Cash Money Records

Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
	File:Cashmoneyrecords.jpg
Parent company	Universal Music Group
Founded	1992
Founder	Brian "Baby" Williams; Ronald "Slim" Williams
Distributor(s)	Universal Records (US)
Genre	Hip-Hop, R&B, Southern Rap
Country of origin	US
Official website	http://www.cashmoney-records.com/

Cash Money Records is an American-based hip hop record label. Its name is derived from a fictional gang in the 1991 film New Jack City.

History

The label's first artist "Kilo-G" released "The Sleepwalker" in 1992 which went3x wood. Over the next 4 years Cash Money played host to a number of local releases by artists such as Pimp Daddy, U.N.L.V. (Uptown Niggaz Living Violently), Ms. Tee, Mr. Ivan, Lil' Slim, Big Man (PxMxWx), B.G., and many more, selling over four million albums without ever releasing a music video or having a Billboard hit. Cash Money's big break came in 1997 when the label's most popular artists, The Hot Boys caught the attention of Universal Records big shots, primarily Juvenile, whose Cash Money release Soulja Rags sold 611,000 copies independently. Finally in 1998, co-CEOs Ronald "Slim" Williams and Brian "Baby" Williams signed a $30 million pressing and distribution contract with Universal Records, entitling the label to 85% of their royalties, 50% of their publishing and retaining ownership of all masters.

Between 1998 and 2001 Cash Money saw phenomenal success. The label churned out 18 Top Five Billboard singles, and 11 platinum and multi-platinum albums, almost entirely supervised by in-house producer Mannie Fresh. Success was eminent until two of the Hot Boys left the label claiming financial mismanagement by co-CEO and artist Brian "Baby" Williams. The first artist to leave was B.G., who claimed he had never received a royalty check for any album released before 1998, an amount that would exceed three million dollars. The second to leave was Juvenile, who claimed he had only received half of the tour money he had accumulated over 4 years, and did not receive proper payment for his quadruple platinum album, 400 Degreez. The artist filed three simultaneous lawsuits, asking for more than five million dollars in damages. However, the lawsuits were dismissed for lack of evidence.

The departure of Cash Money's two superstars did not seem to affect the performance of the Hip-Hop giant. Between 2001 and 2003, the label sold 7 million albums, and the song "Still Fly" by the Big Tymers ("Baby" Williams and Mannie Fresh) was nominated for two Grammy Awards. In April 2003, Juvenile, who had left because of financial disputes, returned to the label for a reported $4 million and, in return, he signed over the rights to Juve The Great, an album which would go on to sell 3 million copies and become Cash Money's 2nd highest selling album of that year.

Most recently, Cash Money's multi-millionaire co-founder Brian "Baby" Williams, aka "The Birdman", has been in the spotlight. He has signed deals with Lugz, Sean John Clothing, Jacob The Jeweler, and Aire Watch Co. USA, among others. Former Hot Boy, Lil' Wayne, has been named president of Cash Money Records and CEO of Young Money Entertainment, giving the 23 year old rapper full creative control over all releases under the two labels. Lil' Wayne's latest album, Tha Carter II, has reached 3x platinum status worldwide.

Cash Money producer Mannie Fresh recently left Cash Money and, contrary to rumors of his signing with Chopper City Records, has started his own record label.

Jadakiss and Pastor Troy are rumored to sign with Cash Money.

Members