Listen to Lil Wayne on Batanga

One of the many 'Lil's' in hip hop, rapper Lil' Wayne got started in the music biz as a member of Cash Money's gangsta-rap supergroup the Hot Boys in the late-1990s when he was just 16-years-old. The groups also featured Juvenile, Turk and B.G. After the Hot Boys disbanded, Lil' Wayne and the other members embarked on solo careers.

First off the block were Juvenile and B.G who made their solo debuts in 1999, with the hits Back That Azz Up and Bling Bling respectively. Lil' Wayne's first single, the title track from his album "Tha Block is Hot", was also successful, going on to become a platinum-seller.

But the former Hot Boys hit in slump with their next releases, leading Cash Money to drop them from the label. However, they kept Lil' Wayne on their roster and his third album 2002's "500 Degreez" (the follow-up to his certified-gold sophomore release, 2000's "Lights Out") spawned a massive hit single "Way of Life", which helped the album become a massive selling success.

His next album, the platinum-certified "Tha Carter", hit stores two years later and produced the hit single "Go DJ!" On the album his rap skills had clearly improved and he appeared to be mimicking the flow of New York rap king Jay-Z.

In 2005, Lil' Wayne went onto become the president of the Cash Money label at the age of 23, and started recording his next album, "Tha Carter, Vol 2".

With five successful records under his blinged-up belt, Wayne has been credited as helping to kick-start the growth of southern hip hop. He is proud of this achievement and has said: "I love how the south is moving. What David Banner Lil’ Flip and all of them are doing is hot. When we started, Baby and Slim declared the south was going to blow up and we did."

As well as his own material, Lil' Wayne – who is a trendsetter and popularized the term 'drop it like it's hot' which Snoop Dogglater called his comeback single - has also featured on tracks by other artists, including: Destiny's Child's "Soldier", 3LW's "Neva Get Enuf" and Paul Wall's "March", to name a few.

Although he may like to put up a front with his hard, gangsta image, Lil' Wayne proved he has a big heart by taking time out after Hurricane Katrina hit his native New Orleans in 2005, to help raise money for the victims whose lives were ruined by the disaster.

The rapper is currently studying Sports Management at the University of Houston.