Lil Wayne Calls Himself A “Prisoner” On Cash Money, Says Birdman Won’t Release The Carter V
speaks onstage at the 2013 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom on August 22, 2013 in New York City.
Lil Wayne’s career has been inextricably linked to Cash Money Records and co-founder Bryan “Birdman” Williams, a guy Wayne has always referred to as his “daddy.” Birdman — who used to rap under the name Baby — signed Wayne as a teenager and played a humongous role in making him a star. He’s routinely credited with launching Wayne’s career as well as the careers of Wayne’s protégés Drake and Nicki Minaj, and Wayne’s Young Money label is a subdivision of Birdman’s Cash Money. So it’s nothing short of shocking to see Wayne tweeting today that he wants off Cash Money, describing himself as a “prisoner” on the label and asserting that the only reason his long-gestating album The Carter V isn’t out is because Birdman refuses to release it. He even says he wants “nothing to do with these people”! Here are Wayne’s tweets:
To all my fans, I want u to know that my album won't and hasn't been released bekuz Baby & Cash Money Rec. refuse to release it.
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) December 4, 2014
This is not my fault. I am truly and deeply sorry to all my fans but most of all to myself and my family for putting us in this situation.
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) December 4, 2014
I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain't that easy
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) December 4, 2014
I am a prisoner and so is my creativity Again,I am truly sorry and I don't blame ya if ya fed up with waiting 4 me & this album. But thk u
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) December 4, 2014
Wayne’s artistic nosedive in recent years has been well documented, nor is it a secret that Drake has surpassed Wayne’s commercial dominance, or that Birdman has been busy grooming obvious Wayne descendant Young Thug as Cash Money’s next superstar. Still, even with all that in mind, if Wayne is telling the truth, I’m dumbfounded that Birdman would block Wayne’s album from coming out; since when has low quality ever kept Cash Money from releasing Lil Wayne material? What’s even more amazing is that Wayne would take this feud public. It suggests that one of rap’s most storied partnerships has rotted from the inside out, which would be even sadder than Wayne’s creative decline. No response yet from Birdman, Drake, or Minaj, but we’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, um, #FreeWeezy?
UPDATE: Lil Wayne’s manager Cortez Bryant says Wayne is not leaving Cash Money: “We good.”
Meanwhile, Wayne keeps calling himself a “prisoner.”
[Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.]
