You dumped your life savings to create a non-profit aimed at breaking bad deals and helping rapper’s careers. Did that feel like a massive risk?
I think I believed in it so much that it didn’t faze me whether I would succeed or not. It never crossed my mind. I remember thinking when I started the company “oh if this doesn’t work I’ll go get another job, it’s no big deal.” I remember having that mind-set, but when I was in the midst of it I don’t remember questioning if I would be successful. I do know that after I did Master P’s deal and I found out in 2000, I think it was, that he hadn’t paid his artists, it devastated me because at that point in time I had helped him get into a situation where he could be a millionaire and I did it because I knew he could pay his artists and it would be a much more fair situation than some of the other deals that I had seen in the past. It kind of broke my heart that I’d created this monster or I’d played a role in creating this monster that turned around and shyt on his artists. Then I had the same feelings with Cash Money, when I heard than Juvenile wasn’t paid properly, BG wasn’t paid properly, Mannie Fresh wasn’t paid properly. Not that it surprised me because they didn’t pay me properly either so it wasn’t shocking that they would do that, but it was heart-breaking because I felt like I’d spent all of this time and energy. It wasn’t just money because it’s been 22 years of my life that I’ve dedicated to this. I chose my company over having relationships. I chose my company over having children. I chose my company over having enough money where I could retire comfortably. I feel like I gave up so much more and it kind of devastated me that I was helping to create or playing a role in creating people that would turn around and shyt on their artists and not pay them when it was something that I was so adamantly against.
When Cash Money didn’t pay you, did they give you a reason or just cut off communication?
They just cut off communication. At one point, one of my artist friends bumped into Birdman and put a gun to his head and made him call and apologize to me, which he did. He [Birdman] called me up and said “oh, your friend just pulled me out of Hot 97 and I’m here on the street, on my knees and I want to apologize to you. I really didn’t care about the apology. I wanted to know, why would somebody shyt on someone that changed their life for the better? I just couldn’t wrap my head around that and he couldn’t really give me a good answer. Maybe because he was a little scared himself based on the situation.
Well, the gun…
Yeah I can see where that would be a little intimidating. He [Birdman] said to me “sue me, when I have to pay you, you’ll get paid.” He said it very nonchalantly and very matter-of-factly, and as time wore on I saw that he didn’t pay anybody. He didn’t pay the t-shirt manufacturers, he didn’t pay the Fruit of Islam for security, he didn’t pay security guards for security, he didn’t pay his staff, he didn’t pay his office rent. They didn’t pay anybody.
That was part of No Limit’s downfall – not paying their artists. So it’s crazy Cash Money has survived this long with the same business model. It’s even strange that no one has attempted to kill Birdman or Slim as they’ve screwed a lot of people.
I’m a little surprised by that myself. It’s a testament to their luck because they screwed over a lot of people. It is very surprising and I’m thankful that nothing bad has happened to them because they’ve made a lot of great music over the years and I love being able to say I helped create that. I helped build that company so I would never want something bad to happen but it’s amazing to me that even today they still have the same mentality like I’m still hearing people say “I wasn’t paid properly.” A couple of years ago we heard Drake say “they’re not paying me, I’m not getting paid properly.” So it’s like damn, Drake too? After all these years you haven’t learned? It’s just crazy to me.
Who was the artist that put a gun to Birdman’s head?
It was actually Freddie Foxx and I think that he has spoken about it so I don’t think it’s incriminating, plus more than seven years have passed.
Wow Freddie Foxx, he always comes up in interviews for having done some wild stuff.
[laughs] And he’s such a good friend. He’s somebody that really looks out for me. He’s not somebody that I’ve ever been able to help in my career, he’s just a good friend.
but y'all kno how the streets talk:
