Lil Wayne and Birdman: From Makeups Through Breakups
These two have been through A LOT.
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A Rollercoaster of a Timeline - Weezy and Baby have seen good times and bad times. Currently, the duo is embroiled in a lawsuit for $51 million after Lil Wayne put his foot down and said he had enough. Tha Carter V hasn’t seen the light of day and the album — along with Lil Wayne — is being held captive by Cash Money Records, at least according to Wayne. How did we get to this point in the Lil Wayne and Birdman father/son-mentorship-relationship saga? Click through to see how it all started and where Baby and Weezy F. Baby stand now. — Janice Llamoca(Photo: birdman via Instagram)
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May 1993: Young Dwayne Carter Jr. Meets Birdman - (Even smaller) Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records later that year after meeting Bryan Williams aka Birdman aka Baby. This marks the beginning of Weezman’s father-son relationship. Yes, I just made up a couple name.(Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for BMI)
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July 1995: The B.G.’z Release Their First Album - Baby D (soon-to-be Lil Wayne) and Lil Doogie, together known as B.G.’z, release their first album with Cash Money. Reports say Weezy was 11 or 12.(Photo: Cash Money Records)
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August 1999: Cash Money at the Source Awards - The united Cash Money artists perform at the first televised Source Awards. This was Lil Wayne’s television debut. Bling and oversized white shirts were also fashionable in 1999.(Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)
Photo By Photo: Ron Galella
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November 1999: Lil Wayne Releases Debut Solo Album - The Block Is Hot debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.(Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)
Photo By Photo: Ron Galella
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February 2003: Young Money Is Born - There are conflicting years on when the label was actually formed: 2003 or 2005. Either way, around this time, Lil Wayne births his own label, Young Money Entertainment – future home of Drake and Nicki Minaj.(Photo: Young Money Cash Money)
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June 2004: Tha Carter Is Released - Lil Wayne’s album Tha Carter comes out and reaches No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The album is part one of five albums.(Photo: Cash Money Records)
Photo By Photo: Cash Money Records
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December 2004: Weezy Headed to Def Jam? - Back when Jay Z was the president and CEO of Def Jam, he began courting Lil Wayne to get him to sign to Def Jam Recordings. Like Birdman was really going to let that happen.(Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
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February 2005: Lil Wayne Re-signs to Cash Money - Weezy isn’t going anywhere. He re-signs to Cash Money Records.(Photo: Mark Weiss/WireImage)
Photo By Photo: Mark Weiss/WireImage
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December 2005: Tha Carter II Is Released - The album reaches No. 2 on the Billboard 200. (Photo: Cash Money/Universal)
Photo By Photo: Cash Money / Universal Records
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April 2006: Lil Wayne on Cash Money – 'I Get Fed' - In an interview with Vibe, Lil Wayne was asked if the label is withholding money from him. He responded, “I ain’t never seen anything like that. I heard about it, but I own everything. I wouldn’t be able to own anything without Cash Money Records. Every time I open my mouth, I get fed – no homo.” The question came about after a few artists left due to monetary reasons.(Photo: Vibe Magazine)
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August 2006: The Infamous Kiss - A photograph of Lil Wayne and Birdman kissing surfaces. According to a 2014 interview with Turk, this was a casual thing at Cash Money.(Photo: Ray Tamarra/Getty Images)
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October 2006: Like Father, Like Son - Like Father, Like Son’s lead single was titled “Stuntin Like My Daddy.” Peak Weezman.(Photo: Cash Money Records)
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June 2008: Tha Carter III Is Released - Over a million people felt compelled to buy Lil Wayne’s album in its first week of release. Was it the adorable tattooed face of baby Weezy on the cover that drove people to shell out their cash? Probably. Just look at him. Let his eyes hypnotize you.(Photo: Cash Money/Universal Motown)
Photo By Photo: Cash Money/Universal Motown
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August 2011: Tha Carter IV Is Released - The album becomes Wayne’s second album to top the Billboard 200 in its first week. It was recorded from 2008-2011 due to Weezy being in prison.(Photo: Young Money Records)
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April 2012: Lil Wayne Re-Signs to Cash Money - “I just re-signed with another four-album deal, so my next four albums is coming out with Cash Money,” the rapper said during an interview with MTV’s Hip Hop POV.(Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images)
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December 2014: Carter V Not Releasing, Lil Wayne Wants Out Of Cash Money - It was exactly like watching a live breakup (before the significant other had a chance to see it) on Twitter: Awkward and dramatic. Weezy told the world that Baby refuses to release Tha Carter V and calls himself a Cash Money prisoner. Will we ever get part five of Tha Carter series?
Photo By Photo: Lil Wayne via Twitter
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December 2014: New Year, New Us - Lil Wayne hung out with Birdman and rang in 2015 with him in Miami. Could this new year be a new beginning?(Photo: Thaddaeus McAdams/Getty Images)
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January 2015: The $51 Million Lawsuit - It wasn’t long before Lil Wayne took action. The beginning of this messy divorce started with Weezy filing a lawsuit asking a judge to end his contract with Cash Money Records and suing for $51 million. Breakups are expensive.(Photos from Left: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS, Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photo By Photos from Left: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS
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April 2015: Young Thug Gets Involved, Shooting Occurs - Cash Money artist Young Thug publicly feuds with Lil Wayne for most of 2015, but in April, Wayne’s tour bus gets shot at. Birdman and Young Thug are named in an indictment which alleges that the tour bus shooting was actually a murder-for-hire plot.(Photo: Prince Williams/WireImage)
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July 2015: Free Weezy - Lil Wayne releases The Free Weezy Album exclusively through Jay Z’s Tidal streaming service. *emoji slaps to the face*(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photo By Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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January 2016: Friend? Son? Together Again? - At Club LIV in Miami, Birdman got on the mic while standing next to Weezy and said “This is my motherf**king son and I’ma die for him, I’ma live for him and I’ll motherf**king kill for him. Ya heard me? That ain’t gon’ never change.” Romeo Miller, Master P's son, was in attendance that night. (Photo: Romeo Miller via Instagram)
Photo by @romeomiller via Instagram