Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne was born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. His chef mother, Jacida "Cita" Carter, was 19-years-old when he was born and his father, Dwayne Michael Turner, permanently abandoned the family when Dwayne Jr. was 2. He calls himself Lil Wayne rather than Lil Dwayne as he was originally named after his father but has nothing to do with him now.

Wayne's first contact with hip-hop was listening to local Cash Money Records artists like Pimp Daddy, who inspired his initial rap name, Shrimp Daddy. He wrote his first rap song at the age of eight and soon after began rapping at block parties.

The first time the word "bling" was used on record was when Wayne rapped, "I got 10 around my neck, and baguettes on my wrist, Bling!" on Big Tymers 1998 track "Millionaire Dream."