Birdman Is Suing Jay Z and Tidal Over ‘Free Weezy Album’
The bureaucratic battles between Bryan "Baby" Williams and his longtime protege and partner, Lil Wayne, continue to play out. According to TMZ, the one better known as Birdman is suing the Jay Z-owned streaming service Tidal, over their hosting Wayne's Free Weezy Album. Released on the 4th of July, FWA was made in protest of Birdman's refusal to drop Wayne's long-awaited Tha Carter 5. Prior to this year, Wayne had dropped 10 solo albums, each of them on Cash Money Records, where Wayne got his start as an intern and, later, a member of the Hot Boyz. But Wayne's impatience while he demands to be released from his Cash Money contract begat FWA, and Williams is arguing that it violates his record deal. The lawsuit seeks $50 million.
That's not all--in typical Birdman fashion, the language of the suit is unusually harsh, claiming the Scandinavian company mounted "a desperate and illegal attempt to save their struggling streaming service." Tidal believes that they're clear from any wrongdoing, having given Wayne an ownership stake in exchange for the right to stream his music. In response, the suit quotes portions of Wayne's contract with Cash Money that say he does not have the power to license his music to anyone else. Unfortunately for Williams, this isn't the only legal problem on his docket right now. He and Young Thug have been implicated in what Georgia authorities are claiming was a plot to kill Lil Wayne. The case came to light when a man believed to be Thug's former road manger shot at Wayne's bus.