In the history of hip-hop, no label has had the success of Cash Money. The baby of Slim and Baby is one of the most successful empires in rap music. Through multiple generations, Cash Money—which started with a 15-year-old rapper named Kilo G—has defined the sound of popular hip-hop, transcending our greatest icons, producing lasting stars that defied the critics and transformed the shape of the genre. And, as much as Baby and Slim deserve credit, the first half of the company's history depended entirely on the genius of Mannie Fresh for its success.
From its early days as an innovator creating gangster rap in a bounce city, to the arrival of the Hot Boyz and the Big Tymers of Cash Money's golden age; from the landmark deal with Universal that forced major labels to deal on the artists' terms, to the rise of Lil Wayne as not just the genre's greatest talent but its most popular one as well; from "A Milli" to the emergence of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Young Money as superstars in an era where almost every other rapper struggles to breach the Top 40, YMCMB has sustained.
On October 26th, at ComplexCon, Cash Money will go head-to-head against No Limit in the latest Verzuz battle. In preparation for that showdown (tickets are still available), we’ve put together a list of the greatest Cash Money songs of all time.
Before we dive in, a couple of caveats: We’re only including songs that came out before 2006—around the time Mannie Fresh parted ways with the label.
That’s because, quite frankly, the rise of Lil Wayne as the biggest superstar in rap—and by extension, the emergence of Young Money, Drake and Nicki Minaj—is somewhat divorced from what late '90s and early 2000s Cash Money was all about (and what’s likely to be represented at Verzuz in Las Vegas).
With that being said, here's the 25 best Cash Money songs of all time.
[An original version of this story was published on August 7th, 2014. It has since been updated.]
25.Juvenile Feat. Baby, “Bounce Back” (2004)
Album: Juve the Great
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Juvenile's Project English was underwhelming creatively and commercially.
After the multi-platinum 400 Degreez and platinum Tha G-Code, it only went gold, which in those days was a definite sign of waning relevance.
Soon after, he fell out with Baby and Slim. But he soon—if only briefly—returned, and Juve the Great was a real comeback: his rap style had a more mature edge, his vocals deepening. Mannie Fresh was no longer the album's only producer. And of course “Slow Motion” became a No. 1 hit record, helping shift the album to platinum status.
“Bounce Back” was the record's third single, a Mannie Fresh-produced, Cameo-sampling, sunny day pop song. The song feels like the album's spirit, as well as a reference to Juvenile's origins as a bounce artist. The song's bright mood seems to push his lyrics into clearheaded optimism: “Try to be here to see my seeds, when they have they seeds/As long as I breathe, there ain't nothing in this world that they can't be.”
24.Magnolia Shorty, “Monkey on tha Dick” (1997)
Album: Monkey on the D$ck
Producer: Mannie Fresh
A bounce classic, “Monkey on tha Dick” is probably—and unfairly—more known today for its cover art than its music.
But Magnolia Shorty's song sustains, its charms unaffected by the passage of time. Slipping right in between the twin poles of effortless amateurism and rehearsed technique, the song sounds at once tossed off and impossible to imitate. Mannie Fresh's beat, meanwhile, has a sparkling atmosphere reminiscent of Detroit techno as much as rap music, while the drums could come from nowhere but New Orleans.
Along with Ms. Tee, Magnolia Shorty was one of the first female rappers signed to Cash Money, and Monkey on tha D$ck would be the label's last pure bounce record. Tragically, Magnolia Shorty—who got her name from fellow Magnolia projects rapper Soulja Slim—was murdered in 2010 at the far too young age of 28.
23.B.G. Feat. Lil Wayne & Juvenile, “Niggaz in Trouble” (1999)
Album: Chopper City in the Ghetto
Producer: Mannie Fresh
The Hot Boyz's music was often at its best at its most propulsive, each rapper darting across the beat with brutal inevitability. B.G.'s Chopper City in the Ghetto, one of the most consistent records in the Hot Boyz canon, was a collage of action snapshots. And “Niggaz in Trouble” was one of the album's best collisions of music and message, a beat so fast its vocals layered as if the record's momentum were moving out from underneath it. The beat jumps from distorted bass to sudden slamming orchestra hits to panting breath over drums.
Although early Wayne is often disparaged, his bars here, spit in short bursts, are often clever (“When I creep through the black in the black-on-black”). Juvenile's verse jumps to different narrative positions, from first person to a neighbor calling the cops to an older gangster dishing advice: “But remember this, you started this, so finish this/When you grab your shit better make sure that you hit.”
Up against tough competition in a song singularly focused on murder, it's B.G. whose verse is the most viscerally unnerving, promising to duct tape his victim and throw acid and gasoline on his face before ending with the ultimate disrespect: “Cut his tongue out and stamp it, mail it to his mom.”
22.Lil Wayne, “Tha Block Is Hot” (1999)
Album: Tha Block Is Hot
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Hollygrove native Lil Wayne wasn't remotely a household name when his debut album was released in 1999. At that point, Cash Money had established itself as a force to be reckoned with; they'd had numerous Billboard smashes since Juvenile's 400 Degreez emerged the previous year. It was, no doubt, part of why B.G. and Juvenile—at that point, much, much bigger stars than Wayne—appeared on the record's chorus.
Wayne's verses at this point were solid if a bit pro forma; there are some moments of solid imagery, such as when Wayne ducks the cops into Ms. Taylor's yard and has to hide because she's on the porch. Mannie Fresh's production is distinct as ever and elevates the material around it. Wayne's vocals have the scratchy texture of B.G. and bounce with a sloppier rhythmic sense than Juvenile. Anyone who says they foresaw his future is a liar. But at this point, his career was in its nascent stages. His narratives had a kinetic energy, the feeling of non-stop actions causing reactions. There was no time for punchlines or cerebral reflection; it was all a blur of jump cuts.
21.Juvenile Feat. Mannie Fresh, “In My Life” (2003)
Album: Juve the Great
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Juvenile went from being one of rap music's biggest stars to leaving his label after 2001's Project English.
Along with his UTP crew, he stuck to underground releases before reuniting with Baby and Mannie for 2003's strong comeback record Juve the Great. Lead single “In My Life” was a minor hit—certainly in comparison to its No. 1 smash follow-up—but at the time, felt like a refreshing approach. Mannie's new sound (and new introductory patter) drained some of the glimmer from the late-'90s excess, relying on a grimmer, menacing flavor. Juvenile, meanwhile, seemed to deepen and center his voice, rounding out his words and letting his drawl sink into each syllable. The strongest facet of the record, though, is its chorus, in which Mannie's boasts trade off with Juvenile's commands.
20.Lil Wayne Feat. Big Tymers, Mack 10 & Mikkey Halsted, “Shine” (2000)
Album: Lights Out
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Before he became a true solo star, “Shine” was Lil Wayne's peak pop moment. With a sunbeam of a beat from Mannie, the song's earnest giddiness was so bright as to be blinding. The beat has the elastic bounce of a tiny rubber ball, and its effusive catchiness has virtually no competition in the Cash Money catalog. It's a celebration of the good life and proof of Mannie's pure pop brilliance.
Lil Wayne is also on the song, of course, as is West Coast gangster Mack 10. And it's not like there aren't quotable lines in abundance, from Wayne's “All these carats like I'm a fuckin' vegetarian” to Mikkey Halsted's “The ice is blue, the Remy is red, haters turn green, queens wanna give me some head” (see the video version). But at the end of the day, it's the hook and beat that make this record a classic, a Mannie assembly line record more powerful than Prozac.
19.Big Tymers, “Big Ballin'” (1998)
Album: How You Luv That Vol. 2
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Balling was a lot more than a hobby to Cash Money Records, which was on the verge of taking over the rap game when the Big Tymers' definitive rap record was released. Packed with quotable lyrics and riding a bouncing synthesized horn line, “Big Ballin'” captures the duo's effortless humor and panache, and even argues they've been underrated.
In many ways, the record is an old school throwback: not only does Mannie paraphrase Run-DMC’s “Sucker MCs,” but the two trade verses like an old routine, spit origin stories, and shout out friends from the neighborhood.
Quotables abound, with Baby rapping believably about being fronted kilos before slipping into a “Broken Language” type flow: “Titty-watcher, ho-stopper, VCR tape popper, neighborhood naked flick watcher.” The quote that stands out the most now—knowing how things turned out—has to be this prophetic gem from Baby: “And Cash Money Records gonna run the nation with these hits, and playa, you can believe that shit.”
18.Cash Money Millionaires, “Project Bitch” (2000)
Album: Baller Blockin'
Producer: Mannie Fresh
At times, Mannie Fresh could be one of hip-hop's most whimsical producers, with range and versatility in his heyday that rivaled the genre's greatest beatmakers.
Never was that more clear than on the ludicrous “Project Bitch,” which rode bubble sound effects, tiny pizzicato string plucks, and of course one direct, unforgettable synth-horn riff into our eardrums for eternity. The Hot Boys and Baby were never the most strident students of etiquette, but Mannie knew that the right canvas for that kind of bawdy irreverence was undeniable catchiness mixed with a strong dose of absurdity.
17.Juvenile, “Solja Rag” (1997)
Album: Solja Rags
Producer: Mannie Fresh
“That was the song that set it off,” Juvenile once told Complex, discussing how his second album sold 200,000 copies and helped set the table for the label's landmark Universal deal. “That’s what gave me the idea to start making records like that. Just rhyming in patterns that’s different and odd. The first time you might not like it, but if you listen to it two or three times it’ll get ya.”
“Solja Rag” sounds today like a proto-“Ha” joint, from its second-person POV to those unexpected flows to, well, some of the same lyrics. Underrated is Mannie's beat, which sounds like the last gasp of a patient in the ER as parade whistles ring out.
16.Birdman Feat. Lil Wayne, “Neck of the Woods” (2005)
Album: Fast Money
Producer: Batman
One year after the release of Lil Wayne's breakout Tha Carter, Baby—now officially re-christened Birdman—dropped Fast Money, his third solo album. Much like Tha Carter, the optimistic, club-ready uptempo of the Mannie Fresh era—replete with sunny videos, each rapper resplendent in expensive gems— was stripped down.
The new wealth imagery was replaced with the stark appearances of urban poverty, the harrowing realities of Birdman's “Neck of the Woods”—Uptown New Orleans. It was an indication that while Wayne was the fresh face of hope for new Cash Money, and the money was still coming in, the focus had returned to the streets. Cash Money wasn't about to cross over and sell out.
Wayne's lyric writing, at this point, was just hitting its stride, with unexpected rhyme schemes and clever, writerly details that emphasized a growing darkness. The song's opening lines: “Gangsta to the core/Ankle wrap flamer/Paint your kitchen floor/With your whore/Shit you can't ignore.” Birdman's bars had taken a turn toward the morbid as well, ending the song on a particularly bleak note: “It's where they hustle and the homies try to get it right/It's when you gotta ride/It's when the homie die/And the money can't stop the pain in the inside.”
15.Big Tymers, “Get Your Roll On” (2000)
Album: I Got That Work
Producer: Mannie Fresh
While unrepentant misogyny, constant threats of violence, and unapologetic materialism dominate the Cash Money library, the Big Tymers blew it up to borderline cartoonish proportions. Cars became spaceships, everyone was draped in diamonds and platinum, and every headrest had a TV in it. “Get Your Roll On” was an automobile-focused celebration of excess.
The song relies primarily on a catchy stop-start flow, in which “Ro. Lex.” is rhymed with “Mo. Sex.”
14.UNLV, “Drag 'Em in the River” (1996)
Album: Uptown 4 Life
Producer: Mannie Fresh
UNLV was a trio—Tec-9, Lil Ya, and Yella Boy—whose 1993 debut was a regional success, helping to fund the initial success of Cash Money Records.
They released four albums with Cash Money, including the first which melded gangster rap and bounce music, with Mannie crafting their beats.
But it was the Mystikal diss track “Drag 'Em in the River,” from their final CM record, Uptown 4 Life, that has sustained as the group's most celebrated song, and was even rumored to have inspired Juvenile to seek out and sign to Cash Money.
Over the course of more than six minutes of “Dragnet” melodic licks (bounce music was built upon the Show Boys “Drag Rap”) and what sounds like Mannie shouting “OHH!” the three rappers threatened Mystikal with bodily harm, called him a hoe, and even said they would unwrap his braids. Mystikal at this point was signed to Big Boy Records, with whom Cash Money had been beefing since UNLV's debut accused Big Boy rappers Partners-N-Crime of jacking the UNLV style.
13.Hot Boys Feat. Big Tymers, “I Need a Hot Girl” (1999)
Album: Guerilla Warfare
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Despite the bawdiness and brutality of certain Cash Money tracks, the Hot Boys and the Big Tymers' songs “for the ladies” were as crucial to their catalog as the more gangster-oriented singles, and showed less contempt for female listeners than many other hip-hop artists at the time.
Opening with a series of 808s claps, Mannie flipped the script with an unlikely lunge for the pop jugular: synthesized harpsichords and a timeless melody that proved—yet again—the medium of bounce was something that would easily translate into the American mainstream.
12.Juvenile, “400 Degreez” (1998)
Album: 400 Degreez
Producer: Mannie Fresh
400 Degreez was one of the best-selling hip-hop records of all time. It's also one of those rare releases where the album cuts are as strong as the singles, as was the case with the title track. The talk box chorus proves less is more: Just when you expect a hook as forceful as Juvenile's rapping, the robotic vocals ease in. No doubt Mannie Fresh was having fun in the studio, but the record's menacing feel keeps it from ever feeling like a joke: “Only God knows what the future might bring.”
11.B.G., “Cash Money Is an Army” (1999)
Album: Chopper City in the Ghetto
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Of all the Hot Boyz, B.G. was the grimiest.
He was a less acrobatic spitter than Juvenile, the one rapper who returned most frequently to the language of violence. His raspy vocal style and lyrical directness were frightening, an aesthetic refusal to mediate his art through any filter.
What he portrayed was raw and uncut, murderous threats delivered with unnerving casualness. Although “Bling Bling” would catapult B.G.'s Chopper City in the Ghetto to platinum sales, “Cash Money Is an Army” was more representative of the bleak sound that record contained. Only the faintest whispers of emotion are hinted at beneath B.G.'s grizzled armor: “I know I'm tired of these bitches trying to get me killed/I know I'm tired of these stanking hoes smiling in my grill.”
10.Lil Wayne, “Hustler Musik” (2005)
Album: Tha Carter II
Producer: T-Mix
At this point in his career, Wayne was making strides with East Coast rap fans who'd previously written him off. Well, in all reality he was making strides with everyone—but records like “Hustler Musik,” in retrospect, have a particularly targeted appeal.
Although the song is produced by T-Mix, one of the most important talents of the Suave House era, the beat is of a piece with other soul-signifying records of the post-Kanye West era, like Jeezy's “Go Crazy." At this point, it was Wayne's particular delivery, rather than his wordplay or eccentricities, that stood out.
9.Birdman & Lil Wayne, “Stuntin' Like My Daddy” (2006)
Album: Like Father, Like Son
Producer: T-Mix
By the time Birdman and Wayne's Like Father, Like Son hit the shelves, anything Wayne-related was hot. Wayne was shifting, at this point, from the sober brutality of Tha Carter and its portentous precision into a new phase. Suddenly, the energy had doubled.
The rapping came at a faster pace and the vocal sample in the background ramped up the adrenaline: “If your mans wanna play I'mma fuck around and put that boy's brains on the gate/Hey pick em up! Fuck em, let em lay/Where I'm from we see a fucking dead body everyday.”
8.Big Tymers Feat. Juvenile & Lil Wayne, “#1 Stunna” (2000)
Album: I Got That Work
Producer: Mannie Fresh
For the Big Tymers, stunting was a celebration that needed to be balanced with comedic edge. Sometimes—like old “adult” comedy records—the humor felt a little like being punched in the gut, leaving you unsure as to whether you should even be laughing. But either way, it was undeniable: Mannie's winking punchlines in balance with Baby's ineffable street-savvy id. The connection with comedy was made even more explicit in the “#1 Stunna” video, which came with the Kings of Comedy DVD and featured Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughly, and Cedric the Entertainer; it was also readily apparent when compared with the more serious gangster rap context of the Hot Boyz albums.
But the real humor of “#1 Stunna” is evident mainly in the next-level absurdity of the lifestyle represented, which reaches its logical outer limit in Birdman's now-classic outro ad-libs: “I just bought me a platinum football field.”
7.Birdman Feat. Clipse, “What Happened to That Boy” (2002)
Album: Birdman
Producer: The Neptunes
For his second solo album—his first came out as B-32, in 1993—the No. 1 Stunna still went by Baby, but was in the process of rebranding himself as the Birdman.
This, of course, lead to one of the most ridiculous album covers in the history of Cash Money. But it was a strong album, and although Mannie was still crafting the bulk of the beats, it was the Neptunes-produced banger “What Happened to That Boy” which sustains for most fans.
Although the Neptunes' masterful bleeping riff/bongos combo beat and nonchalant Clipse guest spot make it sound more like a cut off Lord Willing, the birdcall hook has a distinctly Big Tymers-esque absurdity that puts it in the rarefied air of even the best '02-era Clipse records.
6.Big Tymers, “Still Fly” (2002)
Album: Hood Rich
Producer: Mannie Fresh
The Big Tymers' most famous single managed to tone down their typically context-free consumerist tendencies for a celebration of living large even when you couldn't afford to. No doubt this was in part a response to the backlash against “Bling Bling”'s extreme flashiness—or at least, a significantly tamer, more knowing, Mannie Fresh'd version of it.
But if anyone missed the unrepentant stunting of their earlier records, the transition to self-awareness about the universal obsession to be fly in any socioeconomic bracket was eased by the music.
“Stay Fly” was one of Mannie Fresh's most immediate pop singles ever, transforming the theme from Gilligan's Island into a massive hit that felt as large as the life to which its protagonists aspired.
5.Juvenile Feat. Soulja Slim, “Slow Motion” (2003)
Album: Juve the Great
Producer: Dani Kartel
Even though Juvenile's 400 Degreez was a quadruple-platinum monster, it wasn't until 2003 that the rapper was able to top the pops. "Slow Motion" featured Soulja Slim, who had started out rapping in New Orleans with Big Boy records, before being picked up by No Limit and ultimately going independent in the early 2000s. The song was supposed to be Soulja Slim's, and it was one he'd had faith in.
Juvenile explained to Complex how the record came to his album: “He went to my brother and said, ‘Tell your brother that if I do the song for Koch, they’re not gonna push this record how it needs to be pushed.’ He wanted that song to go through Universal’s system. Dude was smart. He knew that if the song went on my album he would blow up. If it was on his album, it probably won’t get heard by everybody. I took the song, listened to what he was saying, and said, ‘You know what, you’re right.’”
“Slow Motion” wasn't just Juvenile's first No. 1, but the first rap song from New Orleans to reach No. 1 as well, and a fitting farewell to Soulja Slim.
4.Lil Wayne Feat. Mannie Fresh, “Go DJ” (2004)
Album: Tha Carter
Producer: Mannie Fresh
With Jay Z's retirement underway, Lil Wayne's style shifted from that fast, slang-heavy, drawling New Orleans deliver to a slowed, centered, mainstream-friendly one—thanks in part to the creative experimentation of the early '00s Sqad Up tapes, which ought to rank with G-Unit's mixtape run as some of the most important of the early 2000s.
Aided by rappers like Mikkey Halsted, then a member of Cash Money, Wayne's style had developed in a way that drew more attention to how clever he really was, beginning a run that culminated in unparalleled commercial—and ultimately, critical—success.
If the Sqad Up tapes were his emergence, Tha Carter was his official arrival. He was not yet calling himself the Best Rapper Alive, nor had the drugs sparked his later experimental period. Instead, it was the beginnings of a new regime at Cash Money. With Juvenile and B.G. gone, Turk behind bars, and Mannie Fresh with one foot out the door, “Go DJ” was the beginning of a whole new era. The video, shot in a prison, announced the new direction; the bling was bare, Mannie's beat dryer and more conservative, the textures again returning to the streets as Weezy stepped into his prime.
3.Juvenile, “Ha” (1998)
Album: 400 Degreez
Producer: Mannie Fresh
For his breakout single on the national stage, Juvenile's “Ha” still seems an unlikely contender.
To this day, it sounds like a transmission from another world. It was a futurist statement that made year-old songs sound like ancient relics. At the same time, the song was timeless; Mannie's percussive textures had the heft and feel of a stone or concrete block, hearkening back to the burnt out terrain of hip-hop's origins in the Bronx as much as it did to Juvenile's own Magnolia projects.
The song was most striking for its tonal ambiguity—stark and unrelenting, with Juvenile coasting through the groove as if he'd only ever been comfortable in constant motion.
2.B.G. Feat. Hot Boys & Big Tymers, “Bling Bling” (1999)
Album: Chopper City in the Ghetto
Producer: Mannie Fresh
Although overshadowed by its own title—which managed to transcend its originators in becoming a catchy and ultimately corny shorthand for hip-hop materialism—B.G.'s “Bling Bling” is one of the greatest singles of mid-period, post-Universal Records deal Cash Money.
It features the entire CMR lineup of that era, relies on some of Mannie Fresh's most distinctive production work, and became an all-conquering smash record. It's endlessly quotable (“Hit the club, light the bitch up/Cash Money motto: drink til you throw up!” and “I be that n***a with the ice on me/If it cost less than 20, it don't look right on me.") and the sparkling production—from the synthesizer stabs to gurgling effects—perfectly reflects the song's concept. From Baby's opening to Wayne's coda, “Bling Bling” epitomizes the unrestrained, unapologetic flashiness of Cash Money in all its glory.
1.Juvenile Feat. Lil Wayne & Mannie Fresh, “Back That Azz Up” (1998)
Album: 400 Degreez
Producer: Mannie Fresh
The Mannie Fresh era of Cash Money's dominance was known for building upon New Orleans' bounce heritage. But no bounce-based record was so perfectly able to embody the form while crossing over to the largest possible audience as “Back That Azz Up.”
The drums came straight from bounce, but the melodies had a different inspiration. “I was thinking along the lines of…how do I get bounce music to everybody? How do I get it to old white ladies, where they'll be like, 'Oh shit, I like this song'?” Mannie Fresh asked rhetorically during an interview with Red Bull. The answer was obvious: “Classical music!” Thus came the pizzicato strings in the foreground, while the strings in the background were swiped from UGK's “Protect and Serve.”
The song, of course, was a true pop culture phenomenon, and accomplished just what Mannie had hoped for. “I remember Sharon Stone saying in an interview that 'Back That Azz Up' was one of her favorite songs,” Mannie recalled. And the song's status has sustained, the go-to club jam for any instant party starter, it's one of those records identifiable immediately by those opening strings.
To this day, it remains a club staple in a way few songs have. Mannie may have grabbed something else from classical music as well: cultural longevity.