Interview: Birdman Talks Nicki Minaj Retiring, Signing Chief Keef, Drake's Next Album, and Lil Wayne Falling Off

The YMCMB boss opens up about the state of affairs at his label.

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Complex Original

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Last night, Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams celebrated the release of Payback Ain't Enough, the new book by bestselling author Wahida Clark, and the latest from their publishing company, Cash Money Content.

Despite these developments, music remains YMCMB's main draw, and it's been a busy week for the label, with each of its flagship artists making headlines to varying degrees of exuberance. Nicki Minaj has gone through what resembles a minor meltdown, Chief Keef has been solicited for a record deal via Twitter, Drake started talking about his next album, Lil Wayne dropped another polarizing guest verse, and Mystikal is going back to jail.

We had to sift through a thick crowd at the Ink48 hotel rooftop to get a minute with the Cash Money co-founder, but there was no way we'd let Birdman leave the building without getting his opinion on the hot-button issues relevant to his colleagues. Find out what he had to say in our brief conversation below.

Interview by Ernest Baker (@newbornrodeo)

Will you let Nicki Minaj retire from music?
That's her choice, her decision. I don't think Nicki is ready to retire. She really just started. I don't see that in the near future for her at all right now.

Are you going to sign Chief Keef?
I like young boy Chief. I think he's a great young talent. I sent my hand out to him. We'll see what happens.

What can we expect from Drake's next album?
Drake is one of the most talented people I've gotten to know in my life. You never know with Drizzy. Drizzy's such a special talent. You can expect him to be creative and do something that's never been done. I think Drake is the future of music.

What's your response to people who say Lil Wayne has fallen off?
We do music for people who appreciate it. That's all we can do. Keep working hard, keep grinding. Everybody is entitled to their opinion but we do what we do. We sell millions of records. Ain't nobody ever put up the numbers we put up. That's one to a million. That don't really matter matter.

How do you feel about Mystikal going back to jail so soon?
Shit happens, bruh. All I can do and all we can do as a brand is just support him. When a nigga doing time, it's important  that families be there. That's when you see who means something to you in life, when you down. We gon' be there with him. We been there before. We know how that go. We do as much music as we can before he go, if he have to go, but besides that, when he come home, it's right back at it. The same day that concrete touch, the same day we putting out music.

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