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Multi-platinum rapper Lil Wayne has inked a new recording contract with Cash Money Records, the label has announced.

Wayne, who celebrates his 26th birthday at the end of September, will remain the label’s flagship artist, bound contractually for several albums.

The specific terms of the contract were not revealed.

“Working with our son Lil Wayne throughout the many years has helped us build Cash Money into the empire it is today,” said Bryan “Baby” Williams, who co-founded the groundbreaking label with his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams 16 years ago. “Cash Money is a family and Lil Wayne has been part of our family since day one.”

Wayne was first signed by the Williams brothers at the tender age of eleven.

He made his first official recorded appearance on the Hot Boyz’ 1997 debut Get It How U Live!, followed by appearances on Juvenile’s 1998 release 400 Degreez.

Of his six solo albums on Cash Money, four have been RIAA-certified platinum, including his 1999 solo debut Tha Block Is Hot and the first two installments of Tha Carter trilogy.

Most recently, of course, Lil’ Wayne scored commercial and critical success with his highly anticipated Tha Carter III, which has sold 2.4 million records to date.

According to “Slim” , Wayne’s success is not surprising, considering the character he has displayed since first joining their “family.”

“We were introduced to him when he was just a little, little kid,” Slim shares. “He told us he wanted to be a rapper. He just called us every day, and at one point, even came to live with us. He just outworked everybody. He had that drive to succeed.”

Lil Wayne, born Dewayne Carter, Jr., was scheduled in a Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday (September 15), where he was to face weapons charges tied to a July 2007 arrest.

The appearance was to continue a pre-trial hearing from last week, where Diane Hornung, the arresting officer in the case, stated that she boarded the New Orleans rapper’s tour bus after detecting  the scent of marijuana, only to find the artist attempting to hide a .40 caliber handgun.

According to Wayne’s New York attorney Stacey Richman, the hearing was postponed to allow all witnesses to testify on one day, rather than to prolong the proceedings.

Wayne received some better news yesterday, when the nominees for the 2008 BET Hip-Hop Awards were announced.

He was nominated in 12 categories, including “Lyricist of the Year” and “MVP of the Year,” officially leading the list of nominees, which also includes David Banner, Kanye West, Common, Plies, Snoop Dog, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, DJ Khaled and “A Milli” producer Bangladesh.