Birdman and the Cash Money empire

By Mr. Hollywood
JR Staff Writer

What began as a dream some twenty years ago has become a major reality. Bryan "Birdman" Williams and his brother, Ronald "Slim" Williams, have been running Cash Money Records for some time. Through their success with music, they have been able to branch out into other businesses.

Often times, there is plenty of talk surrounding Jay-Z and Diddy as hip hop's top businessmen. Much of their fortune comes from endorsement deals. While the New Yorkers do own several businesses, their primary pay comes from their work with other companies.

Birdman recently entered the $100 million discussion without having any endorsement deals. Early in the 2000s, he did, but they have run out. Through his company and the lucrative distribution deal with Universal Records, Birdman has built an incredible empire. Cash Money Records helped launch this business and it is currently on top of the music scene with several sub-labels.

Recently, Birdman launched Cash Money content and released a book for Wahida Clark called Justify My Thug. This deal is the first of its kind for a hip hop company and will likely be emulated by several other hip hop entrepreneurs in the future.

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Olivia to open up on G-Unit on New Album

Olivia has been in the game for a long time. Most people credit Alicia Keys as the first artist signed to J Records. However, before Alicia Keys was signed, Olivia was and she released her debut album in 2001. Because her image did not catch on with the fans, she was dropped after the release of Olivia.

During the summer of 2004, Olivia would end up signing with G-Unit Records. At the time, 50 Cent was obsessed with taking everything that made Ja Rule successful. For most of his career, Ja Rule made hits because of his trusty female singing sidekick Ashanti. In an effort to emulate their success, 50 Cent teamed up with Olivia.

Perhaps because their union was created out of spite, 50 Cent and Olivia did not catch on past their chart-topping hit, “Candy Shop.” In the time since then 50 Cent had planned to release her debut album in 2006. But, the lead single, “Best Friend (remix),” was not the success that G-Unit had expected it to be.

Early in 2007, 50 Cent revealed that Olivia was no longer signed to G-Unit. At the time, he said that there was no feud. Instead, he said that it was hard to work Olivia into the system when she had her own team. 50 Cent said that at one point the only way to get up with her was to speak with Missy Elliott. He would also hint to a physical relationship between the two.

However, last year Olivia had negative things to say about 50 Cent and G-Unit. She said that they wanted to fill her album with verses from Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo. That was something that she could not agree to. Olivia revealed this, not her being unavailable, as the reason that she was dropped from G-Unit. 50 Cent later said he spent $2 million on her with no return and she argued that he should have spent $4 million.

Finally free from G-Unit and in a contract with Universal Records, Olivia is finally ready to release her long-awaited sophomore album. Tentatively titled Show the World, Olivia is planning to open up on what really happened with G-Unit. Even though she has said some things about G-Unit, she plans to expose even more.
There is no set release date for Show the World.

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