Lil Wayne gave Drake the light, and we all know what happened after that. Not too many rappers make good record company CEO’,s and that’s because they tend to put their own interests before their artists. Nicki Minaj and Drake are probably the only 2 rappers who were able to shine under a rapper-owned company. If you actually look back at the history of hip hop and when rappers started becoming record company owners, they end up having disgruntled artists on the label. Producers normally make good record company CEOs, especially the ones that don’t rap at all!
As always, we gotta take it back to when Lil’ Wayne first came into the game and how he rose to the top. Being one of the youngest on Cash Money Records, which was owned and run by both Brian (aka Birdman) and Ronald “Slim” Williams. He joined the group Hot Boyz, which includes Juvenile, Turk, and B.G. Cash Money became one of the hottest up-and-coming labels not only in the south but in hip hop in general. However, problems begin to escalate over finances. First, B.G. Left and then Juvenile followed afterward. Turk, unfortunately, went to prison, and even the in-house producer Manny Fresh left. Which leaves Lil’ Wayne to be the lone survivor there.
Lil Wayne dropped “Tha Carter” in 2004, and many fans saw a shift in his lyricism. He started using more metaphors, similes, and clever wordplay. There was speculation that he was using a ghostwriter, but nonetheless, his popularity grew, and so did his number of appearances on other artists’ songs. Every song he featured on became an instant hit, and his stock in hip hop rose. 2005 would be the beginning of the “Mixtape Weezy” era. Rappers normally do mixtapes to promote their upcoming album or just to put out music for their fans to listen to. Weezy took advantage of that opportunity with the release of “The Dedication,” which was hosted by DJ Drama from Philadelphia. He continued his punchlines and humorous metaphors over the hottest songs that were already done by artists. Even with all that, he declared himself “The Best Rapper Alive,” which, of course, many disagree with that bold statement. Other rappers like 50 Cent and Jay-Z, whom Wayne took subliminal shots at, return the favor by sending them back towards him. Regardless of those who disagree with his statement, by the end of 2008, Lil Wayne was arguably the most well-known rapper that many artists wanted on their songs.
With all that going on, a new rapper from Toronto, Canada name Drake was hungry and waiting for a come-up. Now, most rappers who started out as rappers turn into movies/tv stars. Drake was the opposite. He started out acting during his teens, starring in a popular show, “Degrassi”. Me, personally I vividly recall watching that show because during that time I was a freshman in high school myself. So some of the subject matter I definitely relate to. Jimmy, sorry! I mean, Drake wanted to try his hand at music. In 2006, with the release of his mixtape Room for Improvement, while still starring on Degrassi. But eventually, like most people who are destined to succeed and be successful, he made the decision to pursue rap full-time, and the rest was history.
The grind didn’t stop there with the release of his second mixtape in 2007 titled “Comeback Season”. Finally, he started to get a little more buzz with the help of artists like Trey Songz, Little Brother, Rich Boy, and many others. Wayne, on the other hand, was on top of hip hop and started to bring along another rapper to his Young Money camp. The big break for drake was 2009 when he dropped in what some people called a classic mixtape, So Far Gone. That’s when the industry took notice of the hype over the mixtape during its release. All that prompted big record companies to flood Drake with offers. However, Wayne was one of the few to notice Drake before he started to get a buzz with his previous mixtape, Comeback Season. Ultimately, he decided to sign with Young Money/Cash Money Records along with Nicki Minaj. Lil’ Wayne now had two of the biggest up-and-coming rappers signed to his imprint. The takeover was about to begin with Young Money’s first compilation album, “We Are Young Money,” which was released at the end of 2009.
In 2010, hip hop was in an identity crisis. Meaning, no one knows what the next trend will be. Everyone was basically watching and observing each other. Wayne released two albums, “Rebirth” and “I am Not A Human Being” that same year; however, it wasn’t the critical acclaim like his 2008 album Tha Carter III. This is when you realized that he took a step back and let his two new signees get their taste of shine and success. When Drake released “Thank Me Later’ and Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday”, that was the beginning of their successful careers. With those two spawned big hits from their debuts, respectively, all Wayne had to do was kick back and let his Young Money crew do their thing. While those two were getting all the attention, Weezy was going through his own problems with Cash Money Records CEOs Bryan and Ronald Williams, which was one of the reasons for him taking a step back. Nonetheless, that decision made him focus on his label and other ventures.
Overall, you have to give it to Lil’ Wayne. Like I said before, not too many rappers make good CEOs because of a conflict of interest. If Wayne were really selfish, we probably would’ve never heard of Drake or Nicki Minaj. If not heard of them, their careers wouldn’t be as successful like it is today, especially Drake’s. This was a rare situation where you see a rapper actually have success under another rapper who took a step back in their prime and was on top of the rap game. You can argue with Eminem letting 50 Cent get his shine, but as much as I respect 50 Cent’s hustle and hunge,r his run didn’t last long as Drake’s, which is still going on over 10 straight years and counting. I’ll be honest and admit that I was never a fan of Lil’ Wayne like that but again, I respect the fact that during the height of his popularity and run, he still managed to let his two fellow artists become household names. Just look at where both Nicki and Drake are in their careers. Drake even moved on from Young Money to completely focus on his OVO Sound record label and its artists. He definitely played his cards right as a musician and now a businessman. Even though Drake isn’t on Young Money, he’s still close to Wayne and Nicki respectfully. This is also one of those rare occasions when people don’t forget who helped them launch their careers. So I will say that Lil’ Wayne is not the greatest rapper of all-time nor alive, but most definitely the most unselfish rapper of all time!!!
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