How tall is Lil Wayne? The rapper's height, explained

Adding "Lil" to one's name is a hip-hop tradition. There are been countless "Lil" rappers who have made their mark on music, but we feel confident in saying that Wayne stands head and shoulders above the rest. Lil Wayne is on the short list of greatest rappers of all time, whether considering his lyrical ability, longevity, or commercial success.

Most of us have entire Wayne songs and albums committed to memory, but something that is less discussed, and generally less known, is the rapper's height. Is he actually on the shorter side or, like the 5'11" Lil Dicky, is his moniker somewhat ironic?

Lil Wayne is shorter than most superstar rappers

It turns out that Lil Wayne lives up to his stage name. The rapper born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. is 5'5", and he was even smaller when he got his start in the music industry. Wayne made his debut on the 1997 Hot Boyz album Get It How U Live, when he was only 15 years old.

He told CBS reporter Katie Couric that chose his stage name due to his small stature and his birth name, Dwayne. "I dropped the D because I'm a junior and my father is living and he's not in my life and he's never been in my life," he explained. "So I don't want to be Dwayne, I'd rather be Wayne."

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In terms of height, few legendary emcees are shorter than Wayne. Eazy-E is probably the most notable example, as he was 5'3", but Wayne's musical achievements have undoubtedly led to him surpassing the late N.W.A. frontman.

Wayne actually rapped about his height in a 2018 song

In terms of peers, Wayne is the same exact height as Kendrick Lamar, who collaborated with him on the 2018 song "Mona Lisa", and an inch shorter than Big Boi, who collaborated with him on the 2006 Outkast song "Hollywood Divorce."

While the internet is known for playing fast and loose with information (Wayne recently told Culture Millennials that the reports of his net worth are wildly inaccurate), we known for a fact that the rapper is 5'5" because he confirmed it in the lyrics of his 2018 song "Open Safe":

""Bap, bap, bap, bap, I'm irate, n***a
5'5" stuntin' like I'm 5'8", n***a (What?)""

The bars are obviously meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but as with most Wayne brags, he manages to flip a silly statement into something that sounds both funny and impossibly cool.