Defsounds

Bryan "Baby" Williams also known as the Birdman, in a recent interview discussed his feelings on his ability to rap, problems that met his Cash Money label, new album, and his son Lil Wayne.

According to the Miami News, Baby discussed in a move that's rare in the unabashedly arrogant culture of hip-hop, admits he was aware of his flaws. "I felt like I couldn't rap, and I was around these li'l niggas and I felt like they could bag me up with rappin'," he says. "The only thing to do was for me to shine. I felt like I needed to be a jewelry nigga, a car nigga, to stand out from everybody." He and Fresh flaunted mega-mansions and fleets of cars on MTV's celebrity pissing contest, Cribs, but when Fresh departed in 2005, claiming still-unsubstantiated monetary misconduct, once again Birdman was left holding the bag. But to a guy who has consistently proven his skill of making cake out of shit, change is always good.

Speaking on his label, Birdman stated that all big labels met their demise such as Master P's No Limit, Diddy's Badboy and NWA. Cash Money Millionaires were no different. Around 2001, original members BG, Turk, and Juvenile all jumped ship amid allegations of financial mishandling. Birdman was handed the blame. But several years later, it seems there's no love lost on his part.

"I'ma tell ya this here, bebe. Hopefully I'ma put that shit back together," he says. "And I'll do it just to show that you know a nigga ain't trippin'. I'm a hustla, I'm grown, you know. I been doing this. They need a nigga, ya heard me. They out in that world drownin' like a mothafucka, ya heard me."

Speaking on Fresh leaving the label, Baby says, "I think it was a gift and a curse."" The curse is 'cause I never would have wanted it to be like that, 'cause I came up with him. But the gift was once I let the shit go, it gave us an opportunity to start molding our talent," he says. "Now we get to pick what we like and what we think people like."

Since then, "we" has meant Birdman and Lil Wayne, the last original Hot Boy standing. Wayne was never a Lil like Bow Wow or Romeo. He was always a manchild, even at the age of 11, when Birdman took him under his wing. And Birdman insists he always knew Wayne would be a star.

"Wayne never stopped," he explains. "He take it like a professional; he never stop working and that's why he where he is. And besides that, the li'l nigga super gifted, extra-smart, talented like a mothafucka. You know it's possible that they can have another Wayne come out, but what he 'bout to do is a miracle for us to see. We was fortunate to grow up on Tupac, but he died young. This shit Wayne got bigger that. Bigger than Tupac, bigger than Biggie and Jay-Z. It's crazy."

In 1999, when Wayne went on record and told grown men to "separate me from the fake" and that they "better vacate the premises," it seemed he was issuing a call to foes in the street. But looking back, it was clear that Wayne's statement was prophetic and that he was talking to cats in the game right now. Currently his career is unparalleled. Now 13 years in the business without having fizzled out, he boasts a voice that is flooding Top 40 radio stations as well as tracks featuring him alongside Beyoncé and Britney. And he still maintains the underground cred that made him famous.

With the release of his latest album, 5 Star, slated for release December 18, and his contract with Universal up at the end of the year, more changes are undoubtedly on the horizon. But one thing he promises won't change is his presence in the industry. "This is our way of life, so this shit ain't goin' nowhere. We want it so bad, so we gonna go real hard regardless."