Lil Wayne returns to the Mid-South when he plays the Landers Center (formerly known as the DeSoto Civic Center) this Thursday with Rae Sremmurd. Lil Wayne has been a rapper since the age of 9, signing to Cash Money Records before forming the group Hot Boys in 1996 with the likes of Juvenile, B.G., and Young Turk. Among other hits, the group was responsible for a song you may have heard called “Bling Bling.” While other members of the Hot Boys, especially Terius Gray, aka Juvenile, experienced a fair amount of success over the last 20 years, Lil Wayne was no doubt the star in the group, and the rapper has the Grammys and the platinum-selling albums to prove it. Lil Wayne has released some questionable albums during his impressive career (see 2010’s strange rock album Rebirth), but his status as one of the most popular figures in pop music is undeniable. He’s sold over 100 million albums worldwide and surpassed Elvis Presley as the most successful male artist of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Also on Thursday’s bill is Rae Sremmurd, the Tupelo, Mississippi, hip-hop duo most known for their songs “No Flex Zone” and “No Type.” Tupelo, Mississippi, hasn’t really been considered a Southern hip-hop hot spot, but that didn’t stop Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jimmy” Brown from creating some of the most popular club jams in recent memory with “No Type” and “Throw Some Mo.”
