We've seen a lot of controversy spawn out of Breakfast Club interviews, but somehow, Birdman was able to give the most talked about interview in the show's history, and he was there for under two minutes. The short conversation, which found Baby confronting Charlamagne and his co-hosts for their lack of "respeck," has inspired countless memes, and has given Birdman the foundation for both a song and line of merchandise indebted to his new catchphrases.
Today, he invited the hosts of HOT 97's Ebro In The Morning to his Miami Home for his first interview since the memes really took off. On top of giving some insight into the event, he also spoke of his early family life, his relationship with Rick Ross and Lil Wayne, and his feelings bout the business of hip-hop.
Since it's a good 33 minutes longer than his Breakfast Club interview, we thought we'd break down a couple of the more interesting things we learned from the conversation. Click through to see some of Birdman's best quotes, and watch the full interview below.
His house is decked out in Versace.
His house is decked out in Versace
"Versace is my favorite brand. I love the brand. His furniture and his clothes... I never met him."
He had been catching wind of Charlamagne's slander for years.
He had been catching wind of Charlamagne's slander for years
"I was coming to New York anyway. I felt it was time for me to go sit down and see this man. I think for a few years, he had been slandering my name, playing with my name, not respecting me. To me, as a man, it was deeper than music to me. I just wanted to go up there and see what's happening. Put some respeck on my name, my n*gga."
He thinks the "Respeck" memes are funny.
He thinks the "Respek" memes are funny
"A lot of that shit funny, man. You don't even understand how dead serious I was in that building. It's cool, I'm with it. It gave a n*gga a laugh, and I don't like to laugh. A lot of that shit real funny they got on the internet. I was thinking that they was being funny on the way I talk. I'm from New Orleans, everything is a slang. When we first got in the business, no one understood nothing we said... That's how I say respect."
His "Respeck" merch was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
His "Respek" merch was an opportunity he couldn't pass up
"If you know me, you know I'm about money, man. That's my thing. I'm a hustla, I was born that way."
He doesn't know why Rick Ross would get involved in his family business.
He doesn't know why Rick Ross would get involved in his family business
"I really don't know. Me and Ross was like brothers everyday hanging together. That was one of the reasons we came to Miami because those n*ggas embraced us so strong when we came out here. I don't know what his call was to even get into me and my son's business, that's my son. Whatever business me and him have, that's my son, that shit's gonna work itself out. I have the utmost respect for Ross, I taught him a lot of game in this shit. He watched my pimpin', and he went and did his own thing with it, being a hustler, but it threw me off."
He hasn't spoken to Ross since his comments, and doesn't care to.
He hasn't spoken to Ross since his comments, and doesn't care to
"I ain't spoke to him or seen him. If we speak, we speak, if we don't, we don't. I can go the rest of my life not speaking to nobody. I don't give a fuck about that. That ain't gonna put no money in my pocket."
He's never stood in the way of Lil Wayne.
He's never stood in the way of Lil Wayne
"Wayne [has] always been his own boss. I never interfered in nothing Wayne wanted to do. I always embraced it. Me not putting out Tha Carter V, why wouldn't I? I've got a lot of money invested into Young Money and Wayne, so me, I want to get some of mine back... I think the world deserves a Carter V, whatever he wants to do, I'm good with. Wayne is a boss, I just bagged him up to be a bigger boss. He's still putting out records, I could stop that shit if I wanted to. I ain't gonna stop him from hustling. We in this fro the money. We rap for the money."
He's excited about his new artist, J-Soul.
He's excited about his new artist, J-Soul
"J-Soul is from T-dot O. When I met him, he was homeless, we signed him, put some money in his pocket, I bought him somewhere to live. Got him situated so he could just focus on music. He's 18 years old, and I really, really think he's going to be the next superstar from Toronto."
He feels Trick Daddy's insinuations he might be gay are preposterous
"I’m a straight gangsta. That n*gga been in my hood. He knows what’s happening with me. I guess a n*gga get on the radio and wanna be funny or something. That n*gga knows what’s happening with me. Google me. Call anything in the 504, ask about me, and watch what comes up. A straight G. I’m just a hustler. I’m a mastermind."
His new album will revolve around his mother and will be his most personal project yet.
His new album will revolve around his mother and will be his most personal project yet
"I was 2 when she passed. My album is going to be personal, but really, my mom passed -- after she had me, she got shot, but she died from complications. That shit be fucking with me a lot. I decided I'd never speak on my momma. I speak on her a lot, but I never get in-depth with nothing with my family. With this album, I'm really in-depth with it, I went back to New Orleans, and did my music, I shot all my videos in New Orleans."
He's looking to expose Maino and Uncle Murda to a bigger audience.
He's looking to expose Maino and Uncle Murda to a bigger audience
"I wanna give a shout out to Maino and [Uncle] Murda. I'm really feeling [them]. I was in the club and I was like 'damn'... We've been in the studio. We got their first single called "Gang, Gang, Gang." I'm gonna blow it up. I want to embrace the town. I think New York is being slept on. I don't think the label's fucking with them, and then you got n*ggas that's from New York that ain't fucking with the streets, period. So I'm up there."
He thinks hip-hop needs Drake
"I think Drake got album of the year. In 3 hours he did like 400,000. Drake is the new phenomenon. He's something special. He's what we need for hip-hop to keep going. We bringing that shit to higher bars. Wayne sold a million three times in a row. We need to keep bringing the bar higher so the little n*ggas can eat too with their numbers. We can't let this shit go nowhere but up."
He wants to see less rappers and more CEOs
He wants to see less rappers and more CEOs
"I can't stress it enough. When I came up we had the Ruff Ryders, we had the Jermaine Dupris, we had the Dame Dashes, we had the Jay Zs, we had the Master Ps, we had the Diddys, we had the Suge Knights. We had all the CEOs that were putting on artists. We don't have none of that shit no more. We don't have no Stunnamans. Ross is doing his thing with his label, but you ain't got nobody-- that's what I wanna embrace... You might have a CEO and he's the fucking rapper. Man, sit your ass down, and go get a n*gga who can rap, and we can keep exploiting this shit and keep making it grow. I don't think that we growing. Besides us what the fuck do we have?"
He thinks 50 Cent has another hit on his hands
He thinks 50 Cent has another hit on his hands
"Hey man, I like that song 50 Cent got -- "I'm a motherfuckin' man". Why y'all ain't playing that shit a million times a week? That shit is a hit man. Hey 50, you got one boy!"
He lived in Canada
"This is the first time I've ever really opened up about my personal life growing up. My mom passed when I was 2, my pops passed when I was young. My sister took me away to Prince George, Canada. I lived [there] for a few years. Then I came back, I was in a boy's home for a few years."
Reading the bible changed his outlook on life.
Reading the bible changed his outlook on life
"Once my stepmother got us back up out the boy's home, I was just a wild animal. I didn't give a fuck about nothing or nobody, not even myself. I thought life was something different, until I got incarcerated. I read the bible and that made me change. Being young, I thought anybody could do anything -- as far as pulling triggers and shit like that. Once I got in jail, it made me realize, I could use my brains and be more powerful than a gun."