--- description: Rapper Lil Wayne has filed a lawsuit against Cash Money, alleging that the record label owes him a substantial amount of money. title: Lil Wayne Is After Cash Money image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt417613975d68b138/69877c78a988ca3fe96ac28f/460619956.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lil Wayne Is Suing His Record Label Cash Money for $51 Million by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 2:50 AM CUT  Lil Wayne attends a basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Dec. 17, 2014 in Los Angeles, Calif. Lil Wayne attends a basketball game between the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Dec. 17, 2014 in Los Angeles, Calif.Noel Vasquez—GC Images/Getty Images by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 29, 2015 2:50 AM CUT Rapper Lil Wayne has filed a [lawsuit](http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/28/lil-wayne-sues-birdman-cash-money-contract-album-tha-carter-v/ "undefined") against his record label Cash Money, alleging that he is owed $51 million. According to the suit, Lil Wayne, 32, says Cash Money and its CEO Bryan “Birdman” Williams has withheld millions of dollars for his upcoming unreleased album _The Carter V_, TMZ reports. Lil Wayne says the label was supposed to pay him an $8 million advance on his album, plus $2 million once it was delivered. The album was completed in December but Lil Wayne says he has not seen any of the money. The New Orleans native claims he should be allowed to end his contract with the label and receive payment of $51 million instead. In addition to his artistic freedom, the _Lollipop_ rapper has asked a judge to declare him joint copyright holder of all Young Money recordings, currently an imprint of Cash Money, including collaborations with Drake and Niki Minaj. \[[_TMZ_](http://www.tmz.com/2015/01/28/lil-wayne-sues-birdman-cash-money-contract-album-tha-carter-v/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3687056/lil-wayne-cash-money-lawsuit-51-million/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3687056/lil-wayne-cash-money-lawsuit-51-million/"},"headline":"Lil Wayne Is Suing His Record Label Cash Money for $51 Million","datePublished":"2015-01-29T02:50:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:57:59.394Z","description":"The 32-year-old New Orleans native says he has not been paid for his upcoming album and wants out of his contract","url":"https://time.com/3687056/lil-wayne-cash-money-lawsuit-51-million/","keywords":["Music","Lil Wayne","Lawsuit","Album"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt417613975d68b138/69877c78a988ca3fe96ac28f/460619956.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt417613975d68b138/69877c78a988ca3fe96ac28f/460619956.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebrities At The Los Angeles Clippers Game","caption":"Celebrities At The Los Angeles Clippers Game","creditText":"Noel Vasquez—GC Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3687056/lil-wayne-cash-money-lawsuit-51-million/","name":"Lil Wayne Is Suing His Record Label Cash Money for $51 Million"}}]}] ```