Lil Wayne Big man on the hip-hop corner

By John Benson

The rapper has sold more than 6 million albums.

111In fact, he was recently named “Best Rock Star Alive” by 'Blender Magazine' for his musical talents in front of the mic and renegade personality off stage. The truth is, for years Wayne has been boasting about his position within the hip-hop elite.

It was only a few years ago, around the time of Jay-Z’s temporary retirement from rap, that Wayne called himself “The Best Rapper Alive.” Hubris aside, he’s right. Over the last nine years, he’s sold more than six million albums and has become the toast of the mixtape world.

In addition, there seemingly isn’t a major hip-hop artist working today with whom he hasn’t shared a mic. The list includes Outkast, Akon, T-Pain, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule and Fat Joe.

Wayne, born Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was raised in New Orleans and gravitated to the Big Easy’s hip-hop scene early in life when he joined the Hot Boys. By 1999, the Southern rapper released his debut solo effort, “Tha Block is Hot,” which went double platinum. He never looked back.

Currently, Wayne is prepping the June 10 release of his sixth studio effort, “The Carter III,” with a spring tour. You can see Wayne and local act Gotta Husle Sunday at the Chevy Centre in Youngstown.

While Wayne found the success he was always looking for, the clich of “you can’t take the street out of the thug-turned-MC” rings true. Just in the past year, the 25-year-old megastar rapper was arrested in New York City for criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana possession, in Iowa for felony fugitive charges (which were later dropped) and in Arizona for gun and drug possession.

Even though Wayne has so far avoided incarceration, you have to think such behavior will catch up with him eventually. So what remains to be seen is whether this rap icon will transcend hip-hop’s image of ephemeral stars and thug-life martyrs. Hopefully, Wayne can take his own advice, as heard on his 2000 hit single “Get Off the Corner.”

“I’m a young dogg, wildin’ ecstatic…Uh-Oh, there go them [expletive] Po-Po’s/Uh-Oh, and if you know like I know/Uh-Oh, you better get off the corner.”