The five best Cash Money songs of all time
Founded in 1991, Cash Money Records is one of the most influential and impactful labels in the history of hip hop.
The label built its reputation by carving out a slice for itself in the thriving hip hop scene of the decade by cultivating a Southern sound that fused heavy bass and melodic flows.
Mere years later, founders Bryan ‘Birdman’ Williams and Ronald ‘Slim’ Williams saw the first wave of the success to come with the signing of producer Mannie Fresh alongside young artists Lil Wayne, Juvenile, BG, and Turk.
This eruption of Cash Money Records’ golden era reached a natural end, but there were future successes for the label. Lil Wayne became hip hop’s biggest star, and Drake and Nicki Minaj soon joined the scene. The rest, as they say, is history. Here are the five best Cash Money songs, from before 2006, naturally.
5. Hot Boys – ‘I Need a Hot Girl’
One of the definitive tracks of the Hot Boys era, ‘I Need a Hot Girl’ sees the collective, that’s Lil Wayne, Juvenile, BG, and Turk, exchanging bars over brilliant synthetic melodies and a heavy bass that has come to define not just the Mannie Fresh touch, but the label’s sound at the time.
Each rapper brings something different to the track that, while didn’t perform majorly on the charts, remains a staple of the Cash Money collective lore. This song “for the ladies” is tongue-in-cheek Southern chivalry on a wicked beat.
4. Lil Wayne feat Mannie Fresh – ‘Go DJ’
The second single from Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter album, the first of his Tha Carter series, became the rapper’s first solo hit, achieving number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs, and for good reason.
‘Go DJ’ triggered a new start not just for Lil Wayne, but for the label at large. Produced by Mannie Fresh, the track plays on a percussive beat built around a solid drum pattern and a mesmerising keyboard loop, allowing Lil Wayne to fully flesh out his rapping prowess.
3. Juvenile – ‘Ha’
What makes this a ground-breaking single in Southern hip hop? Multiple factors, actually, like Juvenile’s delivery, which has since become iconic in rap history, that is conversational, ending each sentence with “ha”, rooting the song in New Orleans slang.
Add in Mannie Fresh’s brilliant production (think excessive drums with melodic synths for a gritty sound that reflects the content of Juvenile’s lyrics), it is a raw and vivid portrayal of life in the Magnolia Projects. ‘Ha’ and its “ha”-s soon became Juvenile’s breakout single, and a testament to the ever-evolving imagination of the genre.
2. BG feat Hot Boys & Big Tymers – ‘Bling Bling’
Far from being the first hip hop artists to rap about bling, ‘Bling Bling’ takes the subject matter a step further and symbolises it in a celebration of Cash Money’s golden era. Endlessly quotable, actually, they were the first to introduce the concept of “bling bling” to the English language; it features not just yet more brilliant production work by Mannie, but an all-star lineup of the Cash Money Records gang, too.
And with lyrics explicitly detailing a thumping, brazenly wealthy lifestyle, it’s difficult not to see this as a metaphor for the label, too: this is the rappers at their most confident. The swagger is off the chain, if you pardon the pun.
1. Juvenile feat Lil Wayne & Mannie Fresh – ‘Back That Azz Up’
There’s a very strong argument to be made that this is the most iconic song of the Cash Money arsenal. It’s a brilliant party anthem that blends orchestra-style strings with New Orleans rhythms, creating a sound that was utterly fresh for its 1998 release.
Juvenile is at his most charismatic in this recording, and Lil Wayne, still, amazingly, a teenager, helps elevate this song into a genre classic. It was one of the first Southern rap songs to dominate radio, and has since become, rightfully, an iconic moment in time, as well as a timeless party record, for hip hop.