Birdman is on a mission to get recognition for the CEOs in hip-hop. It’s no doubt that Birdman created a blueprint for rap moguls, but perhaps, he isn’t celebrated in the way he should be. He brought artists like Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj to the game, while uplifting artists that came after them like Young Thug and NBA Youngboy. However, in the wake of Billboard’s rappers' list, he sought to make sure that they don’t forget the people behind the scenes funding and making plays to turn these rappers into superstars.
“I see you’ll did 10 best rappers which is well respeked but what about tha CEOs who made thaway for these rappers to be Supa stars,” Birdman wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “Fought tha battle behind doors so they kan be super stars. Put some respek on my name and stop playin with me. I’m tha best to ever doit nothing but love for all CEO ever in 50yrs of hip hop.” Prior to this, he explained that he hoped that platforms like Billboard would honor the businessmen in hip-hop who turned it into a multi-billion dollar industry.
Birdman Reacts To Top 10 CEO List
While Billboard didn’t respond to Baby, Earn Your Leisure shared their own list of hip-hop’s best CEOs. At number one is Birdman, followed by Diddy, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Russell Simmons, Master P, LA Reid, Dame Dash, Jermaine Dupri, and then Suge Knight at #10. However, the honorable mentions include Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas, Irv Gotti, Dee, and Waah, as well as J. Prince. Though there are definitely many names missing, the list that appeared was otherwise pretty accurate.
However, Birdman doesn’t feel like Earn Your Leisure got their rankings of CEOs correct, either. Despite topping the list, he said that he doesn’t think Diddy deserves to be at #2 but instead, P from Quality Control. “P Fom @QC should be 2nd no doubt noshade jus being real gangsta CMRG. my [opinion],” he wrote. Though no one has responded to Baby, his choice of Quality Control’s P doesn’t necessarily seem surprising. Last year, the QC founder told the Cash Money CEO that he wouldn’t be running a successful label if it wasn’t for Birdman. Check out Baby’s comments above and sound off with your thoughts in the comments.