Lil Wayneâs shitâand heâs evidently had many of them, having referenced defecating in over one hundred different songsâhas finally hit the fan. TMZ reports heâs filed a lawsuit against his label, Cash Money Records, for 51 million dollars. He wants out, and he wants his money, baby.Scraps between labels and artists arenât uncommon, but the break-up between Lil Wayne and Cash Money (which originated back in December after Weezy tweeted that he felt the label had taken him âprisonerâ because theyâd pushed back his latest record) is monumental. Wayneâs been with Cash Money since the age of thirteen, released the greatest album series of the 2000s in Tha Carter, and stamped Drake and Nicki Minajâs names on the labelâs roster. Heâs instrumental in YMCMBâs success. Thereâs even a picture of him and the labelâs boss, Birdmanâpretty much the father Lil Wayne never had, except with bankrolls of moneyâkissing like only two men overcome with emotion can.
Lil Wayneâs persistence in leaving Cash Money is shocking, sure, but considering that heâs suing them for the kind of money most families wonât see in a millennia, it seems thereâs something else afoot: the sort of turmoil that goes deeper than interpersonal relations between two grown-men called âWeezyâ and âBaby;" the slow-fall of one of modern hip-hopâs greatest record labels.The label signed nu-metal group Limp Bizkit and Austin Mahone (a teenager with a face like a wet dishcloth) in the last few years, but thereâs more to their fall from grace than ill-timed roster additions; itâs the way Cash Money treats its artists.Letâs take a look.Whether itâs âselling kilos through an iPod Nanoâ or partnering with Pornhub, rappers pump out million dollar investments on the daily and Young Money is no different. Drake is the spokesperson for Nikeâs Air Jordan, Nicki Minaj featured in an ad campaign for Pepsi, and thereâs bound to be some sort of lucrative blunt-rolling apparatus deal out there for Lil Wayne. Aside from sponsorship though, the ins-and-outs of a recording deal can often be unclear.Wayneâs current residence is a palace on Miami Beach that boasts a personal skatepark, so itâs pretty clear heâs done well for himself. Yet Wendy Day, the woman who brokered Cash Moneyâs 30 million dollar deal with Universal (which in turn allowed the labelâs artists to keep a staggering 83 percent of their royalties), feels that the inner workings of the business are a little shady. In a November 2014 interview with Nah Right she said:âJuvenile wasnât paid properly, BG wasnât paid properly, Mannie Fresh wasnât paid properly. Not that it surprised me because they didnât pay me properly either so it wasnât shocking that they would do thatâŠ.As time wore on I saw that [Birdman] didnât pay anybody. He didnât pay the t-shirt manufacturers, he didnât pay the Fruit of Islam for security, he didnât pay security guards for security, he didnât pay his staff, he didnât pay his office rent. They didnât pay anybody.âWendyâs admittance that she wasnât paid properly is a little suspect; she could just be a disgruntled ex-employee looking to shame her old boss. Yet in 2012, some facts emerged in a lawsuit from Drake which stated, despite shifting in excess of five million units for the label, the Canadian artist hadnât received any royalties for album sales.Communication in business is always a little difficultâyouâve got offices on either side of the world and different time zones to deal with; as a by-product, information can be lost in translation. Yet, while itâs understandable that the foot soldiers of a business can often miss out on communication, one would assume the top dogs remain in contact with each other.In her interview with Nah Right, Wendy stated she would âhave to make separate phone callsâ between Birdman and Slim, YMCMBâs bosses. Of course, this could just be a result of the pair constantly trappinâ out and riding solo in different cities, but then youâve got Wayneâs own admission that even he doesnât receive clear-cut communication regarding his own output.In July 2014, when MTV News asked Wayne about the release of Tha Carter V, he replied "I'm so not good with that. I think it drops either in September and then we haveâŠah I can't tell you the sneak thing. Anyway, yeah, I think it drops in September or Augustâ. The word âthinkâ and ânot good with thatâ donât sit very well. Not when youâre the labelâs superstar and have no idea what the fuckâs going on with your work.Nothing Was The Same was the first Drake album to not feature a single YMCMB artist, suggesting the cracks were forming long before Tha Carter Vâs delay. âNot even talking to Nicki, communication is breaking," he rapped on the intro. At the time, it felt like Drizzy was just getting pissed off that Nicki had ignored his texts, but looking back now, it could be referencing cracks in the Young Money familyâs relationship, especially when you consider the previous line âpaperwork taking too long, maybe they donât understand me.âThen youâve got Nicki Minajâs album, The Pinkprint. Sure, it featured several YMCMB members (Drake, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill) but theyâre all part of Wayneâs core group. Meek Mill has consistently shared his support in the case of Wayne vs. Birdman and, if Lil Wayne does leave YMCMB, itâs been reported heâll take both Nicki Minaj and Drake with him. Things have definitely changed since the days of âBedRock," the smash-hit single which featured Young Moneyâs weed-carriers Gudda Gudda, Tyga, and Jae Millz alongside Wayne and Nicki Minaj.Rich Gang, the rap group fronted up by Birdman, and featuring Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan, are a nonpareil treasure of yelping and inaudible, yet delectable, hooks. âLifestyleâ is unequivocally the song of the summer and deserves to be played on repeat until the end of the world, and the sweet-ass melodies on âTell âEmââ are basically rap musicâs answer to a space-age, trapped-out Beach Boys. I don't joke.Lil Wayne has watched Rich Gang put out one mixtape and announce another, while his album has gathered dust on the YMCMB shelf. It makes sense from a business viewpoint: âLifestyleâ has scored over 85 million YouTube streams; the five videos Lil Wayne put out in 2014 reach a combined view count of around 19 million. Birdman wants to put out a record with a hot single, to make some money, and if Lil Wayne isnât producing anything of note, then heâs going to switch attention to the group that will.Young Money Cash Money may have sold a bunch of records. They may have helped Lil Wayne get to where he is today, and he may have helped them become the biggest label to break out of the polyphonic ringtone hip-hop era. But does that make the unceremonious split such a bad thing? It feels like the time is ripe for the pair to start treading different paths.Letâs get Tha Carter V out. It may be Lil Wayneâs worst work ever, it may be his best, but like every Carter before, itâs going to be a monumental event worth watching unfold. The lawsuit only adds fuel to the firemanâs fire.You can find Ryan Bassil on Twitter: @RyanBassil
Advertisement
THE INNER WORKINGS OF YMCMB ARE POTENTIALLY SHADY
Advertisement
THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MEMBERS COULD BE BREAKING DOWN
Advertisement
THERE'S BEEN A LACK OF YMCMB ARTISTS ON SEVERAL KEY RELEASES
Advertisement