Lil Wayne né le 27 septembre 1982 à La Nouvelle-Orléans en Louisiane, est un rappeur afro-américain producteur et entrepreneur américain. En activité depuis le milieu des années 1990, il est particulièrement connu pour sa quadrilogie Tha Carter, son flow grinçant, ses métaphores typées, ses jeux de mots caractéristiques, ses comparaisons et le label Young Money Entertainment dont il est le fondateur.

Sa fortune est estimée à 450 millions de dollars.

Biographie

Relationships and children
Lil Wayne has four children. His first child, daughter Reginae, was born when he was 15, to his high school sweetheart Antonia "Toya" Carter (née Johnson). They married on Valentine's Day 2004 and divorced in 2006. Internet rumors started circulating in August 2008 that Wayne's daughter had died in a car crash, which however he quickly cleared up as false saying "Please allow me to dispel any rumors or speculations and report that my daughter is alive, healthy and surrounded by family who care and love her dearly. The rumors are completely false and unfounded; neither Reginae nor any other member of my family has been involved in any car accident."

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 Carter, was born to actress Lauren London on September 9, 2009. His fourth child, Neal, was born on November 30, 2009, to singer Nivea. He also got rapper Trina pregnant but she suffered a miscarriage.


Beliefs and interests
In an interview with Blender magazine, Lil Wayne revealed one of his favorite bands from childhood to be rock group Nirvana, and cites them as a major influence in his music.



Wayne got his first tattoo at age 14 of his dad's name and his second was "Cash Money" across his stomach. His tattoos have grown to include a Jay-Z verse on his leg, "I Am Music" on his forehead and teardrops on his cheeks among many others. His most recent one is "Baked" on his forehead stylized as the Baker Skateboards logo.

Lil Wayne identifies as a Roman Catholic and reads the Bible regularly. While playing in Newark Symphony Hall, Lil Wayne professed his belief "in God and His son, Jesus." During his 2011 tour in Australia with Eminem, before beginning his bracket he proclaimed his belief in God.

After earning his GED, Wayne enrolled at the University of Houston in January 2005. He dropped out in the same year due to his conflicting schedule. He also revealed on The View that he switched to the University of Phoenix and majored in psychology taking online courses. An article in Urb magazine in March 2007 asserted that Wayne had been earning high grades at Houston.

On September 24, 2008, Lil Wayne published his first blog for ESPN in their issue, ESPN The Magazine. Wayne revealed he was a fan of tennis, the Green Bay Packers, the Boston Bruins, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Red Sox. To commemorate the Packers' making it to Super Bowl XLV, he spoofed Wiz Khalifa's hit song "Black and Yellow" (which were the colors of the Packers' opponents, the Pittsburgh Steelers) in a song titled "Green and Yellow". Wayne has continued writing for ESPN, notably reporting at the ESPN Super Bowl party. Lil Wayne made his debut on ESPN's daily sports round table show Around The Horn on February 10, 2009.

Wayne received criticism after a video released by TMZ showed him apparently stepping on the American flag. Wayne later explained that "It was never my intention to desecrate the flag of the United States", and that he was shooting a video for a song on his upcoming album, "God Bless Amerika." He claims the purpose of the flag was to "show that 'behind the American Flag was the Hoods of America'."


Health issues
On October 25, 2012, Lil Wayne's private jet, bound for Los Angeles, made an emergency landing in Texas due to an in-flight medical episode. Lil Wayne was transferred to a local hospital upon arrival. TMZ and other media sources claimed that Lil Wayne had suffered a seizure aboard the plane. His publicist denied this, claiming that he was in fact treated for "a severe migraine and dehydration."

The following day, while flying from Texas to Los Angeles, Lil Wayne's private jet was reportedly again forced to make an emergency landing, this time in Louisiana, after Lil Wayne suffered a second seizure and required further hospitalization. His representative claimed that the reports of Lil Wayne's condition had been exaggerated, and that he was resting at his Louisiana home. In a November 2012 interview with MTV, Lil Wayne revealed that he was taking seizure medication, on doctors' orders, due to the aforementioned incidents.

On March 14, 2013, TMZ reported that Lil Wayne had been treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on the evening of March 12, after suffering seizures while on a music video set with Young Money rapper Nicki Minaj. He was reportedly released in the early hours of March 13. On March 15, TMZ published a second story, claiming that hours after his release on March 13, Lil Wayne was found unconscious after experiencing further seizures, and was brought back to Cedars-Sinai, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit in critical condition. The article alleged the latest seizures were found to be linked to high amounts of codeine in Lil Wayne's system, possibly due to binging on purple drank after his initial hospital release. Multiple celebrities, including Drake and Birdman, were photographed on March 15 and 16 visiting Lil Wayne at Cedars-Sinai.

Several members of Young Money Entertainment, including president Mack Maine, criticized media reports on Lil Wayne's hospitalization, particularly those of TMZ, alleging that they exaggerated the severity of his condition and falsely implied that he was on his deathbed (such as by claiming that he was in a medically induced coma), triggering what the Washington Post called "the most overheated celebrity deathwatch in recent years." In separate interviews on March 18, Mack Maine and Birdman disputed TMZ's reports, and stated that in fact there were not multiple seizures or multiple hospital visits. They explained that after Lil Wayne began seizing on the way to the music video shoot on March 12, an ambulance was called and he was transported to the hospital, where he was admitted and remained continuously thereafter. They also refuted the claims that Lil Wayne's seizures are drug-induced, noting that they are an ongoing problem for which doctors have been unable to identify a cause.

Lil Wayne was released from the hospital late on March 18, following a six-day stay. Lil Wayne addressed his condition via a vlog, on March 21 saying he was more than good. In a March 28 interview with DJ Felli Fel of Power 106 in Los Angeles, Wayne said that he suffers from epilepsy, a neurological condition which is noted by seizures. He would say "This isn't my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh seizure. I've had a bunch of seizures. Y'all just never hear about them. But this time, it got real bad because I had three of them in a row."


Public references by Barack Obama
Lil Wayne has been referenced in public speeches by President Barack Obama on at least two occasions, in mixed contexts. Speaking to a largely African-American audience during a general election campaign town hall speech in Georgia, then-U.S. Senator Obama exhorted children to stay in school and achieve their dreams through education and perseverance instead of hoping for shortcuts to fame and riches as professional athletes and entertainers via the fields of sports and entertainment, stating: "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school."


After assuming the Presidency, Obama later echoed this theme of personal and familial responsibility and the difficulty of achieving Lil Wayne's professional and financial success—during an address to a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, telling the audience:They might think they've got a pretty jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can't all aspire to be LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be President of the United States of America.

Obama has also noted that the music on his iPod includes Lil Wayne:


My rap palate has greatly improved. Jay-Z used to be sort of what predominated, but now I've got a little Nas and a little Lil Wayne and some other stuff.