Music`s Mad Genius : Lil Wayne -- I AM MISUNDERSTOOD

At first blush, you might think its pretty easy to size up Lil Wayne. He's got the teeth (150k grills), the tatts, and the 'tude.

"I'm a Gangsta -- I don't take nuthin' from no one, I do what I wanna do. And I'm gonna do dat until the day dat I die.  And if I can't do dat then I'll just die."

He has this... Fierce independence. In this age of highly packaged stars, Wayne is an outlaw.

In his words, ``I am great.`` He isn`t cocky like Kanye, he has the right amount of confidence.
He has ``I AM MUSIC`` and ``MISUNDERSTOOD`` tattooed on his left and right temple.

Things you might not know about Lil Wayne :

*** He grew up in New Orleans, he was a straight A student

*** He released his first album when he was 12 years old
*** Dwayne is a Jr. and dropped the D in his name because he didn`t want any asoociation to his father whatsoever.

*** Only 28, THA CARTER III was his 6th solo album and has other albums and mixed tapes released.  THA CARTER III sold nearly 3 million albums making it the No. 1 selling album of 2008. He has won several Grammy awards and has collaborated with various artists.

*** His way of making music is eccentric, he doesn't write down his lyrics and he writes the music first.

 *** Wayne loves bowling and has been since 16, he bowls with a curve so he has custom-made balls.

*** He has four kids to date, 4 different moms from Toya Jackson (his high school sweetheart) to Model/Actress Lauren London, Sarah B and R&B Singer Nivea.

 *** He was rumored to have been addicted to Presciption cough medicine; he loves to smoke Marijuana;  and has been arrested for Drug Posession. As of recently Lil Wayne’s jail sentence was delayed for dental surgery — and the rapper made sure he used it to have everything taken care of all at once.

Indeed -- what you see with this tough talkin`rapper is not necessarily what you get.

Dwayne Carter Jr.

With his signature `rows, is no doubt THE best rapper alive.

Watch his interview with Katie Couric here.

For VHI1 Special on Lil Wayne : Behind the Music, click here to see the 4 part HD Video.