Lil Wayne’s Manager: Carter V Was Going To Be Free
Update: Wayne has not been paid for “2 or 3” Drake albums.
Update, 10/16/16: Cortez Bryant clarified on Twitter that he was referring to previously released Drake albums for which Lil Wayne has not been compensated, not albums to be released this year.
Earlier:
Lil Wayne's manager Cortez Bryant recently sat down for an interview with the Rap Radar podcast and discussed Young Money's plans for the future and the status of Wayne's long-delayed Tha Carter V.
While discussing Young Money's financial status, Bryant let some big Drake news slip, claiming that Views won't be the only record that Drake releases in 2016. "[Young Money] is worth $51 million and more, now... With two or three Drake albums coming out this year, that pot's big," he said in the above clip, captured by @The6Track.
He also revealed details of the planned rollout for Tha Carter V. Bryant alleges that Wayne was not paid an advance for "Believe Me," the album's first single, released in 2014. Still, Wayne went ahead with the Drake Vs. Wayne tour, hoping the problems with the advance would be resolved. That didn't happen. "Even then, Wayne was on some 'I don't like it but hey, we're family'," Cortez said.
Wayne decided to release the album without the "Believe Me" advance, so Cortez entered discussions with Google to push the record as a free download. “This was before streaming really hit. We had a deal cut with Google where they were going to back the album and we were really gonna be able to give Carter V away for free, streaming. The deal was lucrative, you know what I'm saying? But when I presented it to Slim and Baby, they didn’t get it. They didn’t get streaming. They went to the powers that be, the label was against it because they hadn’t put their hands in the pockets yet, they had no control over it, and they basically told me we can’t put the album out. And when I had to tell Wayne that, he was like 'What?' He was like, ‘You can’t stop me, you can’t hold me back, my fans don’t deserve this and I’m about to air it out.'”
Bryant said that Carter V is Wayne's "marquee" release. "The music is incredible. It's done... I don't wanna put it out until I make sure that it could be properly marketed and supported the right way."
Watch the full interview below via XXL. Yesterday, Wizkid hinted that he might have new music with Drake on the way. Recently, Drake was forced to postpone tour dates after an ankle injury. A representative for Drake was not immediately available for comment.