Lil Wayne

Where was he? After 30 minutes stretched to an hour and then another 45 minutes, it seemed that Lil' Wayne, the acclaimed New Orleans rapper, was going to be a no-show. He was the headliner Wednesday night at 1st Mariner Arena, and it was also the same day his long-awaited album, the pop-driven Tha Carter III, hit stores. Maybe he was out celebrating the CD release with his homeboys and forgot there was an enthusiastic crowd, some of whom had paid as much as $200 a ticket, waiting to see him perform.

SPIN's Eric Magnuson was in Rhode Island to catch the opening night of Lil Wayne's "I'm Still Music" tour . Joe Colly gets two grafs at Pitchfork on Wiz Khalifa's "The Race," my favorite song as of late. Rolling Papers! Eleven days! Another essential Pitchfork piece, this time from Tom Breihan: Odd Future Mixtapes . The former Status Ain't Hood scribe breaks down every OFWGKTA release (with download links!). He undersells the greatness of Domo Genesis' release, but that's OK. Karen Rodriguez was voted off "American Idol" last night.

UPDATE: Universal Music Group is killing all of the YouTube videos. Head over to Rap Radar to stream the track — just make sure it's the dirty version. It's on iTunes , too. Lil Wayne quietly dropped the second Carter IV single last night and how much you enjoy it will depend on your love of Rick Ross/Lex Luger-produced bangers (think "B.M.F. " and "MC Hammer"). Surprisingly, "If I Die Today (John)" didn't have the young Luger behind the boards — that was Polow Da Don. Even more interesting than Polow's obvious aping is the song's concept: it's Wayne and Ross' re-imagining of "I'm Not a Star," the opening, J.U.S.T.I.C.E.

In the past two years, Mac Miller, a 20-year-old rapper from Pittsburgh, could have signed a number of deals from major labels. Instead, Miller stayed loyal to his hometown independent label, Rostrum Records. The payoff came in November, when Miller's first album, "Blue Slide Park," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the first independent album to do so in more than 15 years. In Miller's world, a major label simply isn't necessary, not when he can continue to release free mixtapes (such as last month's "Macadelic")

A concert review in Monday's Today section did not specify who turned off the microphones at the Lil' Wayne and Juelz Santana show Saturday night at the Clarence H. Du Burns Arena. Samuel T. Daniels Jr., the executive director of the city liquor board, ordered the microphones shut down; it was not promoter Ikon Entertainment.

At this month's BET Awards, the Viewers' Choice award seemed like a battle of front-runners. Nominees Beyonce, Jay-Z and Kanye West were seated in the front row, a skip away from the podium. Chris Brown and Lil Wayne were also nominated. They all lost to four teenage boys. Mindless Behavior, the Los Angeles boy band of Prodigy, Princeton, Ray Ray and Roc Royal, bounced up to the stage to accept the night's only award decided on by fans. After catching his breath, Princeton ended his speech with a declaration.

A Morgan State University concert-goer has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was knocked to the ground and trampled last year when a large amount of cash was thrown into the crowd during a performance by rapper Lil' Wayne. Tyrique Layne, a student at Morgan at the time, filed the lawsuit yesterday in Baltimore Circuit Court, claiming that she required overnight hospitalization as a result of injuries she suffered last October at the concert held at the university. In addition to Lil' Wayne, whose given name is Dwayne Michael Carter, the suit names Universal Records Inc., Cash Money Records Inc. and Young Money Touring Inc. Stacey Richman, an attorney who has represented Lil' Wayne in another matter, said she did not have any information on the lawsuit and could not comment.

Two people were injured last night during a rap concert at Morgan State University. The conditions of the injured were not available. The incident occurred about 10 p.m. during a homecoming weekend concert in the university's Hill Field House, featuring Busta Rhymes and Lil' Wayne, said Clint Coleman, the university spokesman. Coleman said members of Lil' Wayne's onstage entourage threw money into the crowd and that people were injured in the attempt to retrieve the money. The injured were treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said a city Fire Department dispatcher.

Here is another free bowling opportunity to add to your calendar. Vote in the celebrity bowler contest and get a coupon for free bowling in honor of National Bowling Week, July 30 through Aug. 6. Options include Bill Murray, Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga, as well as Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. The coupon will be accepted participating locations on Aug. 6 and help break the world record of the number of bowling games played in a single day. According to the lane locator, AMF centers were participating, as well as the Brunswick Perry Hall lanes.

Compare Yelawolf to Eminem and you could miss the point. Sure, both are white rappers with chips on their shoulders and working-class backgrounds, but it's Yelawolf's power with the pen and his tenacity on the microphone that should be drawing the comparisons. Yelawolf, the 31-year-old Alabamian born Michael Wayne Atha, can rap circles around many of his peers, all while confidently projecting a poor-boy-from-the-sticks swagger. Eminem took notice after a producer showed him Yela's video for "Pop the Trunk," a standout from last year's "Trunk Muzik" mixtape.