By JOSH TYRANGIEL
Lil Wayne has a smoke-scarred rasp that makes him sound like Redd Foxx covering Bob Dylan. It's hardly the voice you'd expect from a 25-year-old rap star, but then, it's been a busy 25 years.
Born Dwayne Carter Jr. and raised in Hollygrove, a New Orleans neighborhood famous for producing soul singers, Wayne signed his first deal at age 11 after rhyming on a record executive's answering machine. At 12, he distinguished himself by starring as the Tin Man in his gifted middle school's production of The Wiz--and by accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a .44-cal. while imitating Travis Bickle in his bedroom. After teenage years that were lost to the comically awful gangsta group Hot Boys (like 'N Sync with shivs), Wayne went solo and undertook a transformation almost unprecedented in hip-hop. Over four years, he morphed from a mediocre rapper with a thuggish point of view into a savant who merges sex, drugs and politics with a sneaky intellect, a freakish knowledge of pop culture and a voice out of the Delta. Whether Wayne is, as he claims, the "best rapper alive" is no longer even debated in hip-hop or commercial circles. Since June 10, when his latest album, Tha Carter III, sold 1,005,545 copies in its first week, he's been the undisputed champ.
That number would be huge in boom times, but at a moment when most records languish on the racks like Depression apples, it's titanic. It also represents the victory of a business model every bit as counterintuitive as Radiohead's. Most musicians still carefully dole out an album's worth of songs every few years to keep from saturating the market. Vibe magazine counted 77 new Lil Wayne tracks in 2007. Besides coughing out guest verses for seemingly anyone who asked, he sometimes recorded three songs in a night and gave them away on the Internet minutes later on a series of superb mix tapes. In June, just before Tha Carter III went on sale, Wayne announced on YouTube that he'd be releasing the tracks for free on a tape called The Leak.
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Posted on July 8, 2008 12:07
men you are good
Posted on July 8, 2008 12:09
nice men
Posted on July 8, 2008 12:36
Jay Z is the best Rapper Alive his body of work is second to none!!!!
Posted on July 8, 2008 13:02
You can say this when Kanye West dies. That is if Lil Wayne is still alive
Posted on July 8, 2008 16:14
NAS, JAY Z, TALIB KWELI, GHOSTFACE, KRS1, BEANIE SIGEL, KANYE,... ARE THE BEST RAPPERS ALIVE!! WAYNE IS GOOD- BEST ALIVE- NO-WAY!!!!
SPICE GIRLS & BRITNEY SPEARS SOLD MAD RECORDS TOO- DOES THAT MAKE THEM THE BEST SINGERS ALIVE?
Posted on July 8, 2008 21:08
Lil Wayne is tha Bomb and Yall know it when las did JZ made anything worth listening to???
Give Wayne his due credit...his style is unique, there is no other to compare.
All artistes aim is to sell records and sold out concerts thats how they measure their success.
Most singers are not the best but they can perform so Guiesppe thats really what make some great...Michael Jackson isnt the best singer alive..but he is the greatest dancer/performer of all time..its not only about the voice its the whole package hun!!!
Posted on July 8, 2008 22:16
lil wayne kisses men thats all i gotta say i downloaded his cd sold it 4 5 bucks n deleted it in the same 10 mins it's pure garbage
Posted on July 9, 2008 00:13
mi rate wayne. mi cyaan wait until sumfest an' beenie sizzle when 'im ah perform. mi cyaan wait fi come home inna few weeks
Posted on July 15, 2008 00:32
I love when people hate on someone because they are hot and then five years from now they will say he is great.. if you listened to all of lil waynes mixtapes and albums you will find lyrics in there worthy of being the greatest...people hated on jayz and didnt call him the best until he quit...if wayne wouldvebeen in jayz's position then he would be considered the best ever
Posted on October 7, 2008 11:14
lil wayne is by far the BRA
Posted on November 23, 2008 14:27
Heyyyyy Lil Wayne is the best rapper in the whole f**ken world
Posted on February 6, 2009 01:41
JAY Z HANDS DOWN ...!!! I MEAN LIL WAYNE IS AiiGHT BUT HE NOT THE BEST RAPPER ALiiVE I MEAN COME ON NOW ... WHY CANT ALL YALL LiiL BEEZY FANS ADMiiT THAT HE NOT THE BEST I MEAN I GUESS AT ONE POiiNT WHEN JAY RETiiERED HE COULD CLAiiM IT BUT MY MAN JAY IS BACK SO HE NOT ... HE EVEN SAiiD IT HiiMSELF "IM THE BEST RAPPER ALiiVE SiiNCE THE BEST RAPPER RETiiRED" SO JUST FACE THE FACTS AND ADMiiT IT ... AiiNT NOBODY HATiiN ON LiiL BEEZY HE DONT EVEN MAKE SCENCE WHEN HE RAP ... AND IF THATS WHAT YALL CONSiiDER THE BEST THEN DAMN YALL NEED GO LISTEN TO SOME JAY OR SUM ELSE CUZ THERE IS BETTER ...!!!