The Joe Budden Podcast recently discussed the long-standing and complex rivalry between the Roc-A-Fella and Cash Money camps, plus their ensuing protégés and branched-off cliques. Specifically, the program's titular host doesn't want folks to compare Lil Wayne, Drake, and Nicki Minaj to Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna for a few reasons. He posited that Hov was able to form necessary industry relationships and then leave to lead his own endeavors, although cohosts Ice and Ish suggested that the New York rapper entered the game with much more independence and autonomy than someone like Drizzy did. Specifically, this is in regards to owning his material.
While Joe Budden disagreed and suggested that Jay-Z worked to get out of an exploited position, all agreed that there was still a big level-up that Jay took to become so massive, something that the Cash Money (specifically Young Money) camp has yet to do in their eyes. One factor they presented was domination in the industry and from a product standpoint – in this case, music. Ish also brought up Hov's marriage to Beyoncé and his move into other side ventures that generated a lot of money.
The Joe Budden Podcast Compares Jay-Z's Moves To Drake's
Overall, this contributes to The Joe Budden Podcast's notion that people like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna have more "leverage" than Drake, Lil Wayne, and Nicki Minaj due to their extracurricular projects and streams of massive revenue that land them in a top-tier industry spot. "Y'all not the only people that feed me," Ish characterized the Roc family's position of negotiations with the music industry. Of course, all of this ties back to the OVO mogul's moves against UMG and Spotify in the legal space.
Elsewhere, Joe Budden doesn't think there's a blueprint to this process, and that it's up to each artist who makes it in the industry to find their exit out of it. It's all a debate around how to manage your money and power, especially if you want to stay true to your own goals. The Jay-Z/Drake debate has a new angle now thanks to this legal action, and that exhausting conversation will just keep on going.