Birdman is regarded as one of the more successful rap moguls of his generation, having built Cash Money Records into one of the biggest record labels in the game. But during an appearance on Big Bank and DJ Scream’s Big Facts podcast, the New Orleans native spoke on his belief that he’s reached higher heights in the music industry than his peers in hip-hop, including Jay-Z, Diddy, and Russell Simmons.
“As a man, I accomplished more than all of them. And I don’t say that in a disrespectful way. I’m not trying to be disrespectful,” said Birdman. “But the reality of it is, none of these dudes accomplished more than me in the music business. Not one of them, I don’t care what name you say, accomplished more than me. That’s facts. No if, and, or buts about it.”
When asked if he feels his resume stacks up to the likes of Puff and Hov, the veteran mogul and rap star stood his ground while giving his counterparts their just due. “Man, he’s one of the ni**as that turned me up,” Birdman said of Diddy. “And I’ll never say anything negative about Puff. I’m not gonna deprive that he [put a lot of people on]. But I don’t think they did more than me. And you can ask him yourself, he’ll vouch for it. You can ask JAY-Z himself, he’ll vouch for it. They ain’t accomplished more than me in this music business and that’s facts. Sold, artists, yeah, I did that. Big bank, big boy. I did that, brother, no cap.”
Despite Cash Money accounting for over one billion records sold and accrued hundreds of millions of dollars, Birdman still feels as though he doesn’t get the same amount of praise as his peers, who are often lauded for their contributions to hip-hop culture and their business acumen.
“I ask myself those questions,” he says when asked why he’s not as revered as other CEOs in the game. “When you’re speaking of music, I should be the forefront of it. Not to say these other dudes ain’t accomplish nothing ’cause we got great men [who] did it before us, the Russell Simmons, all of ’em, the Jay-Zs. These ni**as did this shit before me, but they ain’t did more than me. I would never speak down on no ni**a, that ain’t my thing, I ain’t come up like that, but I just look at it like maybe my mission ain’t finished. Let me finish my mission because they honor these dudes more than me and I know for a fact nare one of ’em outsold me, accomplished more than me, did more than me and I say that humbly with respect ’cause I respect all those dudes who did it before me. But they never accomplished more than me, but I don’t get the gratitude for my accomplishments.”
According to Birdman, the fact that he’s a southern mogul, as opposed to being based on the west or east coasts, has played a part in him not receiving the same amount of flowers as others. “I’m a gangsta and I’m a south ni**a,” he explains. “Those coasts help their own and they ride for their coasts and I respect that. That’s how I think, but at the same time, it motivate me more than anything. It makes me wanna go harder.
“I don’t think none of these ni**as can outhustle me. Not a ni**a on planet earth in music. And I set the [standard]. And I’m not just feeling like that, this [is] facts. Pull it up, I do this shit for real. And I can say this here, I’ve blessed more lives than any one of them ni**as. I’ve blessed more lives than any one of these dudes that do what I do.”
In addition to tooting his own horn, Birdman also puts respect on the name of fellow CEOs like Master P and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, who he also feels hasn’t been as celebrated as their respective resumes merit.
Watch the full video of Birdman’s appearance on Big Facts podcast below.