Mannie Fresh

Mannie Fresh supplies half the vision driving the Cash Money imprint, and his beats have shipped more than 23 million copies, a path that began with a father who worked the turntables. Immersed in sound from childhood, the New Orleans-born producer, rapper, and hip-hop executive resolved that any future job would involve the music he already cherished. He entered the scene in 1984 by joining New York Incorporated, widely regarded as the city’s first hip-hop collective. The dances he began spinning at that time quickly turned legendary and drew the notice of rapper Gregory D. The pair teamed up for what became the 1992 RCA release The Real Deal; local listeners embraced the project, yet it stayed largely confined to Southern audiences. Though the two stayed close personally, they parted company professionally, partly because Mannie objected to how major labels treated street-level rap. That break positioned him for an introduction to Brian “Baby” Williams, whose fledgling Cash Money roster offered an ideal next step. Baby, Juvenile, B.G., and Lil Wayne soon propelled the label upward, propelled in large measure by Mannie’s off-kilter yet vivid sound. By the close of the decade Cash Money stood as the leading Southern rap outfit, and Mannie joined Williams to launch their own duo, Big Tymers, in 1998, issuing a string of hit singles and albums. The same producer responsible for everything from Juvenile’s 400 Degreez to Teena Marie’s La Doña stepped forward solo in 2004 with the unpredictable The Mind of Mannie Fresh.