Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, and is often mentioned among the greatest rappers of all time.

Early life

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished Hollygrove neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana's 17th Ward. His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was two and his father permanently abandoned the family. When CBS interviewer Katie Couric asked why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name, Carter explained that "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life. So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne". Asked if his father knew of this, Carter replied, "He knows now". Carter has said that he considers his deceased stepfather Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald to be his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to McDonald.

Carter was enrolled in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School. He later attended Eleanor McMain Secondary School for two years, where he was an honor student and a member of the drama club, playing the Tin Man in the school's production of The Wiz. After matriculating to Marion Abramson Senior High School, Carter dropped out at age 14 to focus on his musical career.

Artistry

Lil Wayne has cited rapper Missy Elliott as his biggest musical inspiration, saying "she's a huge influence of everything I've ever done". Another one of his major influences is American hip hop group Goodie Mob. In an interview with Genius, Lil Wayne said "I've been listening to Goodie Mob since I was in the 7th grade". For his MTV Unplugged special, Lil Wayne paid tribute to Tupac by covering his music. He also pulled inspiration from Tupac's "Keep Ya Head Up" for his 2011 single "How to Love". Lil’ Wayne credits The Notorious B.I.G. as an influence.

Additionally, he has mentioned T-Pain, Prince, Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, and Lenny Kravitz as influences, stating "I viewed them seriously and was like, 'Wow, I could do that without being totally them." Lil Wayne and rapper Calboy paid homage to Hill on their 2021 single "Miseducation" titled after Hill's 1998 album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

According to American Songwriter, Lil Wayne credits Jay-Z for inspiring him to freestyle rhymes while recording over an instrumental, as opposed to writing down his lyrics.

Personal life

Carter has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born November 29, 1998, when he was 16, to his high school sweetheart Toya Johnson. They later married on Valentine's Day 2004 and divorced in 2006. Internet rumors circulatied in August 2008 that Carter's daughter had died in an auto accident; he immediately dispelled them.

His second child, Dwayne III, was born on October 22, 2008, at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati to radio broadcaster Sarah Vivan. His third child, Cameron, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. His fourth child, Neal, was born on November 30, 2009, to singer Nivea.

In July 2014, it was rumored that Carter was dating singer Christina Milian, with whom he attended the ESPY Awards. They later confirmed their relationship in mid-2015, after which they received criticism from their interconnected exes, singer Nivea and songwriter The-Dream. They split at the end of 2015, having collaborated on multiple singles, videos, and concert dates.

Wayne was engaged to model La'Tecia Thomas but called off the engagement in May 2020. In June 2020, it was announced that Wayne had started dating Denise Bidot, another model. In November 2020, they reportedly broke up over Wayne's endorsement of Donald Trump. Shortly after, it was reported that the couple had reconciled.