By Cameron Lee
February 25, 2025
Photo: Myicha Drakeford / CLTure
The last time all of the primary artists from Cash Money Records (Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Birdman, Mannie Fresh, B.G., and Turk) performed together in Charlotte was in 2000 for the Ruff Ryders/Cash Money Tour. Nearly 25 years later — after jail stints, legal disputes, and an intense beef between Lil Wayne, Birdman, and Young Thug — the group of “brothers,” as Wayne referred to his former labelmates, reunited for a sold-out show at Spectrum Center on Sunday night as part of his three-date Lil Weezyana tour.
Cash Money Records ruled the radio waves and music television throughout the late ‘90s and 2000s. Back in 1998, they signed an unprecedented $30 million deal with Universal Records and defined an era of Southern hip-hop. In 2000, they were coming off the release of some big albums, with Juvenile’s 400 Degreez, the Hot Boys’ Guerrilla Warfare, B.G.’s Chopper City in the Ghetto, and Lil Wayne’s Tha Block Is Hot, all of which were certified platinum. The bouncy, high-tech beats of in-house label producer Mannie Fresh, captivated urban youth and a generation of up-and-coming beatmakers.
The Spectrum Center felt a bit like a time capsule as the mostly 40-and-over crowd was treated to some Southern rap classics by Power 98’s DJ Mr Incognito and Mannie Fresh himself before the evening’s first acts. Shortly after 9 p.m., Juvenile stepped out with his signature white head wrap, rapping the lyrics to “Set It Off” from his 2001 album, Project English. Birdman then made his first appearance strolling out with Mannie Fresh for “Still Fly” from 2002’s Hood Rich.
Early on, the show’s production was scaled down, featuring simple spotlights and a single large LED screen behind the artists and DJ. B.G. joined the crew for “#1 Stunna” before performing his tracks “Cash Money Is an Army” from Chopper City in the Ghetto and “All on U” and “Uptown Thang” from his 1996 album, Chopper City. Juvenile then took center stage again for “Welcome 2 tha Nolia” from his seminal album 400 Degreez, bringing out Turk — who is featured on the track — for the first time of the evening.
What made the night special was the unpredictability of the sets that spanned the catalogs of all of the performers. Mannie Fresh broke out “Real Big” from his often overlooked 2004 solo album, The Mind of Manny Fresh, which preceded the 2000 Big Tymers’ hit “Get Your Roll On.” The audience collectively sang the hook, mimicking the gestures from the music video that had heavy rotation on MTV and BET in the early aughts, when many in the crowd were coming home from school.
Another real treat from the evening was Birdman’s 2002 collaboration with the Clipse and the production duo The Neptunes on “What Happened to That Boy.” It’s a track that is rarely performed live: first, because Birdman rarely tours, and second, because of the ongoing beef between Pusha T and Drake/Cash Money. The echoing bird noises from the track and the signature interstellar sounds from The Neptunes had the crowd vibing.
The playful synths for the song “Shine” induced even more nostalgia — back to a time when file sharing platforms like Napster and LimeWire became a growing source to create mix CDs of your favorite songs, and oversized throwback jerseys and T-shirts were the norm in hip-hop culture.
There’s no question that Juvenile played a crucial role in shaping early Cash Money; he helped catapult the label to success with 400 Degreez, their first top-10 Billboard-charting album. From “U Understand” (Tha G-Code) to “Slow Motion” from 2003’s Juve the Great to the title track of his quadruple-platinum album 400 Degreez, Juvie’s catalog was well represented.
Wayne came out on stage shortly after 10 p.m., dressed like a snow trooper — sporting sunglasses, a Kangol bucket hat, big boots, and a blunt in hand. He kicked off his set with “I’m Goin In” from Drake’s debut 2009 EP, So Far Gone. Following the opening track, he took a moment to soak in the energy (and hit his blunt) while the sample from Eddie Kendricks’ “Day by Day” played before “Let The Beat Build” — the first track of the night from Tha Carter series.
Flames shot up from behind Wayne on stage as his DJ T. Lewis amped up the crowd. He then went into the Rick Ross collab “John” from 2011’s Tha Carter IV, before going into a short interlude introducing Yayo The Drummer (“The OneManBand”) and his DJ. He showed tons of gratitude to his adoring fans with his “We ain’t shit without each other, I ain’t shit without you” mantra.
With just his DJ and drummer, Wayne’s sound adequately filled the sprawling arena as he launched into “Uproar” from 2018’s Tha Carter V, followed by “Fireman” from Tha Carter II. “Rich As F*ck” was the first track from I’m Not a Human Being II, with the second being “Love Me,” which features Future on the album version. But it was his hits from the chart-topping Tha Carter III that truly stole the show. He performed “Lollipop” and “Mrs. Officer” to great fanfare before reintroducing his Cash Money cohorts:
“I can recall some of the very first times I stood in front of these eyes — I was with my brothers. I said, I was with my brothers. Where my brothers at?”
The Hot Boys returned to the stage for “We On Fire,” a track released when Wayne was just 16 years old — one that helped him gain recognition as one of the hottest young rappers in the game in 1999. Mannie Fresh and Birdman then rejoined the group for one of the label’s earliest hits, “I Need a Hot Girl.”
Group anthems “Project B*tch” and “Bling Bling” energized the crowd as the clock neared 11 p.m. Juvenile then asked the audience to light up their cell phones for what he called the “greatest love song ever written” — his iconic New Orleans bounce classic, “Back That Azz Up.”
Wayne closed out with “Steady Mobbin” from Young Money’s 2009 compilation album and, arguably, his most acclaimed song, “A Milli.” It was a concert that probably felt dream-like for many Y2K-era Southern hip-hop fans. Though 25 years have passed, Cash Money’s music has proven to stand the test of time — spreading the spirit and vitality of New Orleans bounce music and culture, while revolutionizing the sound of hip-hop.
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