What's next for a 26-year-old rapper who has already fully conquered the hip-hop music scene, pumping out multiple number one singles and albums while dominating just about every awards show in the process? A career as a rock star, of course. Lil Wayne, a New Orleans-hailed rapper who has worked his way up the charts in 2008 with smash singles like “A Milli” and “Lollipop,” is shelving his signature hip-hop beats and Southern rap antics for guitar riffs and rock ‘n' roll, sparking rumors of an upcoming rock album to succeed his million-selling 2008 release Tha Carter III.



Now considered a bona fide rap star, Lil Wayne is (temporarily?) taking a break from the hip-hop industry, working with artists such as Canadian rapper Drake to produce a full-on rock album. A release date for the album is yet undetermined, but Lil Wayne made a comment at November's BET Awards saying, “People see the guitars and they wanna call it rock and roll. I plug up the bass, I plug up the electric, I plug up the acoustic – it's not really rock and roll, it's just great music I'm doing right now.”

With a current nationwide “I Am Music” tour underway, Lil Wayne is one busy artist, and writing/recording sessions for his upcoming album will undoubtedly keep his name at the forefront of the music scene for the next year as 2009 unfolds. While the hot Southern rapper expands his musical wings this year for a taste of different genres, it's easy to see how this Louisiana native got his start in the hip-hop industry. Hobnobbing with Cash Money Records while growing up in New Orleans' 17th Ward, Lil Wayne (whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.) got his start in the music industry as a teenager, joining the Cash Money hip-hop group Hot Boys and making his rapping debut in the group's 1997 album Get It How U Live! 1999's Guerrilla Warfare was Wayne's second effort with Hot Boys, and the talented teen embarked upon a solo career thereafter, releasing his debut solo effort Tha Block is Hot in 1999. The album was an instant number one on the R&B/hip-hop charts, marking Lil Wayne's official arrival on the music scene.

Lil Wayne spent the rest of the early 2000s recording and releasing a string of successful albums, but it was 2004's Tha Carter that gave the talented artist his next big hit. The album spawned the Top Five hit single “Go DJ,” also setting him up with collaborations with other R&B artists. 2005's Tha Carter II further nailed the name Lil Wayne into the floorboards of the rap industry, sparking huge hits with singles “Fireman,” “Best Rapper Alive,” Hustler Musik” and “Receipt.” After the smash single “Stuntin' Like My Daddy” emerged on the music scene, Lil Wayne went back in the studio and came out with the insanely strong album Tha Carter III, another instant number one all over the charts that has sparked the smash singles “Got Money,” “A Milli” and “Lollipop.” Lil Wayne has since taken to the road, embarking upon a string of tour dates for his “I Am Music” tour. If you haven't seen the nation's freshest rap act in concert, get Lil Wayne tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/lil-wayne-tickets and start rapping the explicit words to “Lollipop” right along with the New Orleans gent!