Its a common misconception that going to jail can make a rapper hot. Other than Tupac, who emerged from his mid-1990s prison bid a bigger star than he was when he went in, most artists struggle to develop post-prison musical dominance: Shyne has yet to capitalize on his almost nine-year bid, Gucci Mane has spent most of the year behind bars, and T.I. is just now starting to put his troubles behind him.
CreditLil Waynewith beating the odds and becoming one of MTV News 3Top Newsmaker of the Year. When you think of theBest Artists of 2011&8212; Lady Gaga, Adele, Katy Perry, the Throne &8212; none of them had to ce what Wayne did.
It was November 4, 2010, whenWeezy was releasedfrom his eight-month prison bid for attempted gun possession &8212; not much time to prepare for the year to come. Still, when it was all said and done, WaynesTha Carter IVdominated charts, and hisI Am Still Music Tour&8212; which consisted of 78 shows across Africa, Australia and North America &8212; grossed more than $47 million. Weezy practically lived on theBillboardcharts, and Nicki Minaj and Drake, two artists signed tohisYoung Money record label, left a huge stamp on the past 12 months as well.
Not long after the curtain closed on 2010, ns wereanticipatingTha Carter IV.And while it took a little longer than first predicted, Wayne was r from a musical recluse. On January 3, Chris Brown tweeted a link to his now-omnipresent hitLook at Me Now,and while the spacey smash might have been a winner on its own, Waynes appearance on the third verse damn-near guaranteed tens of thousands of radio spins.
In March, Tunechi premiered his Inception-inspiredCarter IVvideo for 6 Foot 7 Footon MTV. A few weeks later, MTV News was there as the YM general opened his I Am Still Music Tour in Rhode Island, and we checked in on him as he eventually took his concert across the world.
Weezys live show set him apart from the rest of the years artists. Aside from his own tour, MTV saw Wayne playBonnaroo Music & Arts FestivalandBamboozle, and he even had his ownMTV Unpluggedspecial in June. Oh yeah, and Tunechi closed out this yearsMTV Video Music Awardswith a rocked-out stage show.
Then, when the moment of truth finally arrived, Weezy droppedTha Carter IVon August 29, and ns ate it up &8212; 964,000 of them during its first week on shelves. Of course, we partied with him the night of thealbums release.
Its hard to deny a guy who dominated radio with his own singles (How to Love and She Will) as well as with songs he was featured on (Chris Browns Look at Me Now, Kelly Rowlands Motivation and DJ Khaleds Im On One). Its hard to deny a guy who mixed rap, rock and pop in his 2011 live shows, bringing ns of multiple genres together. And its hard to deny a guy who guided the careers of both Nicki Minaj and Drake &8212; two superstars in their own right.
There is no science to why Wayne is so successful. Artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West or Katy Perry and Britney Spears come off as r more calculated, while most times, Weezy seemingly wings it. What other MC would wearanimal-print jeggingsduring the VMAs just minutes before his album is released?
Tune doesnt care, though. Its Waynes world, and we all just live in it. Makes you wonder what would happen if Katy Perry ever gets locked up ...
MTV continues ourBest of 2011coverage by looking back at the biggest pop-culture stories of the year. As we count down the newsmlil wayneakers that mattered to you most, also check out ourBest Artists,Best Songs,Best MTV Live PerformancesandBest EDM Artistsof 2011.
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