Editing Lil Wayne (section)

==Early life==
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. was born on September{{spaces}}27, 1982, and spent his first few years in the impoverished [[Hollygrove, New Orleans|Hollygrove]] neighborhood of [[Uptown New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]]'s [[17th Ward of New Orleans|17th Ward]].<ref name="AllMusicguide">{{cite web|last=Jeffries|first=David|title=Lil Wayne&nbsp;– Biography|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p384397|pure_url=yes}}|publisher=AllMusic|year=2010|access-date=June 18, 2010}}</ref> His mother, a cook, gave birth to him when she was 19 years old. His parents divorced when he was two and his father permanently abandoned the family. In a 2009 interview, CBS News anchor [[Katie Couric]] asked the rapper why he used the name Wayne instead of his given name. Carter replied, "I’ll tell you why I dropped the D right here on TV. I dropped the D because I am a junior. My father, he’s livin', and he is not in my life and he’s never been in my life. So I don't wanna be Dwayne. I’d rather be Wayne.” Couric asked if his father knew that, and Carter, chuckling, said, “He knows it now.”<ref name="Couric2">{{cite news|last=Couric|first=Katie|author-link=Katie Couric|date=February 4, 2009|title="All Access:" Lil' Wayne|publisher=[[CBS News]]|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/all-access-lil-wayne/|access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref> Carter has said that he considers his deceased stepfather Reginald "Rabbit" McDonald to be his real father. Carter has a tattoo dedicated to McDonald.<ref name="AP Respect2">{{cite news|date=October 28, 2011|title=Lil Wayne on his Biological Father: 'He Don't Give A Sh*t About Me & I Don't Give A Sh*t About Him'|website=Hot107.9|url=http://hotspotatl.com/2599792/lil-wayne-on-his-biological-father-he-dont-give-a-sht-about-me-i-dont-give-a-sht-about-him/|access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref>

Carter was enrolled in the gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School. He later attended [[Eleanor McMain Secondary School]] for two years, where he was an honor student and a member of the drama club, playing the [[Tin Woodman|Tin Man]] in the school's production of ''[[The Wiz]]''.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite magazine|last=Tyrangiel|first=Josh|date=July 3, 2008|title=Lil Wayne: The Best Rapper Alive|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1820148,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704172726/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1820148,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 4, 2008|access-date=November 17, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Best MC2">{{cite magazine|last=Hoard|first=Christian|date=May 1, 2008|title=Best MC: Lil Wayne|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20274122/best_mc_lil_wayne/print|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506084617/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/20274122/best_mc_lil_wayne/print|archive-date=May 6, 2008|url-status=dead|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first1=Maria C.|last1=Montoya|first2=Keith|last2=Spera|url=http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2008/02/lil_wayne_goes_back_to_school.html|title=Lil Wayne goes back to school|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times Picayune]]|date=February 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018122119/http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2008/02/lil_wayne_goes_back_to_school.html|archive-date=October 18, 2012|access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref> Despite matriculating to [[Marion Abramson Senior High School]], Carter left during his tenth grade year to pursue a GED. Carter's mother made the decision to remove him from school for his safety. At 15, Carter was already finding success in the music industry; his mother decided he needed to leave high school after discovering the gun he packed in his school bag for protection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crabtree |first=Erin |date=2022-03-24 |title=Stars Who Never Graduated High School: Jennifer Lawrence, More |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/stars-who-never-graduated-high-school/# |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Us Weekly |language=en-US}}</ref>

Carter wrote his first rap song at age eight.<ref name="autogenerated32">{{cite news|date=May 31, 2006|title=Lil' Wayne wants respect for Southern rap|website=Today.com|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/lil-wayne-wants-respect-southern-rap-wbna12992671|access-date=February 7, 2009}}</ref> In the summer of 1991, he met rapper and [[Cash Money Records]] co-founder [[Birdman (rapper)|Bryan "Baby" Williams]] (known currently as Birdman), who mentored him and encouraged his love of hip-hop; Birdman included Carter on several Cash Money tracks, and he (in return) would often record freestyle raps on Williams' answering machine.<ref name="new yorker">{{cite magazine|last=Frere-Jones|first=Sasha|title=High and Mighty|url=https://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/08/13/070813crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=all|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=August 13, 2007|access-date=March 28, 2008|archive-date=April 3, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403211750/http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2007/08/13/070813crmu_music_frerejones?currentPage=all|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1994, at age 12, Carter suffered a near-fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|last=Vargas|first=Ramon Antonio|date=April 9, 2009|title=Lil Wayne saved by alert off-duty cop|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|url=http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/how_a_big_cop_saved_a_young_li.html|access-date=April 24, 2011}}</ref> At the time, he said the injury was accidental. However, in September 2018, Carter claimed in interviews that it was an attempted suicide after he was told by his mother that he would have to end his rap-related associations.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lil Wayne tells 'Billboard': I attempted suicide at 12 years old|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/09/13/lil-wayne-reveals-he-attempted-suicide-12/1296868002/|date=September 13, 2018|access-date=September 19, 2018}}</ref> Carter credits off-duty police officer Robert Hoobler (1956–2022),<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mamo |first=Heran |date=2022-07-25 |title=Lil Wayne Mourns 'Uncle Bob,' Former Cop Who Saved Rapper's Life Following Suicide Attempt |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/lil-wayne-mourns-uncle-bob-saved-rappers-life-following-suicide-attempt-1235117716/ |access-date=2024-10-10 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lil Wayne Pays Tribute to New Orleans Cop Who Saved His Life as a Child: 'Refused to Let Me Die' |url=https://people.com/music/lil-wayne-pays-tribute-new-orleans-cop-who-saved-his-life-as-a-child/ |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref> who he calls "Uncle Bob", with saving his life by insisting the dying child be driven immediately to hospital in a police car rather than waiting for an ambulance to become available.<ref>{{cite web|last=Scott|first=Katie|date=October 13, 2016|title=Lil Wayne clarifies what he meant by saying there's 'no such thing as racism'|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3000598/lil-wayne-clarifies-what-he-meant-by-saying-theres-no-such-thing-as-racism/|access-date=August 5, 2020|website=Global News}}</ref> Other accounts indicate that several officers played a part in deciding on and implementing that course of action.<ref name=":1" />