Rap Beats: Lil Wayne Will Be Spittin Over Steel Bars Soon

Renaissance Man or Renegade?

Who really is Lil Wayne anyway? He was born on September 27, 1982 at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. His real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. The four-time Grammy Award winner began rapping when he was only 8 years old and was signed to Cash Money Records by the tender age of 12. Cash Money Records' Founders are Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams.

From his solo debut in 1999 until now, Lil Wanye has put out a number of rap albums. But it was Tha Carter (Volumes 1-3) in particular that catapulted the man who once accidentally shot himself and almost died as a kid into legendary status.

He stopped writing lyrics to rap beats years ago and like his mentor Jay-Z, he keeps every rap song in his head!

Lil Wayne's freestyling abilities are no secret and he's even sung on on a number of his own songs too. But here's the deal... his long anticipated "rock" album "Rebirth" officially drops on December 21, 2009! He calls it his "freedom album" because he said there were no limits to what he could say on it. You mean to tell me all these years he's been holding something back?

It should be interesting to see what he has in store on this long disc set especially since he has enlisted Drake and Lenny Kravitz amoungst other players to bang out with... most notably though, Eminem on the collaboration "Drop the World."

One of the hardest working artists in the industry, Lil Wayne is also featured on Play-N-Skillz' mixtape "Recession Proof." The duo is known for their rap beats and for working with not only Lil Wayne but also artists like Nelly and Slim Thug, etc.

It's a good thing too that Lil Wayne has been so busy lately because he's headed off to prison to serve his 8 month sentence almost any day now.

In all honesty, 8 month's isn't that long but it's long enough to put a damper on Mr. Carter's parade because it soaks up the better part of 2010 of which he won't be performing, at least not as a free man that is.

It's ironic that Lil Wayne could not "beat the rap" on his gun charge. But at least he gets a chance to show how much of a Renaissance Man he is on his latest album "Rebirth."