Birdman

One of Southern rap’s most pivotal architects since the close of the 1990s, Cash Money Records co-founder Bryan Williams steps behind the microphone as Birdman. His verses routinely spotlight wealth, vehicles, and street-level ambition, yielding a sound marked by grandiosity, indulgence, and unapologetic excess that stands as a defining illustration of the Dirty South aesthetic. Across the years Williams has shaped the trajectories of numerous rap luminaries such as Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj. Recording since the early 1990s, he first gained traction as a solo artist near the decade’s end after launching the commercially potent duo Big Tymers. Still billed as Baby at that stage, he unveiled his initial solo project, the 2002 album Birdman. Once Big Tymers disbanded, he adopted the Birdman alias for 2005’s Fast Money, which climbed into the Top Ten. After the number-three-peaking joint effort with Lil Wayne, Like Father, Like Son, in 2006, he issued further solo recordings through the remainder of the 2000s. In the following decade he guided Cash Money’s star-studded Rich Gang initiative and dropped several joint mixtapes, among them the two volumes of Lost at Sea issued with Jacquees.

Williams established Cash Money alongside his sibling Ronald “Slim” Williams in 1991. Projects from B.G., the Hot Boys, Juvenile, and additional roster acts transformed the label into a dominant Dirty South force. Although Williams contributed vocals to the Hot Boys releases, his most enduring imprint came through his partnership with the imprint’s resident producer, Mannie Fresh. Together they assembled Big Tymers in 1997, issuing a string of albums that became regional touchstones. He stepped forward independently with the gold-certified Birdman—billed as Baby aka the #1 Stunna—in 2002. In the wake of that release he curated an urban footwear line for Lugz, supplied narration for the video game Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, and took a role in the 2005 feature Beauty Shop. Three years after his solo bow, Birdman delivered his follow-up full-length, Fast Money.

In 2006 he joined forces with his “surrogate son,” Lil Wayne, for the gold-certified Like Father, Like Son. The solo album 5 * Stunna arrived the next year, succeeded by Pricele$$ in 2009. Numerous singles surfaced across 2010 and 2011 in advance of the planned Bigga Than Life, yet the project was ultimately abandoned. In its place he issued collaborative mixtapes, among them The H: The Lost Album, Vol. 1, shared with Rick Ross in 2013. He also assembled Rich Gang, whose output incorporated appearances from Cash Money associates including Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan.

Birdman joined R&B singer/rapper Jacquees for the 2016 EP Lost at Sea, which was followed by the complete sequel Lost at Sea II in 2018. The subsequent year he rejoined Juvenile for the collaborative album Just Another Gangsta. Later in 2019 the pair linked with Lil Wayne for the single “Ride Dat.” Additional joint tracks emerged in 2020, among them “Plaques” with Young Greatness and “STUNNAMAN” featuring Roddy Ricch and Lil Wayne.