Once upon a time Birdman once said that Drake and Nicki Minaj are forever in business with him. The same goes for Lil Wayne, Young Thug and the many other artists under or associated with Young Money Cash Money.
During a recent stop by Complex’s Everyday Struggle, the millionaire-mogul opened up about his past business dealings while building up Cash Money and what it means for Drake and other artists on the award-winning label to have an “unlimited budget.”
Last month, HipHopDX caught up with Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge and took the opportunity to ask him about Drake’s line on “Stay Schemin'” where he says, “Tell Lucian I said fuck it, I’m tearin’ holes in my budget.”
The record exec quickly responded: “If ever Drake or whenever Drake calls up and says he needs something for his project, I give it to him.”
“I got an open book,” Birdman explained on the show. “I was given an open book with Doug [Morris] and Mel at a young age in the business. When Lucian came he gave me a bigger book. So with me having an open book, I gave Wayne an open book. He opened his book for Drake and Nicki and now they’re doin the same thing. I gave Young Thug an open book so he opened his book for other people. What I mean by open book [is] you can spend any amount of money you want.”
For Baby, it’s all about believing in the artists and trusting what they’re going to do.
Although Thug isn’t necessarily signed to Birdman, he states that Thugger’s Young Stoner Lifestyle imprint is part of him and it’s not always about money.
“I really sat down with Thug and taught him a lot,” said. “He lived with me for like four or five years. Me and him really, really put in the work. I’m expecting Young Thug be a great artist, but a great CEO also because I taught him a lot. He really sat with me and picked my brain. That’s why you see the Gunnas and the Dukes and the Dollys.”
Cash Money innovated the independent music game back in the late 90s when they signed their lucrative distribution deal with Universal Music Group in 1998 for $30 million. It included a $3 million advance contract and gave him ownership of all masters.
#DXCLUSIVE: Universal Music Group CEO Says Drake Has An Unlimited Budget
Now, the history-making label is home to three of the biggest artists on the planet: Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake.
Watch Birdman‘s interview on Complex’s Everyday Struggle below.
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That affords him the unlimited streaming farms to fake his numbers. Music streams are full of fraud and nobody cares to investigate it.
Shut up bitch
For Real
Sad to say but this has always been the case. Labels always bought back their albums in order for them to chart higher thus creating more revenue downstream. Ugly tactic that unfortunately works.
Birdman’s dick is smelling like Drake and Young Thug’s Shit
“I really sat down with Thug and taught him a lot,” said. “He lived with me for like four or five years. Me and him really, really put in the work.” What? PAUSE!
Ain’t no PAUSING that shit… that’s just some straight up gay ass hell homo shit going on there. We All Know What Happened To That Boy.
Unlimited budget but his albums always mediocre af lmao
He needs to get Quentin Miller back real talk
Unlimited budget means Drake can have a Unicorn lick his Butthole whilst talking Astrology and getting his nails done next to his healing gem stones.
Drake is the king! He got the clubs on lock. Name one club where the girls and gay guys aren’t dancing to Drizzy. That’s what I thought! They can’t resist that sizzling autotune voice with those girly lyrics that are written by somebody else and that inauthentic US accent. Oh and don’t forget that inauthentic backstory claiming he started from the bottom! Holla! Drake be taking this industry over and the sales show it! Drake got the rap game by the throat.
At some point, the so called hit records will stop. Then drakie boy will owe millions of dollars back to the record company and be broke. Bye! Bye!
Drake doesnt run shit hes a pop star grow up kid
He was being sarcastic
An open book meaning you can borrow as much money as you want and the label recoups it meaning you have to pay it back. That’s what our people think is doing something special. “I have an open book with this white man who lets me borrow as much money as I want.” SMH That’s why people think Dame Dash is crazy when he always rants about “putting up his own money” because he doesn’t appear to have as much money as these other dudes who are spending somebody elses. If all of these Black men with so-called power and influence would start doing that, we could build a real economy and stop having to cry and whine everytime an injustice is committed against us. But we can’t do that. Shout out to Tyler Perry. I don’t fuck with his movies but he did that and that’s why he is where he is. Shout out to Master P for laying that blueprint in music. Everybody else is just borrowing white people’s money acting like they really own something
Lest we forget: Drake is a joo.
yeah that unlimited budget really came in handy for nicki that one time they refused to clear her tracy chapman sample.
No limit clone, sure artists can spend whatever but they gotta recoup it lmao
Bird giving out open books with stolen money, Thug budget came from Nicki pocket, Nicki budget came from Drake pocket and Drake budget came from Wayne’s pocket.
The days of true independent hip hop labels are gone. Suave House, Rap-A-Lot, and Cash Money are the forefathers of independents. Say what you want about Baby and Slim, but they are the few black CEOs/artists who actually own their masters. Lot of black “CEOs” can’t say that. Most of these “record labels” are production or loan-out companies in which they have to be finance by white owned major record labels. I do not know the relationship with Drake and Baby, but Cash Money owns his music.