The Cash Money/YMCMB Albums You Must Own

The legendary label's boldest and biggest full-lengths.

Get Your Shine On - Seventeen seconds. That's all Lil Wayne needed to get the Internet abuzz again. That's all he offered, too — a promo video for a song called "D'usse." But no further details from Weezy. The song could place on his next album, his rumored last, or knowing Weezy, it could go anywhere.Cash Money and its musical offspring, YMCMB — that's Young Money Cash Money Billionaires, for the uninitiated — has been making history since the last millennium. Cash Money was at the cutting-edge of the Dirty South's late-'90s explosion; and today, Young Mula, baby, home to Wayne, Toronto's Drake, Queens's Nicki Minaj, and more, is rap's undisputable center of gravity.And with Nicki and Weezy both dropping new albums this year, it's sure to stay that way. That noted, BET.com mined through the label's long catalog to choose its biggest, boldest and best albums. R...

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Get Your Shine On - Seventeen seconds. That's all Lil Wayne needed to get the Internet abuzz again. That's all he offered, too — a promo video for a song called "D'usse." But no further details from Weezy. The song could place on his next album, his rumored last, or knowing Weezy, it could go anywhere.Cash Money and its musical offspring, YMCMB — that's Young Money Cash Money Billionaires, for the uninitiated — has been making history since the last millennium. Cash Money was at the cutting-edge of the Dirty South's late-'90s explosion; and today, Young Mula, baby, home to Wayne, Toronto's Drake, Queens's Nicki Minaj, and more, is rap's undisputable center of gravity.And with Nicki and Weezy both dropping new albums this year, it's sure to stay that way. That noted, BET.com mined through the label's long catalog to choose its biggest, boldest and best albums. R...

Lil Wayne, 500 Degreez - With a rapidly maturing Wayne honing his craft over some of Mannie Fresh's best beats, 500 Degreez is a defining crossroads moment for Wayne and Cash Money, which had just split with its then biggest star, Juvenile.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Lil Wayne, 500 Degreez - With a rapidly maturing Wayne honing his craft over some of Mannie Fresh's best beats, 500 Degreez is a defining crossroads moment for Wayne and Cash Money, which had just split with its then biggest star, Juvenile.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

Birdman & Lil Wayne, Like Father Like Son - On highlights such as "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" and "Leather So Soft," Birdman's straightforward, blue-collar bars are an effective complement for an at-his-peak Weezy's stream-of-consciousness non-sequiturs.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Birdman & Lil Wayne, Like Father Like Son - On highlights such as "Stuntin' Like My Daddy" and "Leather So Soft," Birdman's straightforward, blue-collar bars are an effective complement for an at-his-peak Weezy's stream-of-consciousness non-sequiturs.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday - Nicki's debut—which matched and broke all types of sales records for female rappers—showed her expanding from aggressive mixtape upstart to pop superstar.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday - Nicki's debut—which matched and broke all types of sales records for female rappers—showed her expanding from aggressive mixtape upstart to pop superstar.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

B.G., Chopper City in the Ghetto - B.G. is Cash Money's forgotten genius, and this album—which features the dictionary-altering smash "Bling Bling"—is him at his understated best.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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B.G., Chopper City in the Ghetto - B.G. is Cash Money's forgotten genius, and this album—which features the dictionary-altering smash "Bling Bling"—is him at his understated best.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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"This Is Tha Carter" - June 29 marks the 10th anniversary of Lil Wayne releasing his fourth album, Tha Carter. While Weezy was already one of the hottest lyricists from the South (his debut, Tha Block is Hot, went platinum after opening in the Billboard Top 3), he made heads all over take notice in 2004 as he switched up his delivery and showed just how much of a beast he was with the word play.Tha Carter was also the album where Baby and Slim gave Tunechi the keys to the house and put the label on his back as his Hot Boys brothers Juvenile, Turk and B.G. left the company. The album spawned the hits "Go D.J.," "I Miss My Dawgs" and "Bring It Back" and was the last Cash Money album produced by Mannie Fresh (so far).As Lil Wayne gears up for what he calls his "last" solo effort, Tha Carter V, read on for a look at...

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Lil Wayne, Tha Carter - Lil Wayne's first album after the breakup of The Hot Boys, Tha Carter featured early Weezy classics like "Go DJ" and "Tha Block Is Hot," proving he could hold his own without Juve, B.G. and Turk at his side.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

Juvenile, 400 Degreez - Juvenile's crowning achievment, this 1998 best seller was a breakthrough for both Cash Money and the Dirty South in general, with mega-hits like "Ha" and the ubiquitous "Back That Azz Up" reaching new heights of mainstream acceptance.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Juvenile, 400 Degreez - Juvenile's crowning achievment, this 1998 best seller was a breakthrough for both Cash Money and the Dirty South in general, with mega-hits like "Ha" and the ubiquitous "Back That Azz Up" reaching new heights of mainstream acceptance.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

Drake, Thank Me Later - The most anticipated debut album in years, Take Care exceeded Drake's sky-high mixtape heights by effectively matching him up with giants like Jay Z, Swizz Beatz and T.I.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Drake, Thank Me Later - The most anticipated debut album in years, Take Care exceeded Drake's sky-high mixtape heights by effectively matching him up with giants like Jay Z, Swizz Beatz and T.I.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III - Weezy's 2008 smash album was quite simply a monster, turning him into a household name via schizophrenically diverse hits that ranged from raw rap ("A Milli") to strip-club pop ("Lollipop").(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III - Weezy's 2008 smash album was quite simply a monster, turning him into a household name via schizophrenically diverse hits that ranged from raw rap ("A Milli") to strip-club pop ("Lollipop").(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Drake, Take Care - Drake's sophomore smash showed the new star confidently spreading his wings and horizons, plumbing even-more emotional depths (on songs like "Marvin's Room" and "Take Care"), and fearlessly exploring house, ambient, hyphy, and trap-rap production.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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Drake - Nothing Was The Same - Drake's Nothing Was The Same included hits like "Started from the Bottom;" "Worst Behavior;" "Hold on, We're Going Home" and "The Language." It more than holds its weight as an Album of the Year contender.(Photo: Young Money Records)

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Drake, Nothing Was the Same - Drake's third album found him hitting more aggressively with tracks like "Started From the Bottom" and "Worst Behavior" while he continued to push his musical boundaries as a melodious emcee with "Wu-Tang Forever" and the '80s dance/R&B record "Hold On (We're Going Home)," featuring OVO signees Majid Jordan.(Photo: Young Money Records)

 Lil Wayne, Tha Carter II - In many ways Weezy's best, most consistent album, this 2005 breakthrough — Wayne's first attempt at flowing without production from former Cash Money mainstay Mannie Fresh — proved the then 23-year-old was coming of age from teen sensation to imminent superstar.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)

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 Lil Wayne, Tha Carter II - In many ways Weezy's best, most consistent album, this 2005 breakthrough — Wayne's first attempt at flowing without production from former Cash Money mainstay Mannie Fresh — proved the then 23-year-old was coming of age from teen sensation to imminent superstar.(Photo: Courtesy Cash Money Records)