Though Lil Wayne, dubbed “Dwayne Carter” on the official Grammy Web site, was nominated for Best Rap Song, that award went to Jay-Z, Rihanna & Kanye West for “Run This Town.”

Aubrey Drake Graham & Matthew Samuels were also included in the “Best I Ever Had” Grammy Award nomination.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, CA.

Also, he was just named in the Top 100 Songs of the Decade and Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine. His album “Tha Carter III” (2008) was named No. 32 on the albums list, and his song “A Milli” was named No. 63 on the songs list.

Finally, his album “Rebirth,” which has been scheduled for about six different release dates starting on April 7, 2009, finally came out…illegally that is. It turns out that about 500 copies of the album were sent to Amazon customers who preordered the album and it was leaked on the internet.

What seemed like a great advertising ploy (by holding the proverbial carrot in front of the horse) apparently backfired on Lil Wayne who retorted (via Twitter): “Leaked 09 Rebirth isn’t going to be 2010 Rebirth.” Now, the “2010 Rebirth” is going to be available on Feb. 2, which is just a week before Lil Wayne is sentenced for possession of a weapon in New York.

So, what do you think? Did Lil Wayne deserve to have his album leaked because he repeatedly gave his fans false hope about when the album would come out? Will he really have time to come up with a new “Rebirth” album in the next month?

The album will come out as both a double-disc offering and as a single CD, with the first disc including 18 classic tracks like “Music,” “Like a Virgin,” “Vogue,” “Express Yourself,” “Like a Prayer” and “Holiday.” The disc concludes with “Revolver,” Madonna’s collaboration with Lil’ Wayne.

“Celebration” will also be available as a DVD, which includes some of Madonna’s more recent video releases.

The additional dates begin in Kansas City, MO, on August 24th and include stops through the Midwest and the South through September 6th.

A sad spot for the tour is the recent injury of Wayne’s protégé, Drake. The rapper, who is responsible for the summer anthem “Best I Ever Had,” reinjured his leg in Philadelphia last week after trying to continue with the tour on a bum knee. As a result, Drake has missed some shows and at others is a special guest for Wayne’s set.

On June 24, he also appeared in a pre-trial update on the investigation into drug possession and weapons charges he faces in Yuma County, Arizona. Lil’ Wayne faces one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of dangerous drugs and weapons misconduct.

His attorney is calling for the sniffer dog’s training record because “If the dog is not reliable, then that puts the entire probable cause for the stop into question,” he said.

Upon hearing the news of Jackson’s death, Lil Wayne expressed his sadness to Bet.com and stated, “I personally can’t believe it but it’s more unfortunate for the world of music. … My love goes out to his family. … A sad day in history, not [just] music.”

Michael Jackson was 50.

The 26-year old tattooed, unapologetically stoned rapper claims the #19 spot (although the rank means nothing on a scale of importance) and is given props along with other honored musical ingenues: Bono, Neil Young, Radiohead, fellow hip-hop stars Kayne West & M.I.A., Taylor Swift and producer Brian Eno.

But why?! Rolling Stone applauds his prolific rap career that sprung from years of hoofing mixed tapes in New Orleans to the point where his brashness is his signature, both personally and professionally. He has a new “rock” album coming out this May. And he’s a rapper, a gangster and a pothead… he doesn’t care who knows it!

To vote, that is. And not in the upcoming presidential election, but in the online hip-hop awards!

As of right now, he has 1,230 nominations for the album of the year award.

To check out the hip-hop awards and vote for Lil’ Wayne click here!