Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Born and raised in New Orleans, he was discovered by hometown rapper Birdman in 1993 and signed with his record label, Cash Money Records, at age eleven. He emerged as the label's flagship artist until his departure in 2018.
Carter was first placed in a duo with Cash Money labelmate B.G. in 1994—known collectively as the B.G.'z—and they released the album True Story that year, although Carter (at the time known as Baby D) appeared on only three of its tracks. Carter and B.G. then formed the Southern hip-hop group Hot Boys with labelmates Juvenile and Turk in 1997, and released their debut album, Get It How U Live! that year.