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Lil’ Wayne Hits 1.5 ‘Milli’

Story By: Marcell Dilworth

September 2, 2008

If you are a frequent listener of www.mixtape.com it will not take long to realize that Lil Wayne is one of the hottest rappers in the mix tape industry. It is as if he is in the studio 24/7 cranking out freestyle flows or collaborating with other rappers in the industry.
The underground rap scene is not the only place where the Louisiana native, Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (Lil Wayne), is handling his business; his latest album, “Tha Carter III” is currently number one on the Billboard rap charts. The album sold 1.68 million in four weeks.
     Lil Wayne gave a live performance at Fresno’s Selland Arena on July 20, 2008. The show was delayed for about an hour-and-a-half because police and security had to break up a small riot between about 30 members of the Bulldogs, a local gang, and their rivals, the Sureños.
    Once the show began, it was business as usual for Lil Wayne. Many of the fans sang along with him while he gave his performance.
Videos from Lil Wayne’s live performance at the Selland Arena are on the Rampage online website. Songs from Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III” album and various pictures of Lil Wayne are also available on the website.
    Lil Wayne’s rap career can best be described as a roller coaster ride. He grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orlean’s 17th Ward.
    According to www.Spiritus-Temporis.com, at age 16, Lil Wayne hooked up with a rap group called U.N.L.V., who were signed to Cash Money Records. Cash Money’s CEOs at that time were Brian “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams. “They paired him up with another newly signed young rapper named Big Goochie and released an album titled “TRU Story Nigga”, under the name “The B.G.’z.”
    “His mother became concerned about the Williams brothers’ influence on her son, as she had knowledge of the Williams brothers through street reputation. She pulled Wayne out of Cash Money.” Spiritus-Temporis said he ran away from home, and later convinced his mother that his “erratic behavior had nothing to do with the Williams brothers.” His mother let him stay with Cash Money Records.
By the age of 18, Lil Wayne had hooked up with Juvenile, B.G., and Turk; they created a group called the Hot Boys. They released their first album in 1997 called “Get it How U Live.” The album had little to no commercial exposure yet sold over 400,000 copies, primarily in the mid-South.
    Lil Wayne made his show debut in 1999 with the album titled “Tha Block Is Hot.” The album went double platinum, and peaked at number three on Billboard’s album chart.
Wayne was the first known person to use the now-popular slang term “drop it like it’s hot.” He first said it in the 1999 hit by Juvenile, “Back That Thang Up.” Spiritus-Temporis continued, “By 2004, the term was so popular that legendary rapper Snoop Dogg used it as a comeback hit. Lil Wayne also coined the popular phrase, “bling-bling”.
    Lil Wayne released his second album “Lights Out” in 2000. The album failed to match the success of his first solo album, as did “500 Degreez” in 2002. “By this point in time, Lil Wayne was the only remaining Hot Boy on Cash Money — all other members had defected — and the future didn’t seem promising for him or the label.”
    In 2004, Lil Wayne returned with a new look, dread locks. He also released an album, produced by Cash Money’s Mannie Fresh, called “Tha Carter.” That album was a top five hit. Lil Wayne was also featured on Destiny Child’s “Soldier,” a top three hit.
    2005 was the year when Lil Wayne started to become a popular freestyle rapper by making mix tapes. He collaborated with DJ Drama and DJ Khaled. He also concluded the year by releasing another album under the Cash Money label called “Tha Carter, Vol. 2.” That album debuted at number two on Billboard’s album chart.
    On June 10, 2008, Lil Wayne released his hottest album yet, “Carter III.” It sold more than a million copies in its first week of release. His record label, Cash Money is claiming that it is the first to do so since 50 Cent’s, “The Massacre” in 2005.
    The first single, “Lollipop,” his most successful song at this point, topped the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Top 10 single for Lil Wayne as a solo artist. The second single, “A Milli” reached the top 10 on the Billboard 100, becoming the second-highest single for Lil Wayne.
    It is also said that Lil Wayne has tied T-Pain for having the most songs on the Hot 100 in a week with seven songs.
On June 17, 2008, Lil Wayne posted a video blog on www.youtube.com thanking has fans for purchasing more than 1.5 million copies of Carter III.