10 Musicians Whose Careers Were Destroyed By Just One Album

A rap superstar since a ludicrously young age, New Orleans hip hop artist/ arguable greatest rapper alive Lil Wayne’s chaotic, cluttered flows defined the sound of hip hop in the mid noughties. Infamously divisive, the rapper's delivery made him an instantly recognizable icon in the genre, and his extraordinarily prolific work rate made him one of the decade's defining voices.

Of course it couldn't last.

His reliably slick beat selection was beloved by fans and won his studio efforts critical acclaim, peaking with 2008’s inimitable instant classic Tha Carter III. However, it was the rapper’s madcap writing that gave him an edge over his countless competitors, and the torrential output of inventive free associative flows which defined the rapper’s Mixtape Weezy era cemented his place in hip hop history.

So what’s a lyricist famous for his unique delivery and rhyming style to do at the height of his success?

Why, stop rapping, pick up a guitar, and prove himself to be a tragically bad would-be rockstar, of course. Despite the guilty pleasure fun of early Nicki Minaj hit Knockout, 2010's rock record Rebirth was almost entirely unlistenable, and brought the rapper's rise to an immediate, and thus far permanent, halt.