Pricele$$

While his protégé/pseudo-son Lil Wayne has ascended from #3 Hot Boy to chart-topping mega-star, Birdman (a.k.a. Baby) has pretty much maintained his place as a money-obsessed baller extraordinaire who puts out new music every few years regardless of whether anybody is really checking for it. He\'s always relied more on charisma, hooks, and catchy beats than lyrical acumen, and on *Pricele\$$*, his fourth solo album, the millionaire-rap schtick is starting to wear a little thin. But though clearly the abundance of ringtone-ready production, generic guests, and Auto Tune is not exactly groundbreaking, there are some standouts in the mix, such as \"Mo Milly,\" \"Nightclub,\" and the Weezy feature \"Always Strapped.\" If you\'re a fan of Maybach raps and Southern synth beats, the Birdman has exactly what you need.

As co-founder of Cash Money, the “rapper” formerly known as Baby and currently known by the far less ridiculous moniker Birdman helped transform Lil Wayne into a superstar, first as part of Hot Boys, and later as a solo act. In return, Lil Wayne has allowed Birdman to indulge his hip-hop-star fantasies far longer than…

He may be a veteran rapper, but by 2009, Birdman was better known and more active as a label owner, mostly because he was the label owner, manager, and mentor of hip-hop superstar Lil Wayne.