Lil Wayne is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from New Orleans who signed with Cash Money Records at the age of 11. After several early collaborative releases with Juvenile, B.G., and Turk, an emerging hip-hop group then known as the Hot Boys, Wayne released his breakthrough first solo album The Block Is Hot in 1999. He went on to launch Young Money Entertainment in 2005, signing A-list artists including Nicki Minaj and Drake.