Young Money

Weezy is getting ready to debut his first ever rock album, Rebirth. Although the rapper is best known for dropping 'hot' verses on hip-hop albums, like Tha Carter III and brilliant wordplay on his underground mixtapes, Lil Wayne is hitting a new lane with the Rebirth. The official single from the album is titled "On Fire" and is very reminiscent to the 1980's gangster flick, "Scarface". Lil Wayne also 'goes in' on the electric guitar.

Lil Wayne - "On Fire"

Directed by Chris Robinson

Hip Hop fans and Weezy stans may remember Lil Wayne's obsession with things that are fire from early in his career. A once baggy jean, less tatted-up and Timberland boot wearing Weezy hit the scene with his lead single "Fireman" from his Tha Carter II release. And who could ever forget Wayne's solo debut, Tha Block is Hot?

Lil Wayne - "Fireman"

The Rebirth is scheduled to be released later this year, but for now check out Lil Wayne's Young Money compilation, which features up-and-commers, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Gudda Gudda, Mack Maine, Tyga, and several others.

By Souleo.

2009 has proven to be a big year for male R&B singers and sex.  Everywhere you turn there’s an R&B singer talking about how they will make your “Bedrock” (Young Money ft. Lloyd), how they are “Number One,” in the bedroom (R.Kelly ft. Keri Hilson) or even claiming to have “Invented Sex,” (Trey Songz).  It’s enough to either make you call up a partner and get busy tonight or long for R&B songs not just about sex, but about love and life.  (Cue: Anthony Hamilton and Raheem Devaughn, two soul brothers that are equally adept at being sensual and socially conscious.)

If anyone created “the” sex song of 2009 it is Jeremih with the smash hit, “Birthday Sex.”  JimmyJazz.com spoke to Jeremih about the year of sex’n’b to get his thoughts on the trend and its impact both musically and socially.

Jeremih notes that sex is what’s selling, but that this is nothing new.

“It’s a level now where people are expecting R&B music to be.  Even back in the day music was sexual—probably not as sexually put but there were some pretty sexual songs.  So it’s still here because obviously the sex is what’s selling and it's what people want to hear,” he said.

Hate it or not, Jeremih is right with sex’n’b ruling the 2009 charts so according to the evidence it is what’s selling.  Still, the lyrical content is more provocative than some of the sexual songs from back in the day.  While this is in some cases a positive sign of sexual liberation, it is also a trend resulting in excessive promiscuity and questionable behavior.  For example, R&B concerts have now turned into displays of all kinds of sexual acts.

During his promotional tour, Jeremih was witness to the sexually aggressive nature of his fans.

“The front row is like the Mardi Gras vibe.  They all had on they little freakum dresses, and the whole time I was performing they just had their tops down and it was just like crazy,” he said.

The music is having an impact and for better or worse releasing the sexual inhibitions of fans, but the troubling part is that many of those fans are youth.  One of the side effects of sex driven R&B is that many of these artists have young fanbases who get sold on a message they are too young to fully comprehend.

Jeremih realizes that the sexual songs are affecting youth and he admits that he doesn’t like the fact that ten year olds recite his lyrics.

“I don’t think at all that it’s appropriate.  Nowadays kids are doing a lot more different things.  They having sex at like ten now and I don’t even think I got hard then.  I definitely wouldn’t condone it or propose to tell kids to engage in it.  Being as though they are anyway I feel like I might as well do a keep it safe campaign,” he said.

With so much sex’n’b and young listeners gravitating to the music, the music industry will soon have to start similar campaigns to take responsibility for the messages being marketed to their young demographic.  However that won’t be enough if the messages in the music are inconsistent and still sell sex to youth.  Perhaps less freaky songs will do the trick?

Let’s see what happens to sex’n’b in 2010.

The countdown is officially on for one of the most anticipated album releases of the year... Young Money's We Are Young Money will hit shelves and web on December 21st. Preview the long-overdue We Are Young Money exclusively on Amazon.com! If you like what you hear, pre-order a copy in our Extra Grabs section.

We Are Young Money features this summer's smash hit, "Every Girl In The World" and the current hit single, "Bed Rock".  Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, Jae Millz and our big homie Gudda Gudda drop serious heat and individuality on We Are Young Money. Props to Lil' Wayne for putting all of these guys on one album.

Young Money - "Bed Rock" video

Young Money - We Are Young Money Official Track List:

1. Gooder
2. EveryGirl In The World
3. Ms. Parker
4. Wife B**ter
5. New S***
6. Pass The Dutch
7. Play In My Band
8. F*** Da Bulls***
9. BedRock
10. Girl I Got You
11. Steady Mobbin
12. Roger That
13. She Is Gone
14. Streets Is Watchin'
15. Finale

While on The Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Tour, Gudda Gudda took a moment before hitting the stage at Denver's Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre. Aside from being Lil Wayne's best friend, the New Orleans rapper is well known in the underground for being a fierce lyricist and former member of Lil Flip's Squad Up camp. From mixtapes to a winning verse on "Every Girl" (produced by Tha Bizness), Gudda has come a long way. Read our interview and find out how the New Orleans rapper stays comfortable the tour bus, his upcoming mixtape (Guddaville), how he hooked up with Lil Wayne, and much more!

JimmyJazz.com: What's your favorite part of Young Money Presents: America's Most Wanted Tour?

Gudda Gudda: Just performing every night and going in front of 20-30 thousand people every night. It's really different for me. I started doing underground music, so for me to go out in front of 20,000 people every night, it's a different look for me.

JimmyJazz.com: What's been your favorite state to perform in front of?

Gudda Gudda: Ahhh, I got a couple of them. Los Angeles and anywhere in Texas. And of coarse New Orleans, but we haven't been to New Orleans yet.

JimmyJazz.com: Speaking of New Orleans, a lot of fans know you from your earlier Squad Up movement through Lil Flip. What's been the biggest difference between Lil Flip's Squad Up and Lil Wayne's Young Money?

Gudda Gudda: It's just bigger [Young Money]. Young Money is a whole new wave of fans and everything. It's just a different era. When we were doing the Squad Up mixtapes, that was the grinding mixtape era, This right here [Young Money] is a new era.

JimmyJazz.com: You and Lil Wayne are from the same hometown, New Orleans, LA. How did you guys get linked with one another?

Gudda Gudda: I meet him a while back. He [Lil Wayne] use to hang out with one of my homeboy's that I grew up with. I was around 17 years old and he [Lil Wayne] was probably 15. He was coming out with his first album, and he use to come through my neighborhood all the time with my homeboy. And we use to shoot dice by my house. We ended up gambling one day and ended up being cool from there.

(Pictured below): Gudda Gudda with Lil Wayne. Gudda sports a Polo hat with matching red scarf. 

JimmyJazz.com: While on tour, MTV's Sway interviewed Lil Wanye. In the piece Wayne mentions how he wrote your first verse. If it weren't for that first moment, where would you [Gudda] be at this moment right now?

Gudda Gudda: Probably still gambling, hustling [short pause], where he [Lil Wayne] found me at. Same place he found me at, probably.

JimmyJazz.com: In a recent interview with Lil Wayne fan site, NewLilWayne.com, you mentioned that Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, and Hov are your favorite artists -all who hail from the northern east. We wanted to know, growing up in the New Orleans, were you influenced by the talent from your hometown? Such as Cash Money and Soulja Slim?

Gudda Gudda: Soulja Slim, defiantly and the whole Cash Money movement [short pause], Outkast, Goodie Mob... Eight Ball & MJG, those are all the main ones.

JimmyJazz.com: Young Money is currently leading the music charts with the hit single, "Every Girl". What's the next single? What will top that momentum?

Gudda Gudda: I really can't speck on it right now, but we got another coming, it's hot. But we gon' keep it going with this one ["Every Girl"]. Might be even bigger.

JimmyJazz.com: As far as Young Money, is there a release date?

Gudda Gudda: We really don't have an official release date, but sometime in November, I believe.

JimmyJazz.com: Recently, Young Money President/ Artist, Mack Maine released a statement on Twitter.com, announcing the release of Omarion from Young Money. Do you care to speck about that?

Gudda Gudda: I mean, I don't care. I really don't have anything to do with that. I ain't tripping about that. Big up to him [Omarion], more power to him, but that ain't none of my business.

JimmyJazz.com: Everyone on Young Money is extremely talented. Nicki Minaj, Drake, Mack Maine, Jay Millz and yourself. What's the overall harmony with the group? Do you guys record together?

Gudda Gudda: Most of the time we go out to Miami and record together. We vibe and just knock joints out. There's no problems, everybody knows where they fit in at... where they don't fit in at. So if a song comes on and I feel I don't need to be on it, I fall back. Likewise for everybody else. Everybody just plays their position.

JimmyJazz.com: You have a strong mixtape following. Do you have any immediate plans to release a tape?

Gudda Gudda: I'm working on a mixtape right now, called Guddaville. I'm in the middle of it right now, just waiting on a few features from a few people. Probably next month it will be ready. The only reason it'll be next month is because I'm on tour right now; if I weren't on tour it would have been ready next week.

JimmyJazz.com: Outside of the Young Money camp, if you could grab some features who would they be?

Gudda Gudda: Gucci Mane, he's making a lot of noise right now. I would not mind working with him. Of coarse [Young] Jeezy. I would love to work with Eminem, of coarse Jadakiss, [Beanie] Siegel. You might hear something from me and Siegel on the tape, you might hear something from me and Gucci [Mane] on the tape. Everything is in the works right now.

JimmyJazz.com: So, on the road... what's the most comfortable thing to wear?

Gudda Gudda: I got every color Polo pajama you could name [short laugh].

JimmyJazz.com: [Laughs].

Gudda Gudda: All colors Polo pajamas you could name. All colors. With the thermal or the Polo tee, slippers. That's how you stay cool on the bus without doing too much. But all Polo [Laughs]. Gotta be Polo underwear, all day.

JimmyJazz.com: Last, where do you get your fashion sense?

Gudda Gudda: I just like different stuff. Some of it I get from home [New Orleans], some of it. A lot of it comes from traveling... being around and being in different cities and different stores and different malls... they got different things out there. I get to see different stuff, that helps me with my fashion.