YMCMB: Fall of an Empire

Well it appears some bad business practices of Cash Money Records' CEO Brian “Birdman”  Williams has lead to the dissolve of Young Money Cash Money Records. By now it’s no secret that the former Hot Boyz member and CEO of the Young Money division of Young Money Cash Money Records, Lil Wayne, has been beefing with his mentor Birdman since the hold up of his “The Carter V” album back in December of last year. It was rumored earlier this year that Lil Wayne had dropped the lawsuit he filed against his long time father figure, but we later found that rumor to be untrue.

Lil Wayne (left)          Birdman (right)

So with all the drama and controversy surrounding the label beef, what is true and what will happen to the artists of YMCMB which includes two of the most successful and popular artists in hip hop to date, Drake and Nicki Minaj?

From the stir up between Birdman aka “Baby” and Lil Wayne, it’s been revealed that Birdman has a long history of practicing bad business habits. In an interview on the Breakfast Club, fellow former Hot Boyz member Turk tells of how he has still not been paid for royalties from the Cash Money label. In a separate interview, Wendy Day, who helped to negotiate the historical hip hop distribution deal between Cash Money Records and Universal Music Group, also shed light on Birdman’s long history of not paying more than just his artists. 

"The Carter VI" album cover (L)     Lil Wayne (R)

With tales of Birdman’s questionable payment methods, one may wonder who would want to work with what sounds like a rip-off artist? By now the world should know of the newest addition  to the Cash Money roster, rapper Young Thug aka Thugger. While the beef between “Baby” and the rapper he supposedly loves like a son, Lil Wayne, started from the delay of “The Carter V” release, the beef has been perpetuated by the announcement that not only would Young Thug be making “The Carter” 6-10 albums, but also that his “The Carter VI” will be released before Lil Wayne’s “The Carter V”. Lil Wayne made no quarrels about making his ill feelings behind Thuggers announcement and album cover release clear. What may be confusing, however, is the contradiction between Young Thug’s expression of admiration for Lil Wayne and the words that can be heard in a more recent Instagram video he posted. 

So what will Lil Wayne’s biggest protégés Drake and Nicki Minaj do in lieu of what seems to be going in the direction of the fall of the YMCMB empire? According to a Business Insider article, Drake’s most recent “mixtape” release was a strategic maneuver on his part to complete his contractual duties to Cash Money Records. It appears Drake may be attempting to tie any loose ends to avoid his career being negatively affected by the beef between his two mentors. Nicki, on the other hand, has only expressed hopes of Lil Wayne and Birdman mending their father-son relationship. Birdman hasn’t had much to say about the feud, but based on his Instagram post of the label name change from YMCMB to CMBRG (Cash Money Billionaire Rich Gang), the queen of YMCMB, Nicki Minaj, may want to start considering her next career move instead of just hoping for the best. 

Many artists in the music industry have shared their opinions on the the whole feud, but the most wise advise may have come from rapper 50 Cent in the video below. One thing is for certain, this beef is great publicity for both Young Thug and Lil Wayne's albums regardless of what the end results will be.