The Origins of "CASH MONEY RECORDS"

Great Read, I printed up a copy and took it to the shitter. I would suggest doing the same.
"By now, anyone that reads this blog and is a fan of the many, great New Orleans labels that sprouted in the fertile hip-hop delta back in the '90s may've wondered why no Cash Money thusfar. Well, I've been working on it but the greatest of labels required a lot of work.Cash Money Records Independent Logo Hope you enjoy, wodie.

Back in the 1980s, the local rap scene in New Orleans began to take root with early rappers like Tim Smooth, Warren Mayes, Ninja Crew and New York Incorporated all making noise. The latter act featured Mia X, Denny D, DJ Wop and Mannie Fresh and was probably the first rap group in the city. After their dissolution, Fresh hooked up with former Ninja Crew member Gregory D and they released a handful of influential, if not very widely promoted records.

1991 was the year of the year of the bounce explosion in New Orleans, ignited by TT Tucker and DJ Irv's famous "red tape," "Where Dey At." Over the next few years, several locals started their own independent labels to handle to quickly growing scene. Two such entrepreneurs were Bryan “Baby” Williams (born February 15, 1969) and Ronald “Suga Slim” Williams (born 1967). Support to start their label came from their father, who’d run Gladys’s Bar (at that point) for 27 years... and their half-brother, Terrance E. Williams (aka Gangsta), a member of the notorious Hot Boys (not to be confused with the rap group), a D-boy clique rounded out by his friends Sterling, Dooney and Mosquito. They named the label Cash Money Records, after Nino Brown’s Cash Money Brothers in the film New Jack City.

At first CMR only had one artist, the fifteen-year-old Kilo-G. His debut album, The Sleepwalker (1992), was produced by Ro and Goldfingers. Unlike their rivals, Take Fo', who favored good-time bounce music, Kilo-G's Cash Money debut was all gorey, blood-soaked horrorcore. Before they relied on local distributors like Gonzales Music and SouthWest Distribution, the Williams brothers sold copies out of their car. In bounce-loving New Orleans, the Scarface-indebted The Sleepwalker only sold a couple thousand copies.

Serendipitously, the Williams brothers were introduced by Ziggler to Wiggler to a 7th ward resident, DJ Mannie Fresh, who’d recently returned to PxMxWx Legalize "Pass the Weed"New Orleans after a stint as understudy to famed innovative house music DJ/producer Steve “Silk” Hurley (after ending his partnership with Gregory D in frustration over the way the major label handled their career). Although Fresh would at first frequently produce releases for other local labels, he became Cash Money’s in-house producer, ultimately helping them sell some 23 million records and making all of their large output during their creative heyday.

Fresh's first effort with the label was with PxMxWx (Projects' Most Wanted -- Iberville being the project in question). PxMxWx was essentially rapper Big Man, hype man Big Heavy and Black Jack. Their debut album, Legalize "Pass the Weed" (1993), also featured new signees Lil Slim, U.N.L.V. and Mr. Ivan as well as Port Arthur, Texas's Bun B of UGK fame..............................."

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