Birdman Says Russell Simmons Refused Signing Cash Money Back in the Day

Byan "Birdman" Williams is a multi millionaire right now, and the co-owner of one of the most successful labels in Hip Hop history (Cash Money Records), but there was a time in the mid 90s he and his brother (Ronald "Slim" Williams) were looking for a home for their record company. They got refused by Russell Simmons (Co-founder of Def Jam Records) and a host of other record label execs, before they got a deal with Universal Music Group.

He spoke about being refused by Russell Simmons during his recent Forbes interview. Read his words below...

"Before we even got with Universal right, we met with everybody. A lot of them refused us bro. Russell Simmons refused us. I met with him personally. Lyor (Cohen), all those guys. They refused us. But, we was already making a million dollars a month. We was making millions of dollars independently. We refused to allow structure deal where they take anything from us."




That's the thing with life. A lot of people don't see your vision and won't want to invest in you, but you have to believe in yourself and keep pushing. Like Birdman and his brother, they finally got with Universal Music Group, and signed one of the best deals in Hip Hop music history. Read his words on this below...

"We end up doing a distribution deal where it was 85/15. And we owned 100% our masters and 100% our company...The same people that refused us, today they wish they would have signed us."

Pictures of Birdman's Cars (2017)

Brian 'Birdman' Williams, A.K.A Baby is one of the richest Hip Hop mogul's in the game. When you think of the fact that he owns the masters of some of the biggest rappers in the game in the last 10 years- Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and he makes money anytime they make money, then you have an idea how much this man really has. He started Cash Money Records with his brother, Ronald 'Slim' Williams in the early 90s, and they built the label into an empire. The man has dozens of cars, but we are only going to focus on his most luxurious cars today.

Sexy Pics of Nicki Minaj

It's a pity Nicki Minaj had to split from her long time boyfriend. I'm sure the guy would be looking away from pics like this that remind him of what he is missing. Check out these sexy pics Nicki shared online recently.

Vado Speaks on Working Relationship With DJ Khaled

Cam'ron brought us Vado, just as he brought us Juelz Santana. But just like Santana, Vado left Cam'ron for greener pastures. DJ Khaled signed Vado to his We The Best Music Group last year, and the two are currently working on Vado's debut album together. Apparently, Vado believed Cam wasn't doing much in the way of pushing him to the world, and he felt Khaled would do a better job. In a recent interview on Hot 97 FM (with Cipha Sounds), Vado spoke on how much of a hard-worker DJ Khaled is, and how much he pushes him to be focused on making music.

“One thing with Khaled I appreciate, he focused. You know what I’m saying? And he don’t slack. He don’t let me slack. You know? He focused. Like he’ll call me a million times a day just to get one thing done. Like that’s how much he on it. And then if I take too long he like, ‘V, I’m catching bad vibes V. Like what’s up, man? You know I don’t like to move like this.’”








He also spoke on when the world should expect to get his yet to be titled debut album-

“We working on the end of the year, so hopefully it’ll be out before then. But you know it’s gonna be a classic, man. Cause you already know how I’m coming.”

Young Turk Speaks on Past Heroin Addiction

Well, he goes by the name Turk now, but back in the 90s, when he was signed to Cash Money Records, and he, BG, Juvenile, and Lil Wayne were the Hot Boyz, he was known as Young Turk. Back then, he had a drug problem, and maybe if he hadn't gone to jail, he might have ended up overdosing. He is out now, and clean, and working on getting his career up and going again. After spending 9 years in jail, for being a felon in possession of fireman, he got out in 2012, and has tried to live a positive life since then. He regrets his past negative life, and in a recent interview, he spoke on what leads a lot of young people to a life of drugs.

'I was shooting heroin and cocaine, and I introduced B.G. to shooting heroin and cocaine. We was on the Cash Money/Ruff Ryders tour. B.G. had been getting high; I had been getting high. In New Orleans, Uptown, that’s the drug of choice, heroin. You got kids, 12, 13-years-old on heroin. As I was coming up, people glorified it like they do mollies today. They say “pop a molly, I’m sweating,” they rap about it and this and that. Soulja Slim, who was Magnolia Slim at the time, used to rap about heroin all the time. Partners-N-Crime also had a song about heroin. And that was the song. And the girls used to always say they want the dope dick. So [I was like], “Shit, let me go on ahead and snort me a bag of heroin and fuck this bitch all night.” That’s what influenced us to do it.

It was dumb. And looking back on it, I wish I would have never did it. But like I say, if I wouldn’t have went through what I went through I wouldn’t be the man that I am today. But it was dumb.' (hiphopdx.com)


And his advice to the kids of today who are popping the Molly.

'All that shit is bad, from smoking weed all the way to smoking crack. I used to think that a crackhead was worse off than me. But at the end of the day, it’s all bad for your health. So anything bad for your health is bad for yourself. My whole thing is if you can’t think straight give it away, let it lay.

Now, if you can handle the drug—like I say, I can’t tell a grown man nothing. But [to] the kids, please don’t do drugs.' (hiphopdx.com)

Lil Wayne Plans To Retire After Carter 5

During a recent interview on 'The Jimmy Kimmel Show', Lil Wayne let the world know that he would retire after dropping Carter 5.  Everyone gets tired of routine at some point, so I guess he is just tired of doing the same thing, under the same label (Cash Money Records) for 18 years. I think it's about time. He has put out too much material back-to-back in the last 6 years, and he is about to be affected by the law of diminishing returns. I think he needs to go away for a while, and then come back after a couple of years, if he gets that hunger again.







"Yes, very true," Wayne said when asked if his retirement plans are still on deck. "I want to retire after Tha Carter V which I hope will be my last album. My next album's not Tha Carter V because I think I have to work on other albums as well with my pop,Birdman, and things like that. But after Tha Carter V, I hope I can retire. [laughs] ... [I'll be able to do] things like spend quality time with my kids." ("The Jimmy Kimmel Show")












If you listen to his last record, I Am Not A Human Being 2, you would notice that Wayne's heart is nolonger in rapping. He has been doing Hip Hop since he was 13, and is now 31, so I am guessing he has burned himself out right now. As I said, he needs to pull the Jay-Z stunt and retire...go away for a while, and he can come back after 3-4 years. He will be appreciated more then, and he would have lived life, so he would have material to talk about. Right now, he has been talking about the same thing for the last 5 years.





He had three albums (Tha Block Is Hot, Lights Out, and 500 Degrees) before he dropped the first Carter album in 2004. Carter 2 came in 2005, and Carter 3 (2008) dropped at his peak. He has dropped different records since then; including a rock album (Rebirth) in 2010. He is working on the 'Like Father Like Son 2' collaborative album with Birdman, which might drop early 2014, and Carter 5 will come after that...Probably by late 2014.

Ace Hood Updates Fans On Record Label Situation

It's hard to believe Ace Hood already has 3 albums under his belt, and  currently working on his fourth. He signed with DJ Khaled's We The Best Music Group back in 2007, dropped his first album the next year under Def Jam, and 2 more after that to complete his 3 album deal with Def Jam. And, now he is still under We Best Music Group, but Khaled has moved the label to Cash Money/Universal Republic.






Read up his recent update on his record label status below-

"The situation was over with Def Jam. What I have with them? I had three albums with them. My situation with them was up," he said. "We chose to take the label situation to another place, to another home. It's no knock to Def Jam, shout out to Def Jam. I will always be forever grateful to Def Jam for supporting my career and being there. I'm definitely a lot more happy with the situation I got now, in all honesty, because I'm able to do me. There's no pressure. Nobody's calling me, forcing an album on me or forcing this on me. It's what's your vision? What do you want to do? We're willing to do what you want to do."

That's great to hear. I always thought Ace Hood was just aii, but his last two singles have made me think differently. He has really gotten better, and I believe he would have a great 2013. He has two new singles out- I Need Your Love feat. Trey Songz and Bugatti feat. Future and Rick Ross. His 4th album, Trials & Tribulations is scheduled to drop later on in the year.

Juvenile Says Lil Wayne Is Scared To Leave Cash Money

Juvenile and Lil Wayne were signed to Cash Money around the same time in the 90s; Juve was a bigger star back then. When Juve didn't like the situation again in the mid 00s, he left Cash Money. In a recent interview with Complex magazine, he said Wayne wanted to leave Cash Money Records the same time he left, but was probably too scared to make the move. Cash Money Records is owned by the William brothers- Bryan "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams.


I knew Lil Wayne always wanted to leave; he has been signed to them since 1995, when he was just 13 years old. He definitely didn't know the business side of life at the time. But, everytime he tries to leave, Baby  gets him a new car, or give him a million dollars cash for his birthday, or grant him his own label under Cash Money (Young Money). Anything so as not to lose his cash-cow. But, we can never really know- would Wayne have gotten as big as he is if he had left Cash Money?





Read what Juve said below-

“When Wayne was trying to leave Cash Money [in the mid 2000s], same thing," he explained. "He was trying to find out how did I leave, what did I do, he wanted to see my paperwork. I was like you can see it, but you’re gonna have to pay me for it now because now I know you ain’t with me. You’re own your own because I’m definitely on my own. If you want the paperwork and help from my end, I need to be compensated for it. [He never paid for it]." 

Juvenile also added that he feels "Wayne really got beat out of all his money." 

“Still up to the day, Wayne really got beat out of all his money and took another contract. That’s the part I never understood. I was signed to Atlantic and Jay-Z was excited about that because now we was about to get our own money. That’s what I really wanted. I wanted him to leave. All of a sudden he signed back I’m like, ‘Damn, what type of deal he got working?’" 

Juve went on to say that Cash Money is still not giving Wayne what he deserves.

“If you notice the Young Money/Cash Money imprint, some of the stuff that need to say Young Money don’t say Young Money. I know Baby and I know Ronald ["Slim" Williams]. They ain’t giving up power of their company. They don’t care how big Wayne gets, they not giving up. If I didn’t get it, he ain’t getting it." 

Juvenile went on to add that he felt Wayne was "scared" to leave.

“I thought he was scared [that’s why he stayed]," Juvenile explained. "That’s how I took it. I was like, ‘You don’t have to be scared.’ I’m really from the projects. No disrespect to them, but I’m 10 times more street than they are. They would never go to some of the places I’d go, they’d never turn some of the corners I turned because they’re not like that. It’s two different ballgames. So I’m like, ‘Don’t let them niggas intimidate you. Don’t let that looking hard shit intimidate you because nigga I’m really with it. If you wanna leave, leave. You’re with me now, not them.’ One thing led to another and he signed back, but I took it as he was scared.” (hiphopdx.com)

Which Rap Crew Runs 2012

Time flies, i can't believe we are already in the 2nd quarter of 2012. Anyway, i decided to write on the rap crew that would run 2012. For a while now, it has been YMCMB...Young Money Cash Money Billionaires. I think it is a miracle that they are were they are today. I guess that's the result of perseverance and believe in your dreams. In the late 90s, Cash Money Records had a buzz with Juvinile's 400 Degrees album going 4 times platinum in the U.S and the Hot Boyz (Lil Wayne, Young Turk, B.G, and of cos Juvinile) were also very successful, as a group and individual artists during this time. Wayne was the youngest in the crew, and now he is the biggest name on the label.




Early 00s saw the old Cash Money crew becoming shaky; till one by one, the artists left. Wayne stuck around cos basically, Brian "Baby" Williams, the co founder of the label adopted him. In case you don't know, Lil Wayne signed with Cash Money in 1995 when he was 13 years old. Wayne stuck around, and gradually started building his buzz from the first Carter album, to countless features/guest appearances, to Carter 2, to his peak with Carter 3 (2008). The fact that he has managed to stay at the peak since 2008 definitely has to do with the saying- "You Reap What You Sow". All those years when his albums weren't selling as much as he most have wanted, the fact that he didn't quit paid off. If you have passion for something and keep at it everyday, you will eventually become great.




Personally, i prefer the wayne from the first two carter albums, but, what the hell, i guess a majority of people prefer wayne with the retarded flow. Anyway, Cash Money got so big, and then branched out to Young Money. Wayne headed Young Money and signed Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, Mack Maine, Gudda Gudda, and the rest of the pack in 2009. And from then on till now, they have been unstoppable. Last year (2011), YMCMB crew had the two highest selling albums of the year- Lil Wayne's Carter 4 (2,000,000) and Drake's Take Care (1.500,000 at the time). This is 2012, and Drake's album is still selling, right now at a total of 1.630,000, heading for that double platinum status. I think the only other artists that come close to the commercial success of the YMCMB crew are Eminem and Jay-Z...and yea, Kanye West. But still, Jay-Z wasn't able to go double platinum with his Blueprint 3 album in 2009. It has stalled at 1,909,000 copies sold total. Eminem is another story entirely, with his 2010 album, Recovery currently at 4 million copies sold. But, Eminem doesn't have a crew as successful as he is.




Jay-Z is Roc Nation, but he is also aligned with Kanye West and his G.O.O.D Music label. Pusha T, Big Sean, J.Cole, 2 Chainz, Jay Electronica are the combination's of rappers on both G.O.O.D Music and Roc Nation; although they are great rappers, they still can't go headlong against YMCMB. Big Sean's debut album didn't go platinum; Jay Electronica is yet to drop an official debut album, J.Cole recently went Gold with his Cole World album, but i doubt he will go plat. Jay-Z and Kanye West recently went plat with their collabo album, Watch The Throne, which is now at a total of 1.4 million copies sold. Both artists can sell as much individually, if not more, but they don't have a team as strong as they are.




The highest selling rappers in the game for now are Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and maybe T.I. These are the artist that can sell a million copies on an album at present. Look at the least, and you'd see that there are three artist on the YMCMB Roster. Lil Wayne's Carter 4 was released in 2011, and is now at a total of 2,100,000; Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday (2010) album has sold 1.7 million copies till date; Drake's Take Care album is at a total of 1,630,000 copies sold, and still selling 15k copies a week presently. Please note that all these numbers are just from their domestic sales; sales in the U.S alone.




YMCMB are so huge right now that rappers from other labels are aligning with them. Rick Ross's MMG (consisting of Meek Mill, Wale, Pill, and himself) align with YMCMB consistently. Even Nas has been featured on two of their artists albums- Tyga's Careless World, and Nicki's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. They recently signed a Busta Rhymes to the label on some partnership thing, and Mystikal was signed fully to Cash Money records last year. There is even talks of The Game heading over there after completing his 5th album with Interscope this year.




Drake and Tyga's albums are still selling; Nicki's second album just dropped, and regardless of whether people consider it a flop or not, it is still currently the highest selling rap album on billboard chart. Mystikal's album is dropping soon, Bow Wow is dropping his first Cash Money album soon; Busta is also working on dropping an album this year. From all these, it is clear that YMCMB runs 2012.

Mystikal Signing With Cash Money

Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams just keep expending their Cash Money empire. First it was Cash Money Millionaires; now it is Cash Money Billioniares. I guess they have rights for that claim. They have Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake, T-Pain, Busta Rhymes, Dj Khaled, and they  justcurre signed Mystikal to the label. A coupe of new rap listners might not know who Mystikal is, so i would try to carry out a little, very short history lesson.



Back in the mid-late 90s, No-Limit Records (founded by Master P) was a movement, just like Cash Money is right now, and Mystikal was signed under them. Mystikal is known for hits like Danger and Shake It Fast, which were club bangers back in 2000. He has a fast style of rapping, with a little howling and shouting like how James Brown does every now and then. He also doesn't rap fast continously, but purses every now and then. He went to jail in 2005, and got out in 2010.

Okay, so the news is that he has been signed to Cash Money Records, and i think it is a great move. I know Baby and Slim always allow artists they sign their own creative approach to whatever they do without getting in the way. And the other good part about them is that they would push you to your limit, till you start performing at a creative level you never thought was possible. And i think that is great for any artist. I think Mystikal just hit a jackpot.

Below is what Mystikal said about the signing-

"It was actually materializing for a while now," Mystikal tells VIBE, adding that, "the conversation started when I was going through my incarceration. And those conversations continued once I came home. The right things happened and the right kind of deal was made. What I got from Wayne was don't be to astounded by what you are seeing because this is nothing. Let's go make history. That's a young dude telling me that. Coming from him and given the big things he's doing right now, that was right on for me. ... Even Ray Charles could see what was happening over at Cash Money [laughs]. The minute I went over there and stepped my foot in the studio I knew it was real. I never thought I would go from No Limit to Cash Money. It was like God was leading me. Imagine what I can do over here." (VIBE)

He officially announced his signing to Cash Money Records on December 13...

"It has been a truly long time since I have felt like a rapper and with this signing, and partnership, Birdman and Slim have given me my life as a rapper back. I am ready to go. I am going to put my red Superman drawers, cape and boots on and go! This is a huge moment for me and I am truly excited to be with Cash Money Records." (Statement)

And Birdman himself had some words to say about the move-

"It's perfect timing for him and for us to be able to work with him," continues Baby. "We're just excited. I didn't even look at the past. I didn't think about what we went through. That shit's so far behind us. We're trying to provide for the team and the family. I think he's a special talent like a Busta Rhymes or a Drake or a Wayne. He can't be duplicated. His style is original. We gonna put out some visuals on him, his album is coming in May and we gonna roll." (XXL Mag)

Baby Says They Are Pushing For A Million First Week Sales For Carter 4

Lil Wayne's Carter 4 drops tomorrow (29 Aug), but the digital copy would be officially available for download by mindnight today. Cash Money C.E.O, Brian "Baby" Williams has come forward to say they are pushing for the Carter 4 to sell a million copies in its first week. Carter 3 did that in 2008, but i do not know if this one can do that. But, that is just my opinion, i do not know what kind of marketing baby got going.

Below is what Baby had to say about Carter 4's first week sales-

Cash Money delivered Carter IV to Universal about 10 days in advance, which Williams says was necessary to press the two million units being shipped in its first week. "The goal is to sell a million-plus copies," he explains. Although that's likely what led to Carter IV breaking free, Williams says he's actually OK with leaks, to a point. "I can deal with it for short period of time," he says. It's when you have a leak out for a long time that it's crazy." (Rolling Stone)

So, they are shipping out 2 million copies in the first week? That is a lot. Men! I love baby's work ethics. That is a clever move, because the more cd's out there, the higher the possibilities of him selling a million first week. There wouldn't  be any stores that run out of stock on Carter 4. Wayne has a huge following, and you can see that from views on his videos on youtube, and also his recent projects. He released an EP of about 12 tracks last year, I Am Not A Human Being, and it sold 110,000 copies in its first week, and ended up going Plat. If wayne can sell 110,000 with an EP that was released while he was in jail, then i think he can sell at least 600,000 copies of his Carter 4 album.

I think he should be able to sell 600k easily, but i don't know, he could sell more than that. I know he has a lot of die-hard fans...i know that from the traffic that comes to my blog daily, and what they searched on google to get them to my blog. The projections for the first week sales will come in on Wednesday evening, so we just have to wait till them. But i know this project is going to be big.

Baby (Birdman) Wonders What Happened to The Competition

In a recent interview, Cash Money Records C.E.O, Bryan "Baby" Williams wonders where all the competition went. He remembers all the the labels that were around in the 90s, and he can't see them anywhere again. I don't care if you hate him or love him, you have to give it to Baby; he has persevered through the eras...2 decades and he is still waxing strong.

Where is Bad Boy Records? Where is No Limit? Death Row? Ruff Ryderz? So So Def? Where is G-Unit? None of them can stand in this era, no matter how much they have tried. Cash Money/Young Money has Drake, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj,Jay Shawn what more can Baby ask for?

Read what Baby had to say about the competition below-

"When I look around, through my years and my time, you know, the game, it was a lot in the field, a lot of people doing it," he says. "And I look around, and it's like, where the f*ck did everybody go? I ain't never understood that, but the game like that sometimes, that muthaf*cka's gon' keep ya or it's gon' leave ya. It's all on you." (XXL Magazine)