Lil Wayne’s done making music until Brian “Birdman” Williams pays up and releases him from his deal.
Much like Bow Wow (or unlike Bow Wow depending on who you ask) Lil Wayne‘s done making music – well – more like taking a short hiatus from making new music. The rapper is unhappy with Cash Money Records and he wants out.
Signing to the label at the age of nine after freestyling on Brian “Birdman” Williams’ voicemail. Lil Wayne joined a then 14-year-old B.G. to create the Hip-Hop duo the B.G.’s. and eventually founding the Hot Boyz with Juvenile, Young Turk, and B.G. Weezy eventually went solo and became the most successful artist on Cash Money – selling over 100 million records worldwide.
In 2005, Lil Wayne founded Young Money – a partnership with Cash Money Records – that produced eleven U.S. number one albums and brought us some of the hottest rappers in the game like Tyga(now signed with Kanye’s G.O.O.D Music), Drake and Nicki Minaj. Young Money continued to rise as one of the best Hip-Hop labels and has arguably changed the sound of Hip-Hop today with its youthful spirit.
The bond between Weezy and Birdman appeared to be strong in the public eye, the pair even referred to each other as father and son. Things didn’t shake up until it was time for Lil’ Wayne’s twelfth studio album Tha Carter V to drop and suddenly things went south. Tha Carter V has been delayed multiple times to the dismay of Lil Wayne and his fans since 2014 resulting in Weezy suing Cash Money Records for 51 million dollars. The lawsuit claimed the label broke their deal by not releasing the album.
In addition, Wayne wants out of his contract and all of the Young Money artists to exit with him. The problem is Cash Money Records owns 51% of Young Money and Lil Wayne holds 49% – so leaving with the artists he’s helped to build may be difficult – since a majority of the artists, are successful. Lil Wayne has reportedly accused the company of not paying him his just due and is equally worried about Drake and Nicki Minaj leaving Young Money because they haven’t been getting paid properly by Cash Money Records either – who is the parent company to Young Money.
The beef between Birdman and Lil Wayne has grown beyond Weezy saying “F@#k Cash Money!” at his shows. The situation has escalated to gun violence. Last year Wayne’s tour bus was shot at by upcoming rapper Peewee Roscoe an associate of Birdman and Young Thug in Atlanta. Court records showed that a phone call was made, shortly before the shooting, between Peewee Roscoe, Young Thug, and Birdman – suspiciously connection them to the alleged hit on Lil Wayne.
Thankfully, no one was hurt.
Peewee Roscoe ended up with a 20-year prison sentence – but not without blaming Birdman for allegedly participating in the conspiracy. Roscoe believes Birdman should be punished as well.
Will Lil Wayne ever make music again? We will have to wait and see.
A recent appearance on Skip Bayless‘ new show, “Undisputed”, Skip asked Lil Wayne about the seriousness of his retirement. “I have a family. I have kids. I have a mother. We have bills. This is just business.” says Lil Wayne – the rapper is refusing to work with Birdman ever again. If Weezy can get paid and released from his deal, we may finally get to hear Tha Carter V.
