Vaughn Lowery: “What advice would you provide to someone trying to start a label or to become a recording artist?”
Birdman: “Study your craft …. Know your business …. Stay focused, stay humble, always put God first …. Try to start the same way you finished …. Be prepared to die for what you believe in. It’s simple.”
Bryan “Baby/Birdman” Williams was in Los Angeles pushing his new biographical documentary during his birthday. Today, it was released exclusively on Apple Music.
The viewing was held on Thursday, February 15th at NeueHouse – a private community of leading entrepreneurs and creative teams. As we sipped on champagne and awaited the ‘Number 1 Stunna’ to introduce the opening instalment of a three-part series during his birthday, we were constantly reminded by the mere presence of security that we could be in for a ride. Over the last 21 years, Birdman has lead an army of hip hop prodigies, including Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. For decades, financial rumors and controversy surrounded Cash Money Records and we were hoping to find some answers. The initial episode delves into the CEO’s dark past from losing his mother at an early age to slanging drugs which in the end leads to incarceration. Throughout, we start to understand the attributes of how one becomes one of the most successful rap moguls of our time. His father was a former military man with a pile of small businesses in some of New Orleans’ seedier areas. He constantly hustled to keep his family fed with a roof over their heads. This boy “any means necessary” mentality trickled down onto his youngest child, which eventually contributed to him selling CDs out of his trunk and helming one of the most prolific indie labels in the world, Cash Money Records.
Before Anythang: The Story Behind The Cash Money Records Empire doesn’t disappoint; however, it may leave some leery as it was created by its star, sprinkled with his personal narratives, which could come across as being slightly contrived.
Nevertheless, this piece of work has earned a spot on our ‘360 Watch List,’ especially since we gain an insightful introspective into the life of Birdman.
