American record label
Record label
Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne in 2005. It was launched as an imprint of Cash Money Records — a joint venture colloquially branded as Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (abbreviated as YMCMB) — and Republic Records until 2018, after which the label operated severally as an imprint of latter. Wayne's longtime affiliate, rapper Mack Maine was appointed the company's president in 2009.
The label has released sixteen albums which peaked the Billboard 200 chart upon release: Tha Carter III , I Am Not a Human Being , Tha Carter IV , Tha Carter V , and Funeral by Lil Wayne; Thank Me Later , Take Care , Nothing Was the Same , If You're Reading This It's Too Late , What a Time to Be Alive (along with Epic Records artist Future ), Views , More Life , and Scorpion by Drake ; and Pink Friday and Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded by Nicki Minaj .
Since its formation, the label has signed and released projects for artists including Wayne himself, Nicki Minaj , Drake , Tyga , DJ Khaled , Austin Mahone , Cory Gunz , Gudda Gudda , and Jae Millz , among others. The label is the namesake of a supergroup that has released three studio albums — We Are Young Money (2009), Rich Gang (2013; with Cash Money Records), and Young Money: Rise of an Empire (2014).
Lil Wayne founded the label in 2005 and remained president until 2007.
The label was formed in 2005. In 2007, In an interview with Vibe magazine, Lil Wayne detailed he stepped down as President of the label, and had given the position to Cortez Bryant.[ 1] As of 2009, Mack Maine is serving as president.[ 2] Canadian rapper Drake signed a joint venture between Cash Money Records and Young Money. President Mack Maine confirmed that Omarion was no longer on the label after many rumours were circulating the internet.
To promote the label's first collaboration album, We Are Young Money , Young Money artists embarked on the Young Money Tour.[ 3] The collaborative album was released on December 21, 2009, and debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 142,000 copies in its first-week sales.[ 4] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling over a shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States.[ 5]
We Are Young Money featured the highly successful single "BedRock ", which debuted at thirty six on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending December 12, 2009.[ 6] On the week ending March 13, 2010, the song reached a peak of two, making it the most successful single by the group on the chart.[ 7]
"BedRock" debuted in the UK Singles Chart on February 6, 2010, at forty.[ 8] On March 6, 2010, the single climbed to twenty two,[ 9] and the subsequent week the single climbed to eighteen, marking Young Money's first Top 20 hit in the UK.[ 10] Peaking at number nine on April 3, 2010, making it Young Money's first Top 10 hit in the UK.[ 11]
The label had three of the top 10 highest 2010 hip hop album sales with Drake's Thank Me Later , and Lil Wayne's Rebirth and I Am Not a Human Being .[ 12]
On March 6, 2010, Lil Wayne confirmed that rapper Cory Gunz was the latest artist to sign.[citation needed ] In 2011, Konvict Muzik artist T-Pain signed to the Young Money roster after he and Akon agreed to part ways after his last Konvict release RevolveR . Later that year, T-Pain revealed that he was close to signing a deal with Young Money, but it never concluded.[ 13] In November 2011, Lil Wayne introduced 14-year-old singer Torion Sellers to Young Money.[ 14]
On February 15, 2013, Mack Maine announced group We the Future and Lil Wayne's 14-year-old daughter Reginae Carter had signed to Young Money.[ 15] In the same year, Young Money released Lil Wayne's I Am Not a Human Being II , Tyga 's Hotel California and Drake's Nothing Was the Same on March 26, April 7, and September 24, respectively.
In December 2012 Mack Maine announced a second Young Money album would be released.[ 16] In February 2013, label co-owner Birdman released a compilation mixtape with Cash Money and Young Money titled Rich Gang: All Stars . Shortly after, Birdman announced compilation album Rich Gang and its schedule for release to be on May 21, 2013. He added Rich Gang would feature members of Cash Money, Young Money and various Young Money collaborators.[ 17] The first single from the project, "Tapout", was released on March 12, 2013, and featured Lil Wayne, Future , Mack Maine , and Nicki Minaj and produced by 808 Mafia 's Southside and TM88 .[ 18] The album would then be pushed back to July 23, 2013.[ 19]
On January 22, 2014, it was revealed that Young Money would be releasing their own compilation album on March 11, 2014, titled Young Money: Rise of an Empire . That same day, the first single "We Alright " featuring Lil Wayne, Birdman and Euro was released. Drake's Nothing Was the Same leftover "Trophies " would also be included on the album.[ 20]
The album's second single, "Senile ", was released February 14, 2014. It is by Tyga, Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne and was produced by David D.A. Doman.[ 21] "Trophies" and Minaj's "Lookin Ass " were met with more chart success than the first two singles.
After years of tensions with Birdman and Universal Music Group over unpaid advances and rights to his catalogue, Lil Wayne filed for lawsuit in 2015 initially for $51 million.[ 22] In 2018, Lil Wayne and Universal settled, which detailed Lil Wayne would be compensated over $10 million from previously failed payments, and Young Money's ownership would be transferred from Cash Money to Universal directly.[ 23] [ 24] Additionally, Birdman's 49 percent ownership in Young Money would be transferred to Wayne, which took effect on September 13, 2018.
In June 2020, Lil Wayne, through the Young Money name, sold his master recordings in a settlement from Republic Records to its overhead company, Universal Music Group for $100 million.[ 25] [ 26] It was confirmed later in December that the settlement not only included his masters, but also the entire Young Money Entertainment catalog, including Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga, among other artists in their roster.[ 25] [ 27] As of December 2020, UMG reportedly owns all of Drake's pre-2018 album catalogue that has been released with the Young Money record label.[ 28]
Other charted songs [ edit ]
Year
Title
Peak chart positions
Certifications
Album
US [ 46]
US R&B [ 47]
US Rap [ 48]
2009
"Pass the Dutch"(featuring Short Dawg)
—
119
—
We Are Young Money
"Steady Mobbin'"(featuring Gucci Mane )
48
17
6
"Gooder"
109
—
—
2014
"Senile"
—
50
—
Young Money: Rise of an Empire
"Moment"
—
57
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
^ Checkoway, Laura (October 2, 2007). "Weezy F. Baby: Uncut" . Vibe . Archived from the original on June 11, 2008.
^ Fleischer, Adam. Mack Maine: Mainstreamin' Archived April 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , XXL . Published January 16, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
^ "Lil Wayne to Drop 3 Albums This Year?" . Rap-Up . October 10, 2009. Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
^ "Young Money Racks Up 142K in First Week Sales, 127K Eminem Fans Order Refill" . XXL Mag .
^ "American album certifications – Young Money – We Are Young Money" . Recording Industry Association of America . May 24, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2011 .
^ "Hot 100 - March 12, 2010" . Billboard . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ "Hot 100 - March 13, 2010" . Billboard . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ "TOP 40 OFFICIAL UK SINGLES ARCHIVE" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ "TOP 40 OFFICIAL UK SINGLES ARCHIVE" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ "Top 40 official uk singles archive" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ "TOP 40 OFFICIAL UK SINGLES ARCHIVE" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved December 25, 2010 .
^ JACOBS, ALLEN (July 15, 2010). "Young Money, Eminem Dominate Half-Year Top Album Sales" . Retrieved December 13, 2010 .
^ Vasquez, Andres (July 14, 2011). "Akon Supports T-Pain's Decision To Join Young Money" . HipHop DX . Retrieved November 21, 2011 .
^ Horowitz, Steven J. (November 21, 2011). "Lil Wayne Announces Newest Young Money Member, Fourteen-Year-Old Torion Sellers" . HipHop DX . Retrieved November 22, 2011 .
^ Horowitz, Steven J. (February 15, 2013). "Lil Wayne Signs His Daughter Reginae Carter To Young Money | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales" . HipHop DX. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "Twitter / mackmaine: We Are Young Money Vol 2" . Twitter.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ Harling, Danielle (March 12, 2013). "Tyga "Hotel California" Tracklist & Cover Art" . Hiphopdx.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "Listen: Birdman f/ Lil Wayne, Future, Mack Maine, and Nicki Minaj "Tapout" " . Complex . Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "New Video: Rich Gang (Birdman, Lil' Wayne, Future, Mack Maine & Nicki Minaj) "Tapout" " . MissInfo.tv. May 5, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "Young Money Readies 'Rise of an Empire' Compilation for March" . Rap-Up .
^ "Artwork: Lil Wayne, Tyga & Nicki Minaj – Senile (Single)" . mypinkfriday.com .
^ "Lil Wayne receives big payout from Universal" . June 7, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
^ Holmes, Charles (September 13, 2018). "Lil Wayne Talks Childhood Suicide Attempt, Owning Young Money – Rolling Stone" . Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
^ Burks, Tosten (September 13, 2018). "Lil Wayne Has Become the Sole Owner of Young Money - XXL" . XXL . Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
^ a b Ingham, Tim (December 16, 2020). "Universal Music Group acquired Young Money catalog for over $100m in June (says Lil Wayne's ex-manager, who's suing him for $20m)" . Music Business Worldwide . Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ Osei, Sarah (December 18, 2020). "Lil Wayne Sold Drake & Nicki Minaj Masters for $100 Million" . Highsnobiety . Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ Saint-Vil, Sweenie (December 17, 2020). "Lil Wayne reportedly sold Young Money catalog along with his masters" . REVOLT . Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ "Report: Lil Wayne's UMG Deal Includes Drake and Nicki Minaj's Masters" . Rap-Up . Retrieved December 21, 2020 .
^ Patrick Bowman (August 30, 2013). "Austin Mahone Becomes YMCMB's Newest Member" . Idolator.com. Retrieved November 7, 2013 .
^ "Chanel West Coast Announces She Is Signed To Young Money Entertainment" . Young Money HQ. May 1, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "The Olympicks Sign to Cash Money/Young Money" . Hotnewhiphop.com. Retrieved August 25, 2013 .
^ Nolan Strong (August 27, 2012). "Young Money/Cash Money Signs Production Crew The Olympicks" . AllHipHop.com . Retrieved August 25, 2013 .
^ Peak chart positions for compilation albums on the Billboard 200 chart:
^ Peak chart positions for compilation albums on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart:
^ Peak chart positions for compilation albums on the Rap Albums chart:
^ Jeffries, David. "We Are Young Money – Young Money" . AllMusic . Rovi Corporation .
^ "American album certifications – Young Money – We Are Young Money" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved February 3, 2023 .
^ Jeffries, David. "Rich Gang – Rich Gang" . AllMusic . Rovi Corporation .
^ Jeffries, David. "Rise of an Empire – Young Money" . AllMusic . Rovi Corporation .
^ Peak chart positions for singles in the United States:
^ Peak chart positions for Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the United States:
^ Peak chart positions for Rap Songs in the United States:
^ a b c "Young Money searchable database" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 7, 2023 .
^ a b "British certifications – Young Money" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved February 3, 2023 . Type Young Money in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Rich Gang searchable database" . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved February 22, 2014 .
^ Peak chart positions for other charted songs in the United States:
^ Peak chart positions for other charted R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the United States:
^ Peak chart positions for other charted Rap Songs in the United States:
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Tha Carter III in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III" . Music Canada .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – So Far Gone" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "American album certifications – Young Money – We Are Young Money" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – Rebirth" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ Grein, Paul (September 7, 2011). "Week Ending Sept. 4, 2011. Albums: Weezy Does It | Chart Watch - Archives - Yahoo! Music" . Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – Thank Me Later" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Drake – Thank Me Later" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Thank Me Later in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ ^ Jacobs, Allen. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/13/2011". Hip Hop DX. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – I Am Not a Human Being" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association .
^ "British album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Pink Friday in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "American certifications – Minaj, Nicki". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 10, 2011
^ "Certified Awards" . bpi.co.uk . Archived from the original on March 15, 2015.
^ " 'Pink Friday': Nicki Minaj Makes Top Selling Albums Of The Decade Tally – That Grape Juice.net – Thirsty?" . ..::That Grape Juice.net::.. – Thirsty? .
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Tha Carter IV in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "American album certifications – Drake – Take Care" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Drake – Take Care" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Take Care in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ a b Jacobs, Allen (May 2, 2012). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/29/2012 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales" . HipHop DX. Retrieved August 7, 2013 .
^ "American album certifications – Tyga – Careless World: Rise of the Last King" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association .
^ "British album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "The Irish Charts - 2012 Certification Awards - Platinum" . Irish Recorded Music Association .
^ "Hip-Hop Album Sales" . Retrieved June 1, 2014 .
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – I Am Not a Human Being II" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "Canadian album certifications – Lil Wayne – I Am Not a Human Being II" . Music Canada .
^ Paine, Jake (July 31, 2013). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 7/28/2013 | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales" . HipHop DX. Retrieved August 25, 2013 .
^ "American album certifications – Tyga – Hotel California" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/14/2013" . HipHopDX . Retrieved April 17, 2013 .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – Nothing Was The Same" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Drake – Nothing Was The Same" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Nothing Was The Same in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – Nothing Was The Same" . Music Canada .
^ "Drake's 'Nothing Was The Same' Passes 1 Million In Sales" . Billboard . Retrieved November 7, 2013 .
^ BBC (September 29, 2013). "Kings of Leon ride high in album chart" . BBC News . BBC News. Retrieved September 29, 2013 .
^ "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type The Pinkprint in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Danish album certifications – Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 24, 2015 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan .
^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2015 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry .
^ "British album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type If You're Reading This It's Too Late in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Danish album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" . Music Canada .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – If You're Reading This It's Too Late" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "2015 Nielsen Mid-Year Music Canada Report" (PDF) . Nielsen . p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015 .
^ Smith, Trevor (October 14, 2015). "Charts Don't Lie: October 14" . HotNewHipHop . Retrieved October 18, 2015 .
^ "British album certifications – Tyga – Fan of a Fan: The Album" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Fan of a Fan: The Album in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Danish album certifications – Tyga – Fan of a Fan: The Album" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "British album certifications – Drake – What a Time to Be Alive" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type What a Time to Be Alive in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Danish album certifications – Drake – What a Time to Be Alive" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – What a Time to Be Alive" . Music Canada .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – What a Time to Be Alive" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association .
^ "British album certifications – Drake – Views" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Views in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . Type Drake in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Views in the box under the TÍTULO column heading .
^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Drake; ' Views' )" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie .
^ "Italian album certifications – Drake – Views" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Views" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
^ "Austrian album certifications – Drake – Views" (in German). IFPI Austria.
^ "Danish album certifications – Drake – Views" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – Views" . Music Canada .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – Views" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "French album certifications – Drake – Views" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique .
^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2017 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry .
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Albums" (PDF) . Australian Recording Industry Association .
^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2020" . Ultratop . Hung Medien.
^ "British album certifications – Drake – Scorpion" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Scorpion in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "Italian album certifications – Drake – Scoprion" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Scoprion" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
^ "Danish album certifications – Drake – Scoprion" . IFPI Danmark . Scroll through the page-list below to obtain certification.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Drake – Scoprion" . Music Canada .
^ "Brazilian album certifications – Drake – Scorpion" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil .
^ "French album certifications – Drake – Scorpion" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique .
^ "American album certifications – Drake – Scorpion" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Drake – Scoprion" . Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved November 20, 2024 .
^ Nguyen, Albert (July 29, 2018). "Drake's 'Scorpion' Spends Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart, Wiz Khalifa Bows at No. 2" . Billboard . Retrieved September 14, 2018 .
^ "American album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Queen" . Recording Industry Association of America .
^ "British album certifications – Nicki Minaj – Queen" . British Phonographic Industry . Select albums in the Format field. Type Queen in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ "American album certifications – Lil Wayne – Funeral" . Recording Industry Association of America .
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