$$$
The lengthy battle between Birdman and Lil Wayne has finally come to a close. After years of duking it out in the courtroom and a diss track or two, the two hip-hop moguls were ready to dismiss the case.
According to court docs, Lil Wayne’s lawyer set the dismal in motion. Wayne was awarded a handsome payout and he’s no longer signed to Cash Money Records.
So, can fans expect Tha Carter V sometime soon? Scroll til the end of the video to see what Wayne has been working on.
Credit: Merrick Ales/Getty Images
Family Ties
Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for BM
Reminding everyone that some bonds just can’t be broken, Lil Wayne and Birdman were spotted hanging out at LIV in Miami Beach in March. Because everyone is the paparazzi these days, the monumental moment was caught on camera.
Coming in with the perfect timing, a Rich Gang affiliate was on Snapchat just as Wayne and Birdman possibly ended a long, long beef. To the sound of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares,” the two hugged before exchanging a few words. Over LIV’s loud stereo no one could hear the conversation between the rappers, but they both smiled and greeted each other warmly.
The meet may have been an accident though. Sources told TMZ that the New Orleans natives arrived in different cars. Wayne performed alongside 2 Chainz, while Birdman “kept a relatively low profile.”
Don’t be fooled though… At this time, the lawsuit between the two was still in full swing. According to The Blast, this meet-up was around the same time Wayne was accusing Birdman and his legal team of refusing to hand over important documents.
Wayne reportedly urged a judge to sanction the Cash Money head, forcing him to share docs pertaining to Nicki Minaj and Drake. Per The Blast:
On February 21, Wayne filed a motion to compel production of documents in his years-long $50 million-dollar lawsuit against Birdman’s Cash Money Records.
Wayne accuses Birdman of misleading the court by pretending Cash Money has turned over all documents in their possession that the rapper has demanded they turn over.
He says Cash Money produced 121,000 pages of documents but calls them mostly tediously accounting reports prepared by Universal Music, which the Cash Money is under. Wayne says Cash Money was ordered to produce documents but continues to refuse to turn over important information needed in the case.
“I am a prisoner and so is my creativity.”
Credit: Doug Benc/Getty Images
While the case took many turns and twist, the feud began over money. Wayne alleged that Birdman/Cash Money refused to pay him several million dollars he was owed, which in turn deprived the hip-hop world of Tha Carter V.
At the tail end of 2014, the rapper took to Twitter to tell fans and the media that his album was on hold because of circumstances out of his control. “I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain’t that easy,” he tweeted at the time, “I am a prisoner and so is my creativity.”
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
Exactly eight days after Wayne dropped Sorry 4 The Wait 2 — which hurdled shots at both Birdman and the Cash Money label — he filed a 51 million dollar lawsuit against Cash Money Records. The lawsuit cited a contract violation, i.e. the repeated delay of Tha Carter V, and several instances of Wayne not getting probably compensated for his work. Per Billboard:
The lawsuit claims that Cash Money had failed to make payments and documents available dating back to 2013, hadn’t shared royalties over Drake recordings for Cash Money with Wayne’s Young Money imprint, that recordings for Wayne’s I Am Not A Human Being II album were filed solely as owned by Cash Money rather than jointly as Cash Money/Lil Wayne, and that Cash Money failed to pay Wayne’s $8 million advance for Tha Carter V plus the $2 million owed to him when he delivered the finished album in December 2014.
“Idols Become Rivals”
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Of course, the matter was so public that you would have had to live under a rock to miss it. Everyone from fans to celebrities picked sides and chimed in on the dispute, making way for tons of heat to head Birmand’s way. Back in 2015, Wayne’s manager Cortez Bryant said the artist didn’t “deserve the s**t he’s going through.”
“[Wayne] built Young Money from his dreams to reality. […] Wayne carried Cash Money on his back for over 10 years when he could have left and did this on his own,” Bryant continued. “The most loyal person I know on earth!”
As several others offered up their thoughts, following Bryant’s lead, not everyone was so quick to comment. During an interview with MTV News‘ Nadeska Alexis, which took place about a month after Wayne’s initial lawsuit, 50 warned everyone to watch what they said.
After citing the duo’s “father son relationship” and saying that he hates when “personal things become public,” he added, “Be careful of the things that you say about that Dwayne and Baby situation.”
“Baby will forgive Wayne for the things that he’s saying, and Wayne will forgive Baby for the things that he’s saying, but they may not forgive you. The relationship has so much depth to it that you really shouldn’t even speak on it,” he continued.
Regardless, Rick Ross infamously threw his two cents into the well, releasing a while diss track against Birdman. “Idols Become Rivals” was the talk of fans and hip-hop outlets last summer. The accompanying music video continued to drag Birdman’s name through the mud, as it showed how he robbed artists.
