Birdman on discovering Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj and the birth of Cash Money Records.

They changed their lives, do you remember who influenced you? My influence came from my dad. He was everything he ever wanted to be. It was like he couldn't get me off the boss at home. So I always respected him for that because I was adopted. by a white family and I lived with them for over a year, so when I came back, when my brother, my sister and my dad came, it was like he was my role model, so as you can see, artificial intelligence has become a real thing in 2023 and I saw Drake's song. I've seen people talking about trying to make a Tupac album in AI.

I've seen Ice Cube talking about whether someone makes something with AI in my likeness. I am suing them for this news. AI I'm not too much, I'm not too into it, but I heard about it, yeah, so basically they, what is this AI? So AI is basically something that you can have on your phone and you can say a voice and then that voice. it repeats itself but it sounds like you're close but not quite right because I've heard some sound like I'm really a fan, you'll know that's not right, but it's also worked in different ways, we've had stories from people. calling your loved ones saying, "Hey, I'm in trouble, come pick me up" and or give them this ransom

money

using the voice of someone like your loved one, one of your children or whatever, call your phone number. so real way and it seems like to some someone it just happened like that, right, yes, they got it from a few, that's what I'm saying, as an artist, entrepreneur, CEO of a label that has had its fingerprints on so many artists , do you support AI, what does it do? what you feel about it I really have no knowledge of it I'm just hearing about it Not only am I like that um but if someone who takes credit for someone else's identity and hard work there's nothing good about it.

Okay, it's not good at all for me, I work too hard to be successful and I put in too many hours and too much. It's like playing any sport. To be a champion, it takes a lot of dedication to do the same with rap, it's like a professional sport. We have to put in a lot of time to be the best or one of the best to be successful at it, um and if someone takes part of that without doing slave labor or hard work, there's nothing good about that. Do you enjoy sports? Do you love sports?

Who are some of your favorite teams? Some of your favorite athletes. I have many favorite teams. I'm from New Orleans and I live in Miami so for me it's 3054 so I'm an I. I'm a pelican um Miami Heat um I was always a Saints I grew up in Kansas City because that's where my dad's from okay um like that that I'm a major um um baseball fan I like the Red Sox, that's my favorite baseball team, how about this one? And Miami just got Messi, who was great, that's crazy, right. I just saw Messi win the cup as the right man, Messi, a bad boy like him.

GNA brings a cup, he GNA brings something here, so you got Florida, them and hocky eight, yeah, the parents fighting there, yeah, they're doing their thing, so I appreciate you taking the time before I let you out of here. There's always something simple and symbolic about nicknames, so we broke down the number one stunner right when he did. you decided your name would be Birdman Birdman you come from the streets um I earned that name, it speaks for itself um I was a baby I was a baby because my mom never named me when I was in the hospital, she named me once I got out of the hospital. weeks or months later in the hospital so everyone in the neighborhood always calls me baby and I was born Brian Brooks that was my mom's name they adopted me and my name changed to Brian Williams so I'm pretty sure you know that that now started a It's a tradition for people to be named babies, so I want to ask you a fun question.

Can you name some of the babies in ENT mment? That's some of them, but I don't think it's like that, you start, yeah, it is, yeah. Are you the first one to think I'm original? I'm the original, but that's like people named Jaylen that their parents heard my name and got it from me. There's no way around it You, original baby, all babies. I respect them, I know, can you name a couple of babies? Okay, I'll start one for you. We ezy F baby, big facts, big facts, well, big facts, what about others? You have, you have the baby, you have a little baby, you know?

You know, I don't know a lot of them like that, but my brother's baby from Detroit, but yeah, okay, yeah, that's right, facts you started it all and I don't know if I've ever seen it like that. but that's where the original came from you I'm original I'm definitely original I'm old here but I'm still attractive and before I let you out here one more thing you brought to the game I just did this at the Heat game and when I realized it was coming to talk to you I thought I had stolen this. What do you think about when you see this?

Oh, that's my thing, that's my thing. I just had a habit of doing it because they always say yes to your hand. It itches, that means you are getting

money

, so when my hand itches a lot, I just rub them and it's my thing, I love doing it, it became a habit bro, and I can't stop it, I want to thank you. Future like that is one of my close friends and um, and I also had a lot of future in this game, that's why one of my best close friends in this game, a very, very crazy talent like Sky's The Living, he It's still Pluto. on another level with the gang, right, Pluto, on another level, who are some of the artists that you just mentioned, the future that you feel like he has now and the next young man in the NBA, for sure, him, him, definitely, definitely , one of them and, um, him, for sure.

As you know, it's time for GNA to say what it's going to be, but I already told him what it can be and what it has been, so I'm excited to see what my nephew is going to do and what his longevity will be. in this. game, so you have a lot of producers, um, you know your guy who also comes from my umbrella and what he does is very respectable and how he carries his achievements, but the game will never stop, brother, it will continue It's going to continue to rise and you know that this It's like a ghetto dream for us, this doesn't require proper education, but at some point education kicks in, mhm, because you're going to have to know how to do it and how to maintain it.

That's the most important thing is to be my age and older and you still have the right money and as we finish this I appreciate you taking the time when hip hop turns 50 there are so many artists that you've influenced so he It's on the hip. hop 50 true, but I still say they don't give compliments, they meant enough to me. I agree and I don't respect that about what they do in Hip Hop and um I will never respect it because the South I'm not G. to just tell us, I'm GNA, I say we in the South pay a huge wave to keep hip hop alive and I don't think they praise us enough and um, they always told me what they don't give us, we'll get it.

Anyway, but I don't respect him at all. I thought of that. I've seen a couple of tributes and I saw Uncle Luke talking about this and that man deserves a lot of respect for what he did. Yes, there is no doubt, and like yourself. in his own way, lyrics, label, big cre, lane, luk existed before we existed, right, that man was huge and played a big role in hip hop when nothing was showing up, no doubt, like he was going to court, He went to bat for that, right. and that's why you all don't know, that's why those parental advisory stickers are actually on the albums, they were locking them in, they were locking them in when they went to shows, see Theoris Tuckers and all of them.

I don't think they get the respect that we deserve, that's just my opinion and personally, those who don't like it, that's just my opinion and all the achievements that we made and that we made. I think we deserve more respect, but, um, respect. without but still, as long as we get the checks and win the money, I'm fine with that too, but still the recognition comes with the right game and I'll say like you know, I'll accept the awards, but I prefer the money. 'I prefer money to anything and in fact we get the money, there is no doubt that we will get the money but still, money comes with love and money comes with respect and we earn all those rights that we don't ask to nobody. to give us, we earn that, what are your top five record labels?

Because they don't really exist anymore, it's like clicks, it's like crws, it's like we make bouquet tracks, but it's not like we, the labels, and we all use the chain, um record labels. It has to be who did it before me um always Jay Princeon rapped a lot with someone I know uh Master P did his thing Jermaine depri did his thing Ru Riders did his thing um did his thing sh Knight did his thing Rockefeller did that, um I respect all these guys Russell Simmons There are no native pioneers for everyone so I respect them all, but I always felt like I could be better than all of them and I always thought I could even do it in he he did his thing.

I always thought that we were younger and that we could outlast them, that was my mentality when I was young and um, and we did well, you are the number one wonder. I want to congratulate you brother, thank you for taking the time, sincerely. man he keeps killing the game, yeah.