The Famous Rapper Birdman
Birdman is an American rapper, record executive, CEO, and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $100 million.
As the founder of Cash Money Records, as of 2022, the net worth of Birdman is $100 million. He saw his wealth explode in a matter of decades. His success also landed him on the list of the top ten wealthiest rappers. In this post, we will show you how the musical entrepreneur made his millions.
History/Early Life
Birdman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 16, 1969. Unfortunately, Birdman had a very rough childhood. At the age of five, Birdman and his three siblings lost their single mother. This forced them to relocate to Prince George, British Columbia, where they lived with their uncle. After a few unsuccessful years, they were eventually taken back to New Orleans and placed in a foster care system.
After realizing his children were in foster care, Birdman’s father began a multi-year legal battle to retain custody. Within about 3 years, his father finally won the battle. Birdman and his siblings then relocated with their father in a project neighborhood in New Orleans.
With his brother, Birdman began to commit robberies at the age of 16. Eventually, the two also sold heroin and were both arrested. Later at the age of 18, the two found themselves in jail once again. This time being the last. Birdman served 18 months in a correctional facility before being released.
Music Career
Once Birdman got out of prison, he and his brother Ronald “Slim” Williams began noticing the emerging bounce sub-genre of hip-hop, which was popular in New Orleans nightclubs at the time.
The brothers formed their own record label called Cash Money Records and traveled all over Louisiana catching acts at various nightclubs, trying to find artists to sign to their brand new label. The very first artist they signed was a rapper named Kilo G. His horrorcore album The Sleepwalker was Cash Money’s first project in 1992.
Birdman and Slim continued to look for new artists to recruit. Eventually, Birdman convinced his friend, DJ Mannie Fresh, to be the in-house producer for Cash Money.
Cash Money grew to be one of the most popular independent record labels in the south by the mid-1990s. In 1995, Birdman was introduced to Dwayne Carter, a local 12-year-old rapper. Birdman signed Carter to Cash Money. You may know him better as Lil’ Wayne.
Despite their regional success, Cash Money faced a number of setbacks in such as Kilo G, Pimp Daddy, and Yella — all Cash Money artists–were murdered in the 1990s. Desperate for success, Birdman and his brother Slim recruited Turk and Juvenile to create the new band the Hot Boys with Lil Wayne and B.G. This proved to be the ticket for Cash Money and the label signed a $30 million deal with Universal Records in 1998. That same year, Birdman got into the rapping game, forming a group with DJ Mannie Fresh called the Big Tymers.
They released their debut album How Ya Luv That? in 1998 and followed that up with I Got That Work and Hood Rich. B.G. and Juvenile departed Cash Money sometime in this time period, forcing Birdman to turn to his solo work. In November 2002, Birdman released his major-label debut, called simply Birdman. The album peaked on the Billboard 200 at #24.
In 2004, Lil’ Wayne released Tha Carter, which was both critically and commercially successful. Lil’ Wayne was Cash Money’s biggest artist. In 2005, Birdman released his second album, Fast Money. It debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200. Like Father, Like Son, the first collaborative album from Lil Wayne and Birdman was released on Halloween 2006. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.
About His Record Label
Once Birdman got out of prison, he and his brother set out to change their lives. They growing popularity in bounce rap in the ’90s, a subgenre of hip-hop. They then started Cash Money Records and began recording singles that blew up in New Orleans nightlife.
As their label name grew steadily, so did the hunt for talent.In 1995, Birdman struck gold. At a night party, he heard 12-year old Dwayne Carter, Lil’ Wayne, rap for the first time. Very soon after, Birdman signed Carter as the youngest artist on the Cash Money label. It was this crucial investment that changed Birdman’s net worth forever.
Trouble struck quickly for Cash Money when three of their five star-artists were murdered in the ’90s. Desperate for more talent, Birdman signed two more artists. They then formed the rap group “Hot Boys,” with Lil’ Wayne and another Cash Money artist, BG.
After years of success, “Hot Boys” was able to land a $30 million contract with Universal Records in 1998. This paved an uphill road for Birdman and his net worth.
In 2002, Birdman released his debut solo-album, joining his Cash money artists. This solo-album landed on the Billboard Top 200 within the first week of release. It saw its peak at the #24 spot.
Personal life
Birdman’s mother died in 1975 after an illness. His step-brother Eldrick Wise was killed in an unsolved murder in 1991. His father was killed in a car accident in 1996. One of Birdman’s younger sisters, Tamara, was killed in a car accident in 2006.
Birdman has 10 brothers and 12 sisters.Birdman has two biological children, Bryan Jr. (born 1997) and Bria (born 1998).At his peak, Birdman claimed that he bought 100 new cars every six months, giving the “old” ones away to friends and family.
He is typically seen wearing several million dollars worth of jewelry including a 15-carat black diamond ring and matching earrings and a $500,000 grill on his teeth.During Hurricane Katrina, Birdman lost 20 houses and 50 cars including two Maybachs and four Ferraris.
