In March 2010, Lil Wayne began serving an 8-month jail sentence in New York after being convicted of criminal possession of a weapon stemming from an incident in July 2007. His eighth studio album I Am Not a Human Being (2010) was released during his incarceration, while his 2011 album Tha Carter IV was released following his release. Tha Carter IV sold 964,000 copies in its first week in the United States, and includes the singles '6 Foot 7 Foot', 'How to Love' and 'She Will'. On September 27, 2012, Lil Wayne became the first male artist to surpass Elvis Presley with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with 109 songs. His twelfth studio album, Tha Carter V, was released in 2018 after multiple delays. It sold 140,000 copies in its first week and went on to be certified platinum. Lil Wayne has sold over 100 million records worldwide, including more than 15 million albums and 37 million digital tracks in the United States, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Lil Wayne also currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of his own label imprint, Young Money Entertainment.ĭwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September 27, 1982, and grew up in the impoverished Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was 2, and his father permanently abandoned the family. Although Wayne and Birdman have a father-son relationship and Birdman calls Carter his son, Wayne's biological father and namesake (Dwayne Carter) is still alive. Lil Wayne has also spoken about his deceased stepfather, Reginald 'Rabbit' McDonald, who he has said he considers his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to Rabbit, who was murdered before Carter became a star. Carter enrolled in the gifted program of Lafayette Elementary School and in the drama club of Eleanor McMain Secondary School. Wayne attended McMain in the early 1990s for two years. He moved to the Marion Abramson Senior High School. In a CBS interview with Katie Couric, Wayne described why he goes by the name of 'Wayne' instead of his given name, Dwayne.