Lil Wayne Reveals He Shot Himself at 12 Years Old Because of His Mom

Rap superstar Lil Wayne tried to take his own life at 12 years old. Though he was always vocal about his mental health struggles, it's the first time he's revealed that he tried to commit suicide at such a young age.

In an interview with Emmanuel Acho for the "Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man," Wayne detailed how he attempted to end his life after returning home from school. He said that he knew where his mother was hiding her gun, so he grabbed it and called the police about his plans.

When he pointed the gun to his head, Wayne said he "got a little too scared" to pull the trigger. He could see from the mirror that the video of the deceased rap star, The Notorious B.I.G.'s "One More Chance," was on and realized the moment he knew he had a mental health problem.

Mustering more courage, the five-time Grammy-winning rapper said that he took another chance and aimed for his chest, pulled the trigger, and felt nothing but shock. The police came just in time to bring him to the hospital with their police car. One of the cops, whom Wayne called Uncle Bob, was the only authority who acknowledged that he needed immediate help and didn't wait for the ambulance to arrive, while the rest of the cops looked for other guns or drugs in the house.

The Build-Up

The rapper said that when he was ten years old, his mother told him that he could not have what he wanted to rap and make music. As a young boy, he would skip class in the afternoon to hang out and rap with other kids.

His mother found out that he was cutting classes and was warned by his aunt that she would throw his rap materials away. Wayne said that build-up to his disappointments contributed to his issues and vowed that he was "gonna show" his mother after she berated him. When Acho asked what he meant by this, he said that he was going to commit suicide.

However, the music artist said that his mother has changed since his suicide attempt, and he assumed it was because she almost lost her son. Wayne said that he had not seen that side of his mother that kept on scolding him and putting him down again.

His Problems Didn't Go Away

Wayne has made songs about his attempted suicide, especially in "Let It All Work Out" and "London Roads." He also spoke about this part of his life in a 2018 interview but did not detail that he was barely a teenager when it happened.

However, Wayne said that as he grew up, his mental health issues didn't magically disappear. Instead, his struggles evolved, and he felt mostly alone all the time. He often wondered if anyone cared for him.

But the rapper poured his energy into music where he's the happiest. He also advised parents with children struggling with mental health to "react in the realest way possible."