Cash Money Records is in Trouble

Cash Money Records is one of the most well known record labels in hip-hop today. Led by CEO's Birdman and Slim, Cash Money has an extensive roster that includes big names such as Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga. While Cash Money Records have produced a stream of popular music in the last few years, they have been having a multitude of problems recently. With the parting of many artists to lead artist Lil Wayne stating that Cash Money was holding his latest album hostage, Cash Money Records is in hot water.

Troubles began in late October when Tyga starting tweeting about his discrepancies with his label, stating that they had been delaying the release of his sophomore album. He then sat down with Vibe and told them that he didn't get along with Drake or Nicki Minaj, even calling Drake "fake". The Toronto rapper then threw some petty shade at Tyga by liking Tyga's ex-girlfriend's pictures on Instagram, which is probably the stupidest way in the world to throw shade. Tyga fought back by hiring Drake's ex-girlfriend to star in a music video with Tyga, which is also pretty petty. It appears the Tyga was finally let off of his label, as he tweeted that his next album would be released independently. This is the third artist to leave Cash Money Records in the last few months, as rapper Busta Rhymes and singer Jay Sean have both left. But unlike Tyga, Rhymes and Sean both said that they left the label on good terms. Lesser known rapper Lil Twist also expressed his disdain with Cash Money's management team, but Twist appears to still be on the label.

But yesterday, Lil Wayne revealed he's also at ends with the label. He took to Twitter to say that he wants off of Cash Money and that his soon-to-be-released album Tha Carter V has been held back by the label and won't be released. This came as a complete shock, as Wayne was one of the original members of Cash Money, and they seemed to be on great terms. Tha Carter V was supposed to be released on October 28th, but was pushed back to this Tuesday.

Truly, I have no problem at all if Cash Money crashes and burns. Almost all of the music Cash Money has produced in recent years has been tacky and unoriginal. Lil Wayne hasn't put out a solid project since Tha Carter III. Nicki Minaj's last albums have sounded more like pop albums than rap albums, and her singles "Super Bass" and "Starships" are a disgrace to hip-hop music. Her soon-to-be-released album The Pinkprint sounds as if she's getting back to her hip-hop roots, which is a definite plus, but leaving Cash Money as well might help her further distance her more recent work from her previous projects. And Drake has focused much more time on his personal OVO label than on Cash Money. I have to agree with Tyga, because I think Drake is pretty fake. Being on Degrassi before becoming a rapper definitely doesn't mean you're "Starting From the Bottom" and at the rate of artists he's cosigning, "No New Friends" is just a blatant lie. Cash Money has done a terrible job promoting their lesser known artists. But with a roster that includes Limp Bizkit, Paris Hilton, and Austin Mahone, the world would be better off if Cash Money Records closed.