tyrangiel, 2008, p.69). As for his writing style, most song writers prefer a pen and paper, but not Lil Wayne. He claims: "My rhymes are a stream of consciousness" (Tyrangiel, 2008, p.69). He doesn't write music, he feels it; and records everything that pops into his head. And his fans love it. Fat Joe, a fellow rapper states "Lil Wayne is the best rapper on Earth right now and he is the only one who could put out three hundred songs in a year and all of them be fire!" (LilWayneHQ, 2010). This speaks volumes, especially since Lil Wayne has chosen the unconventional route of not writing down lyrics like many other artists, but is able to spit out lyrics with political humor and vivid metaphors with confidence, appealing to so many.

Presidents Clinton and Obama even admit to listening to Lil Wayne (Peltz, 2010).

Lil Wayne's fans love his music so much they flock to his concerts by the thousands. In an economic state where Americans save every penny for milk and bread, Lil Wayne's music compelled over 700,000 screaming fans to spend more than $39 million at some 68 shows in 2009 (Peters, 2009). These numbers landed him on the Billboard charts once again, this time as one of the Top 25 most grossing tours of 2009. Lil Wayne's accomplishment is a feat rarely obtained by a Hip Hop artist. Most music artist's financial gains come from platinum selling albums, not from concerts (Peters, 2009). Lil Wayne, on the other hand, has stood out above other music artists in his ability to attract large crowds to concerts. In 2008, Lil