Cash Money Records

Ronald "Slim" Williams and his younger brother Bryan grew up in New Orleans' hardscrabble Magnolia Projects; Calliope was its rival hood. Their mother died young, and, as youngsters, they worked in their father's neighborhood grocery store, where they learned bookkeeping. Like most kids from New Orleans, a city steeped in rich musical tradition, the Williams brothers gravitated towards the industry. So with a loan from their father, Ronald and Bryan formed Cash Money Records in the early 90s' and released albums by acts such as Kilo G, Pimp Daddy, and U.N.L.V. by 1996, however, they cleaned house and purged Cash Money's roster of all acts except for two youngsters: B.G., who signed with Cash Money at 11 years old, and the 12-year-old spitter Lil Wayne; Bryan "Baby" Willams became their legal guardian. Cash Money then signed the rapper Juvenile, who had a hot record, "Bounce (For The Juvenile)," back in 1992, and they also brought producer Mannie Fresh into the fold. Like Master P, they kept costs low, sold CDs out of car trunks, and were soon grabbing the attention of major labels. In 1997 Lil Wayne, B.G., Juvenile, and another young rapper named Turk formed a group called the Hot Boy$. Their debut album, Get It How U Live, sold more than 400,000 copies and made the Hot Boy$ local stars. And in 1998 Cash Money signed a P&D deal with Universal Records. Cash Money kept 85 percent of the royalties and 50 percent of its publishing. Unlike Master P, however, they took an advance, worth a reported 30$ million. It was quickly recouped. In November 1998 Juvenile released 400 Degreez, an album that encapsulated Cash Money's early days. The singles "Ha" and "Back That Azz Up" were versatile monster hits, perfect for both dingy strip clubs and pristine pop radio, and the album went quadruple-platinum. Mannie Fresh's production was key to Cash Money's success. He created a trunk-rattling groove with heavy synths and crackling 808 drums, perfectly matching the mutinous call-and-response choruses.