Lil Wayne to return to Covelli

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Lil Wayne, with special guest Rae Sremmurd, will bring his “Dedication” tour to Covelli Centre on Feb. 28. The 19-city Dedication Tour is a personal thank you from the rap star to his fans in cities that he has rarely visited on his past tours.

Lil Wayne’s last – and only other – Youngstown appearance came in 2008, when he played Covelli Centre.

Tickets are $35.50, $56.50 and $72 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and the Covelli Centre box office.

Lil Wayne, one of the genre’s top stars, has sold more 15 million albums in his career, beginning with his 1999 debut “The Block Is Hot.”

The New Orleans native reached new heights in 2004 with the release of his fourth album, “Tha Carter,” which spawned the single “Go D.J.” Lil Wayne also appeared on Destiny’s Child’s top 10 single “Soldier” that year.

His sixth album, “Tha Carter III” (2008), is his most successful, winning the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and producing the hits “Lollipop,” “A Milli” and “Got Money.”

The rapper recently left his longtime label, Cash Money Records, amid a legal dispute. The release of his long-awaited album “The Carter V” remains in limbo as the dispute drags on.

As an interim project, Lil Wayne released a 24-song mixtape on Thanksgiving Day titled “No Ceilings.”