Rapper brings tour to Covelli Centre Long live Lil Wayne

February 27, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

In an industry known for career brevity, Lil Wayne is enjoying longevity.

In fact, the rapper got his start 20 years ago when the young New Orleans MC formed The Hot Boys. A few years later, the Southern rapper released his debut solo effort, “Tha Block is Hot,” which went double platinum.

Now the platinum-artist is hitting the road with “The Dedication Tour,” which comes to Youngstown on Sunday for a show at Covelli Centre.

Here are 10 things you might not have known about Lil Wayne:

1. As a burgeoning rapper, Lil Wayne wrote his first song at age 8. He was not only enrolled in his elementary school’s gifted program but also the drama club.

2. At age 14, Wayne dropped out of school to focus on hip-hop.

3. As the youngest member of The Hot Boys, Wayne watched the outfit’s 1999 album “Guerrilla Warfare” reach No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard hip-hop charts.

4. Stylistically speaking, Wayne’s high-water mark is his 2004 effort “Tha Carter,” which includes hit single “Go DJ.”

5. So far Wayne (aka Lil’ Wheezy) has released a dozen studio albums, but he continues to give his fans new music via mixtapes.

6. A few years ago Wayne announced he was epileptic, which explained his midflight seizures that required emergency landings.

7. Wayne’s most-recent mixtape, “No Ceilings 2,” features guest appearances by Future and Yo Gotti.

8. “Free Weezy Album” is Wayne’s most-recent studio effort. The album dropped last summer and includes “Living Right [featuring Wiz Khalifa].”

9. While Lil Wayne is supposedly working on “Tha Carter V,” which he said will be his last album, no release date has been announced.

10. Last month, Wayne appeared on 2 Chainz’s single “Back On That [expletive].”