Bryan “Birdman” Williams is way out of your odd music mogul. Adorned in tattoos from head to toe, and wrapped in fancy diamonds, his non-traditional look has by no means been a hindrance to his ear for expertise. He’s helped craft the careers of hip-hop’s greatest stars within the ’90s and 2000s. The Scorching Boys, Juvenile, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne (in fact) all got here up from his tutelage – and his insistence that his expertise come as they’re. It labored, and it has continued to work, for Birdman in a means that has been unprecedented.
Take heed to the Wealthy Gang compilation now.
In 2013, nonetheless, the celebrities had been aligned in a means that many couldn’t have presumably predicted. Going through the triple menace of Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne, Money Cash had change into a juggernaut – toppling over the previous guard and offering a musical stability that no different label might muster on the time. Because the roster expanded at Money Cash, taking over the abilities of Wayne’s Younger Cash imprint, the hits continued – and the true power of the label is everywhere in the Wealthy Gang compilation album. It’s a launch that kicked open the door of what lots of people thought of a second peak interval in Money Cash’s decades-long reign, and solidified them as one of many coolest manufacturers in leisure, on and off wax.
By definition, Wealthy Gang is a mixture of the broadly increasing roster of the Money Cash/Younger Cash stars – combined with a few of Birdman’s closest associates and shock appearances from older acts. It’s an album the place he performs coach, placing collectively unlikely combos (Birdman and Kendrick Lamar? Limp Bizkit and Flo Rida? All truthful sport.) and launched the world to various contemporary acts. Mystikal kicks off the album with the ferocious “R.G.,” strengthening a bond between the label and their New Orleans roots, whereas membership bangers like “We Been On” and “Panties To The Side” highlighted Money Cash’s previous, current, and future. Then-surging Atlanta celebrity Future is featured on the poppy first single “Tapout,” the place he places his vulnerability and flexibility on full show thorughout the infectious refrain. With spectacular visitor spots from the likes of Rick Ross, Meek Mill, French Montana, and Busta Rhymes, Wealthy Gang not solely introduced the previous and new guard of hip-hop collectively, however proved how important a Money Cash characteristic actually is.
The album additionally served as a fast introduction to the multi-talented author/producer Element, who’s featured everywhere in the album. What’s most hanging is that with various completely different kinds on the album, it nonetheless felt surprisingly contemporary, even with a laundry listing of options on the tracklist. The one obtrusive omission from the album is Drake, who Birdman defined was “recording out of the country” whereas the challenge was created. Finally, it didn’t actually matter ultimately, Wealthy Gang compilation was closely supported by Lil Wayne and his YMCMB collective anyway. With Nicki Minaj starring within the aforementioned “Tapout,” this album additionally acted as a proving floor for longtime members like Tyga – who was simply coming into his personal after 2012’s “Rack City” catapulted him into stardom.
Birdman understood the ever-changing local weather in hip-hop; 2013 noticed the establishing of latest norms, some that Money Cash began themselves. To benefit from how omnipresent his model had change into, Child shortly launched a YMCMB and Wealthy Gang clothes line that had everybody from Drake to Justin Bieber rocking it. This was the 12 months that Money Cash, with over 500 million data offered in over 20 years, shed the picture of a typical “legacy” model and reimagined itself for the occasions. And below the imaginative and prescient of Birdman and the wealth of expertise at his disposal, nothing appeared inconceivable.
Take heed to the Wealthy Gang compilation now.
Editor’s be aware: This text was initially printed in 2018.
