Young Money VS. Roc-A-Fella

Let me start off by saying this all started off in The Forums when I posted the question, “Can Young Money become bigger than Roc-A-Fella?”, and people went crazy. I knew people would argue about the topic, but some of our cast went as far as claiming Memphis Bleek’s album Coming Of Age was better than Drake’s Thank Me Later. After hearing such nonsense I knew I had to write a column comparing the two labels. The thing is that we can not compare them lyrically, for the simple reason that who has or had the best lyrical ability is in the eyes of the beholder. We can however compare the impact of albums, artist, and business ventures.

Roc-A-Fella Business:
Dame Dash, Hov, and Biggs were an amazing team. They turned a small record label into a dynasty with music, clothing, and hood classic movies. As of right now this is probably the most successful label to have done it. What these three were able to accomplish in the mid 90’s and early 2000’s was unheard of before. Rocawear was the hottest gear in the streets and Jay-Z became the face of that era (I consider that to be the golden era).

Young Money Business:
Wayne, Tez Po, Mack Maine, and Birdman are making some real serious moves. First off let me give props to Mack Maine. People forget that Young Moola has been around since ’05 and Birdman nor Universal never really believed in Wayne’s Label. Mack Maine becomes President in ’09 and by the end of that same year, they have a distribution deal, a compilation album out, and sign two of the most coveted newcomers in the game. Now they are rumored to have their own prepaid Visa cards and are working on a clothing line.

Roc-A-Fella Artists
STAR PLAYERS:

  • Jay-Z – Like I already said, Jay-Z is the face of the golden era of Hip-Hop in my opinion. What most people will do is compare Jay to Wayne because Weezy is the guy in Hip-Hop now that every rapper aspires to be. Jay held this spot for many years. His influence on the culture is evident in the flows of many artist today. Jay-Z was the face of the Roc.
  • Cam’ron – Still one of the most underrated emcees of all time. Once he went over to Roc-A-Fella it seemed like his talent would finally be noticed, and it was for awhile. After putting out his first platinum album, Come Home With Me, Killa and Jay began having issues and with Hov being the boss Cam wouldn’t stay on the team too long.
  • Kanye West – We all love at least one Kanye album. It is so funny how people claim that he isn’t as talented as other emcees, but he has four out of five albums that can be argued to be classic records. Ye came in at the end of the Dynasty and with his success the dynasty stayed around a lot longer than it probably would have.

ROLE PLAYERS

  • Memphis Bleek – This rapper right here is the poster child for Hip-Hop sidekicks. Jay use to claim that Bleek was only one hit away. 10 years later and Bleek is still one hit away. He does have some bangers on his hand and I even bought his album The Understanding, but he never did what Jay thought he would.
  • Beanie Sigel – Beans and Freeway was a great two man team and was part State Property (A click within the Roc). He was also the muscle behind the Roc. If Anyone dissed a member of the Dynasty, you better believe the Broad Street Bully was going to go at them full strength.
  • Freeway – Dope lyricist. The only real issue is that he only dropped one album during the peak of the Roc’s dominance.
  • DJ Clue – Unlike the DJ’s of today (Khaled, what were you doing at the BET awards?) DJ Clue actually played his role as a DJ.
  • Amil – One and done. Her album was nice, but she didn’t sell anything.

The Roc had an amazing team and had the potential to dominate the entire game. For about 5 years they were able to do that and if it wasn’t for the greed that came in between them they may still have. It becomes very clear that the Dynasty’s big issue is that they couldn’t get another artist in their prime who could sell records to go along with Jay-Z.

Young Money Artist
STAR PLAYERS:

  • Lil’ Wayne – What can I say about Wayne? He is the face of Hip-Hop and many will agree the heir to Hov’s throne. After watching his MTV’s Unplugged, I became excited about his music again. Now that he is clear headed (off the syzzurp) rappers better beware. With Tha Carter IV on the way, Wayne may very well be about to drop the album that defines his career.
  • DrakeSo Far Gone is a classic “album” in my opinion. Drake has been hated on because Thank Me Later didn’t live up to the hype, commercially or critically, but Drake is a relatively still young artist. He is also the leader of the New School (along with J. Cole and K.R.I.T.). He will be around for the next 10 years.
  • Nicki Minaj – She is easily the face of the femcee right now. Every time I check for a new female Hip-Hop artist, she is doing her best Nicki Minaj impression. What may be the scariest thing about her is that she is a lyrical beast too. Do I have to remind people what she has done to Ludacris on his own track, or Jay, or Ye, or Rozay? She has killed more cats than some assassins.

ROLE PLAYERS:

  • Shannell – I have to say that she is one of the most talented people in the industry. Even before aligning herself with Wayne, she had worked with some of the biggest acts in the game. She has wrote for everyone including Ne-Yo and Beyonce to name a couple. Although she made the mistake of giving us “Prom Queen”, her talent is obvious.
  • Tyga – Okay! I will be the first to admit that, I’m not sure how I feel about this guy. I’m from the left coast (the best coast) and I do hope this cat becomes a star. Unfortunately he has made some mistakes. Who knew “Coconut Juice” could be so bad for you? Still with the release of mixtapes like his Black Thought series, Tyga is managing to show he has some talent.
  • Cory Gunz – If YM can put out another star that is up there with the big three, it is this guy. I actually have been a small fan of his since ’05, but I wasn’t sure he would ever be bigger than an underground rapper. Well now that Wayne has grabbed him, he may be the biggest thing out of New York since 50 Cent. He is still counting money from his reality TV check.

If Young Money has one thing going for them it is their star players. As much as people want to hate on YM’s top three (Drizzy, Weezy, & Nicki), it doesn’t seem like next year they will lose steam. As far as the role players go, Wayne has three dangerous artist just waiting for their chance.

Bottom Line:
Is YM better than the Roc? No, but my question is can they be? I think they have the potential to take there team to higher realms than any other label has been.

  1. Naw I don’t see it. YM isn’t on the level with a prime Death Row and No Limit. How can you say what Roc A Fella did was unheard of? Did you really look at the business venture No Limit did and all the money Master P made in that short amount of time when they was blowing up?

    Roc wins easily against YM hand’s down. YM straight but a lot of them don’t really have their own style.

    1. They all copied that Big Sean punchline flow. So I agree with you, they don’t have their own style

      1. How you gonna say they copied Big Sean? Just cuz Sean came out and said that in an interview recently? They’ve been around way longer than he has, so I think HE copied them.

          1. YES! That style is NOT new. Big Sean for some reason feels like he originated it. Kinda like how Game thought he WAS West Coast Hip Hop when he first came out.

        1. Well all I know they are coping somebody… Drake try to sound like Wayne so much. I really hate Drake musically…. Even though I like certain songs but that is about it. He don’t have no classic in my opinion. I’m just not sold on this guy and won’t be. Maybe because he was already doing TV shows before he came into the hip hop game so he already had money. Folks like Jay-Z, Beanie had to pay dues to get money which I can feel and relate to compared to Drake soft ass.

          You can’t even compare The Roc to YM…. There is no comparisons at all! YM Is more pop than anything if you ask me. Roc was more street and had doper music than YM put out. I’m not even the biggest Roc fan but I bought their music years ago.. I never bought anything YM put out and they haven’t made enough heat to convince me to shell out cash…. I haven’t bought a Cash Money album since 2001 when Juvenile put out “Project English”, Turk “Young N Thuggin” and Mack 10 “Bang Or Ball” which I took back to blockbuster to get my money back since those three albums was garbage.

      1. Debatable, that’s like saying dog poop is better than cat poop. Its still poop. I actually liked Lollipop more, I hate them both though

  2. YM Has the potential to be better?? I’ve got to disagree.

    Wayne, Drake and Nicki have potential but the rest of the cast is garbage. With that said the rest of the supporting cast from Roc actually had talent, it just didn’t sell. So I’ll take having talent and not making sales over no talent and it shows in the features. How many albums from YM’s top 3 do you see feature from the supporting cast? While with Roc you actually saw Memphis and the others get shine. So in this case YM doesn’t have the potential. But as I said Wayne, Drake and Nicki do have potential but not to pass Roc. They have potential to leave their mark on the rap game(doing it now)

    1. So YM can have the bigger cultural impact?

      Wayne didn’t put Drake and Nicki on his albums either until they gained their own notoriety. Just because Wayne has a different formual than Jay doesn’t mean it isn’t working.

  3. They could NEVER be better than the ROC. Here’s why:

    YM is trying to duplicate what the ROC did…with the ROC’s help. Jay and Kanye are ALL over their tracks. Cmon son!

    Also, you honestly think that YM Compilation album is better than ROC La Familia, The Dynasty? CMON SON!

    1. Rocafella was trying to duplicate Def Jam!!! I don’t see what that has to do with anything.

      YM compilation was an actual compilation. Roc La Familia was a Jay-Z album.

        1. How many songs weren’t dominated by Hov? Cmon just because there was one song without Jigga doesn’t make it a compilation.

          1. Originally it was suppose to be a compilation album. Some how it end up being a Jay-Z album

  4. There are only a couple of people on the cast of Young Money that even have the potential to COMPETE with the great roc-a-fella role players: Tyga could if he honed his skills even more, and Lil Wayne could be the best if he had anything resembling quality control. Nicki Minaj flows in great ways, but her voice grates, and Drake, Cory Gunz, and Shannell are utterly useless. The Roc had some losers (Amil, Memphis Bleek), but overall it had one of the most varied and yet most talented all around cast in mainstream hip hop.

  5. I thought about this…

    Roc-A-Fella is like the Chicago Bulls with Jordan. They were a great team built around a huge superstar that was so good he made the other players better. Think how big State Property was when they was hooked up with the Roc/Jay-Z; them dudes had a clothing line and a sneakers line (Even a cartoon in the works at one point). While Jordan made us remember names like Longley, Horace Grant, Paxson, & Cartwright.

    Young Money reminds me of the present day Miami Heat. They have a great big three, but it’s the other players that bring them down as a unit. When you get past Weezy, Drake, & Nicki, the talent drops. And that’s the same way I look at the Miami Heat.

    1. Wow that is a great comparison. I’m sorry but B-Easy just murdered this debate right here with that.
      *Applauds*

    2. Thank You B-Easy! You just made my point. Can YM be better than the ROC? Yes. Just like the Miami Heat have the oppurtunity to turn into a multiple champion.

      I am not claiming, by any stretch of the imagination that YM is better, but I am saying they can become better. YM has the potential to become Bill Russel’s Celtics and win more that the Roc.

      1. Like I said YM wasn’t even on the level of Death Row nor the Roc. There shouldn’t be no comparisons at all…. I don’t see much talent in Drake nor Nicki. They are cool sometimes but that’s about it.

  6. Dope post. But a couple notes

    -for one give Wayne his credit, the way Drake and Nicki tell it HE signed them, not Mack.
    -Bleek never trascended, but Is that your chick and do my were colossal and still get club spins today. Not to mention Mind Right. Up until third album, he had hits
    -Also for one, I really don’t consider the YM business team to be that good. They use the same business model for all three of their acts, oversaturate with features, then promise the album, then said album gets delayed a MILLION times. Unlike what we’re seeing with Watch the Throne *rumors* every YM album since C3 has had real release dates that saw drastic pushbacks. And I refuse to call people who still owe royalties to Bangladesh for A MILLI “good” businessmen lol.

    The Roc managed talent and promoted Beans (no matter what he says) Bleek, Free, Cam. I really truly, no hate, think that Birdman and them just stumbled onto three acts that they didnt even know would be as talented as they are. Like I got mad when I saw Birdmans name as exec producer of Thank Me Later, wtf did he really contribute or oversee on that? He has no artistic input or value to what Drake is doing, or Minaj for that matter. Or post C3 Wayne. Tez seems smart though.

    The true skill of their promotion team will be tested when they try and make Cory, Tyga, Millz, and Shanell blow up.

    1. I’m just going to say this, Birdman has been in the game for almost 2 decades now, and has put out 2 teams that have ran the radio ten years apart.

      You know what you are doing when that kind of thing happens.

  7. Also the Roc grew to have two of the most lethal producers as well as others, YM missed out on signing Hit-Boy, and I’m pretty sure the Bangladesh shit will not make any producer wanna sign with them lol

  8. I mean come on man this aint hard The Roc talent was way superior to Young Money;s

    Jay-Z vs Wayne
    Drake vs Cam- The old Cam WOULD EAT DRAKE ALIVE!
    Kanye vs Nicki- No thought needed

    And the Roc’s roll players are KILLING Young Money’s role playes
    And we all know the Roc was better buisness wise

  9. So after reading all the comments I notice, most of y’all can’t name one reason YM can’t be bigger than Rocafella. Most of the argument is that Jay is great and you don’t like Drizzy or Nicky.

        1. Nicki has SOME talent, but its nothing spectacular. She doesnt even make rap anymore anyway she makes pop. Drake gotta a little singing talent but he’s an average MC who is not creative at all. Wayne is just counter-productive and ridiculous. I said in 09 that I cant defend Wayne anymore he is just 2 much

    1. They are more pop than actually making hip hop music. Think about it? They rarely rap, they do more singing than anything. How can you even compare Roc to YM? YM is shit compared to Roc. YM is alright and I’m only saying that since I was a big Cash Money fan in the 90’s.

      1. Dub got the Devil in his head P-Body lol. No fucking way these souless pop rappers can compare to the Roc in there prime. Im sorry but Drake was on fuckin Degrassi! Before he was a rapper! Does background not matter anymore in hip hop? Wayne kisses men and raps bullshit. Nicki is just ridiculous with all those personas and voices. Their “Role Players” are mad lame. The wihole YM thing is just a joke to me

        1. Yeah a big joke to me as well. I definitely co-sign P

          I think Dub want us to see his point of view which I see but I just can’t get into Young Money. I don’t buy into the hype… They aren’t no different than any other garbage out there and their beats sound like everybody else.

    2. Beanie Sigel and Freeway are rappers are legitimately dope rappers and are probably better than Jay is now, while Drake is one of the most incompetent young rappers out there, and Nicki’s voice is irritating as fuck.

  10. Honestly, I feel this is a disgrace to Roc…Everybody on the Roc was all successful at one point and time. Young Money got 4 rappers thats really making money for them and im being nice by including Cory Gunz….I dont understand how Wayne has 4 albums come out in 3 years, Drake and Nicki have follow up albums when they just dropped albums last years, when nobody else from the camp has dropped a single album yet…. Young Money just riding the coattails of the “Big 3″s success.

    As for the music aspect, Jay and Wayne comparisons will always be around. But as far as the rest… For one, Kanye will always be light years ahead of anybody in Young Money. Drake even said himself when MBDTF that he wish he could have critical acclaim like Kanye… You have a producer that makes your own style of production, Kanye makes his own production and reinvents the wheel every time he comes out. Who on Young Money other than drake can make a record as deep as B.Coming? Drake got longevity because he is original, but who else is original like him? Not even Lil Wayne is, so I think young money is more of a “whats hot right now” thing.

    Look at the leaders…Jay-Z had hits on hits, back to back number one albums. Wayne came out with a milli…then came out with 6’7″ same producer, same ass beat pretty much just a different sample…The earlier carters even stole jay-z’s album designs for crying out loud. Once I hear a concept album or something like blueprint or even blueprint 3 where he can step out the box, Young Money will not be bigger than Roc

    1. Since when Drake was original? He bit off Lil Wayne with the way he rap on certain songs. Drake is garbage man! He alright on some songs but that singing crap is going to far. Everything else you said I co-sign with

      1. switch it around, actually. Drake and Lil wayne sound like each other now with that annoying ass flow they use (Im so fly, propellers). But when Drake came out in 09, nobody was making music like him…Houstatlantavegas? Best I ever had? his so far gone mixtape is a classic. What wayne album/mixtape can go against SFG? But drake’s originality is starting to wear thin as well. and I agree with the singing, I love the concept of Marvin’s Room, but somebody need to tell dude he cant sing like that, so stop trying.

      2. For the record…Kanye will always be a better artist than Drake Or Nicki. Kanye was behind Jay-Z’s classics even before he became a star. Thats not even just an artist, thats chemistry. Blueprint, Black Album, even American Gangster are leagues ahead of YM artists thought process…maybe except Drake. Im just looking at it from an artistic point…concept wise what does YM rap about, what does their music sound like? Can any of YM make an album like Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? Late Registration? or even B.Coming?

    2. Man history repeats itself so why shouldnt young money follow the rocs greatness and as i recall jay did want wayne on the team

        1. That doesnt make my argument any less valid. And did you see what I had to say about that album? LOL, im more a fan of the idea of Lil B and not the actual guy. AND U CANT TALK! THe dude defending the most pop rap label ever in history. We should get Dub a job at the Disney Channel. THIS IS HIP HOP (Old nigga voice) LOL

    1. Ya gotta think, if we are all taking the side of the Roc who really is trippin. Your asking if they have the potential to be better. In truth every label has the potential to be better than the ROC. But the real question is “is YM living up to the potential?”

      Simple answer is NO.

  11. Overall let’s sum this up.. I hate to use this word *Swag* but I must use it for this topic.

    Young Money is basically a swagger jacking posse, look at how they bit off other artist & ran with their style….

    Roc had much more music that I can relate to and beat’s was much harder! They had two of the dopest producers on the team *Just Blaze & Kanye West*

    Young Money is Hip Pop while Roc was Hip Hop with a edge to it.

    Young Gunz “Neva Take Me A Live” featuring Jay-Z is a classic song…. When has Young Money ever made a joint like that? Their music is so disposable man. Young Money don’t even have a classic song yet. All their shit sound radio friendly

    Once again this is coming from a Ex Cash Money Records fan who use to co-sign everything they did & made back in the day.

    1. I guess you can compare Young Money “We Are Young” album against Jay-Z “Dynasty” since that was originally suppose to be a compilation album…. On the Young Money album Lil Wayne is on all the songs except for about 1 or 2, just like Jay-Z.

      Dynasty had “This Can’t Be Life”, “I Just Want To Give It To U”, “Stick 2 The Script”… Must I say more about that dope album.

      Young Money had “Every Girl In The World”, “Bed Rock”…. Those songs compared to Dynasty are trash!

  12. this devolved into people just riding for their favorites and trashing the rappers they dislike.
    DuB wanted us to be objective (I think). funny how that never lasts long, lol

    once again tho, our boy DuB can spark a debate like no other

    1. I think Jerm hold that title with the crazy debates but Dub is very close haha. Dub still my homie though but I just can’t cosign this young money stuff.

  13. Ok I don’t think you guys get my point. I’m not comparing them musicall. I’m saying that buisness wise they have the potetial to be bigger culturally. Not have better music.

    1. I dont think so. Maybe if Wayne started Young Money around the time of Carter 2. I dont think he’s at his peak anymore

        1. Yes commercially Lil Wayne is bigger…. I definitely agree with that. On a business tip I don’t even see them being bigger than the Roc and plus the economy was much better back when Roc was dominating. The value of the dollar went down since then, smh…. The name Young Money just don’t ring a bell as a heavy hitter, it sound too much close to Cash Money.

          1. How Young Money don’t ring bells? They are a MAJOR PLAYER IN MUSIC RIGHT NOW! They got artists going plat in times when niggas is looking at GOLD as a success. Back then it was easy as shit to go plat.

            True YM has 3 STARS. But their 3 are bigger than the Roc Big 3. Let Freeway, Bleek, or any of them SP niggas come out today…THEY AINT MOVING SHIT. Only ones from the Roc that would sell today is Jay and Yeezy. Let’s be real…we not even comparing Nicki to Amil…we comparing her with the big boys.

            That is why I say YM is better than the Roc

          2. I don’t mean in a content to where nobody don’t know who the big three is I mean as far as the name standing out… The Young Money name don’ t stand out at all…

            Drake isn’t a rapper man, dude is a R&B artist. I dismissed him as a rapper. Nicki Minaj I don’t take her serious. They riding off of Lil Wayne mane… I don’t think their next album going to sale as much as their first one, maybe they will but I doubt it. Only reason why YM is selling because they make a lot of bubblegum stuff and that’s what the kids are into now.

            I’ll compare Nicki and Amil to each other because they both was kinda corny to me but Amil was a slightly better rapper… I said slightly.

            That still don’t mean YM is better than Roc. Their quality of music haven’t showed that yet. Once again you forget I was one of the biggest CMR fans out there but I’m not going to front on the Roc. The Roc was a beast in their time. YM never made an album that make me want to spend cash on it. At least Jay-Z let his artist release music example: Young Gunz, Freeway, Beanie, Memphis Bleek, Christion, Cam’ron…. YM never let any of the other artist release shit except for Drake and Nicki.

          3. P-Body

            Amil is better than Nicki? You are being biased. Next you will be saying Peedi is better than Gunz or that Bleek can out rap Drake.

          4. YM just got their distribution deal in 09 so the fact that only two acts released albums doesn’t mean anything.

          5. Actually I like Amil better than Nicki but I didn’t like Amil much either. She was annoying to me too…. She kinda look like a dude with a wig. I’m not being biased like I said earlier I wasn’t really a Rocafella fan but I call it like I see it. I give Roc their props…. Y’all must forgot about the quality Roc was dropping from the 90’s to early 2000’s…

          6. You must not have read the article. I am not comparing music but cultural impact. YM and their big three can and have been the main attractions on major tours. Only Jay and Ye have doe that for the Roc and that’s over the entire lifespan of the dynasty. That is why YM can become the bigger than the Roc.

          7. Idk man…. I guess…. Maybe with todays fans then they probably can make a impact since they like the cheesy stuff nowadays.

          8. I’m not a fan of either to be honest but I’ll smash Nicki if she gave me the opportunity.

  14. Wow, I don’t like sayin people are “haters”, but yall are HATING! Young Money is the biggest Dynasty since The Roc and owns the rap game right now. They are talented, heavily commercial, but also potentially the most successful label ever. It took them a year to make Drake & Nicki Household names, get Cory Gunz a show, somehow drop heavily popular Birdman songs, earn Lil’ Twist a CULT twitter following etc etc etc. I could go on for paragraphs, but yall get the point. Just stop the hate.

    1. Not hating, I just don’t see whats the fuss about with Young Money. They may have the potential to being successful label but I won’t say the most successful….. *Cough* No Limit, Cash Money Records, Death Row Records, Bad Boy were more successful and better. Them other guys like Lil Twist don’t have that “It” factor like Drake has… Drake have a following because women like how he looks, he is soft, and he sings… Nicki Minaj changed up her image to this barber thing and wearing outrageous stuff because of Lady Gaga.

      Maybach music has the potential to being better than YM but then again it is really only the main person who is getting all the shine *Ross*.

        1. Naw I’m not hating man I’m just calling it like I see it. As long as they are with Baby I don’t see that…. Baby aka Birdman is stingy and don’t want to pay people their money… They’re constantly getting sued which is uncool. He only using them because they are hot right now… You see the other artist on the label didn’t drop shit yet. They only focus on the main players instead of trying to let everybody else get a little shine…

  15. Nah you really are a hater. Drake has a following because in his early days he rapped his ass off lyrically and now he’s commercially rapping his ass off. The hell you mean he soft? Whats that have to do with his rapping skills? Eminem sing. J. Cole sings. Chamillionaire sings. Big KRIT sings. Wayne sings. They’re wack right?

    You cant use “sales” as a reason to be more successful, this is a different time in the game. It’s about the brand, the popularity, and the music. Wayne got one number 1 single, Jay got one number 1 single. Look at who got theirs first!

    Twist out workin with Beiber. He’s a star. Mack Maine is supposedly a business mastermind. Tyga’s gettin better runnin around getting a name with Chris Brown. They stay on the radio, TV, internet, whatever…

    Yall are basically saying you personally don’t like their music, but ignoring the fact that currently the rap game is centered around YMCMB.

    Son just accept that their movement is one of the biggest ever.

    1. How does having an opinion equals hate? Since I don’t like Soulja Boy music then that mean I’m a hater too? Or since I think Gucci Mane is a garbage lyricist then that make me a hater huh?

      I don’t have to accept it because I won’t listen to their stuff. Only album I’m waiting on is The Carter IV which I’ll probably be disappointed after that “How To Love” single but maybe he will prove me wrong. I always been a Wayne fan though

      Twist is not no damn star. A lot of people still don’t know who he is man…. You’re reaching with that one. I like how you use the word *supposedly* for Mack Maine. I’ll say this Tyga is definitely getting his name out there but he is no different than anybody else man.

      Maybach music stay on the radio, internet just as much as YM do if you want to be real and even though I don’t watch TV I’m pretty sure they are on TV as well. I’m not a Ross fan but he do put out some good music though when he isn’t rapping about who he want to be like.

      Without Lil Wayne nobody wouldn’t be checking for young money. Once again this is coming from a ex CMR fan…. I use to bump the hell out of Cash Money back in the day before a lot of people on here knew who they were. I done bought the B.G., Hot Boys, UNLV, Pimp Daddy, Big Tymers, Mr Ivan, Juvenile, Kilo-G and other albums they released over the years… Some people probably think Lil Wayne first album was “The Carter”. With that being said I’m not going to be biased. I use to be really biased about Lil Wayne and anything related to CMR but not now as I got older.

      I’m not biased about the Roc. I wasn’t a big Roc fan….. I’m a Pac & Nas fan more than anything else….

      I just don’t see Young Money movement being on the level like the Roc. They had artist on their squad with better quality music.

      Whenever you throw up the Roc sign everybody knew what time it was.

      1. I see what the problem is P-Body. You are comparing YM now to the ROCs overall greatness. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan but he never had a Drake or Nicki next to him. If you don’t like Drake or Nicki that one thing but you can’t deny he is talented and one of the most in demand rappers today.
        If Jay had the chance to sign both Drake and Nicki to the Roc, believe he would have given up every artist he had outside of Ye.

        1. I would have never guessed you were a big Jay-Z fan to be honest. Put it like this I see talent in Drake but I don’t think he using his full potential so that’s why I can’t lean towards him. All that girl songs he make I can’t get with that. If he came out being an R&B artist in the beginning then that is cool but he said he is a emcee so that threw me off big time. The only people who sing and rap that I like was Devin The Dude & Pimp C. Especially Pimp C dude had soul and with me being from the south I guess I can say I’m biased with that.

          Drake and Nicki wouldn’t fit the Roc sound and structure well maybe Nicki… I definitely don’t see Drake on the Roc. Nobody would not take Drake serious if he rap about busting people in the head or shooting folks. I think he would be better if he was just solo because he don’t fit Young Money at all….. That’s just personally me. Speaking of Kanye in the beginning dude had some dope ass albums and later on after his mom died shit just took a different turn.

          Overall Dub I definitely respect your opinion and thanks for hearing me out. That’s how a debate should be like. We don’t have to bash each other over the head to get our point across.

          1. As far as Drake not fitting in with the roc, they said that about Kanye too and he is the 2nd biggest artist to come from that label.

            Of course fam, I ain’t into dissing cats because we have different points of view.

      2. Nah I’m saying you’re hating because you’re using opinions to judge a factual-based argument. “I dont like their music” doesn’t mean much when they sold 6million+ records since So Far Gone 2 years ago.

  16. IF you wanna use the term “cultural impact” can you really give that to young money? Roc had their OWN sound. nobody was making music like them. I think people forgot about the Roc’s legacy… Wayne and Drake are the only ones I can say are most likely going to leave a dent on the game…I think Nicki Minaj is so popular right now because she’s filling that female void in rap right now. No other female is out like how she is RIGHT NOW. but when you look past that, do you really think she has longevity to be around for 5 years or more? I mean wayne is making songs like “John” right now…word to who you cant find another beat that sounds just like that? Young Money may be popping right now, but I only see them as a in thing right now…

    When they start making albums like Blueprint, Late Registration, B. Coming, American Gangster, Philadelphia Freeway, Tough Luv then the comparisons will make sense…cuz they don’t right now

  17. You seem to have forgotten one thhing. The game is different right now. YM has put out quality work like that in the for of mixtapes. So Far Gone, Beam me Up scotty, and tons of Wayne mixtapes. When the Roc was poppin the mixtape was what it is today.

  18. you see how even though you said the game is different, you still named the main attraction of YM? So Far Gone, Beam me up scotty (I dont even know whose mixtape that is honestly) and TON of wayne mixtapes…where does that leave the rest of YM still? and obviously young money knows this too, as Mack Maine, Lil Twist and Bow Wow are on what albums of the big stars (other than I Am Not A Human Being, which was a leftover album basically)? And Jam Of The Week means nothing, as YM doesnt have the say in who has jam of the week. You know how many one hit wonders had jam of the week?

    1. ?How many of Waynes albums were Drake and Nicki Minaj on before they gained notoriety? Zero. Point is Wayne has a an attack that isn’t like Jiggas was. You don’t have to like it, but point point is YM got their distribution deal in 09 and have put out a compilation album and dropped two platinum albums from new artist. Rocafella got their distribution deal in 95 and what year did Bleek drop? 99.

      Not onlycan YM be bigger than the Roc they are moving faster.

  19. Dub, where are your FACTS. Drake and Nicki havent even been signed until mid 09…when was Wayne’s last album before that? a year ago. you act like they been signed years ago or something. Yea, they waited 4 years for bleek to drop his album which went gold…but thats alot more than you can say for everybody else on YM not named Drake or Nicki…Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine been signed for the longest…where is their solos at? once they drop and go gold, then we have a valid argument, cuz your not looking at facts

  20. It has just been established that YM did not get a distribution deal until 0C.

    One gold album vs two platinum albums. You aren’t looking at the facts sir.

    1. so if you know that Drake and Nicki haven’t even been around till 09…why would you say that they haven’t even been on any wayne albums before 09? and 2 platinum albums and one gold album by who? Drake Wayne & Nicki. exactly the point i am trying to make.

      1. Let’s get this clear. Nicki Drake and Tyga have been around Wayne since 07/08. It would have been easy to let all of them appear on C3. Hell even before Wayne signed Curren$y he appeared on C2.

        Coming of age (Gold) vs. Thank Me Later (plat) and Pink Friday (plat).

        YM has put out 3 platinum selling artist. How long did it tak the Roc to do that?

        1. you still talking about nicki minaj and drake…we know they came out with platinum records ok? go past that…who else do they have? Jay didnt even push nobody else but himself till 3-4 years after he became more established…yea not everybody in ROC blew up, but they were all still successful. Almost everybody on the label had albums out…and usually more than 1. Other than wayne, drake or nicki…who else made an album somewhat successful? atleast gold? Wasnt tyga’s new album supposed to been out last year? wasnt lil twist album supposed to drop last month?

          and what other song was wayne on of nicki’s other than i get crazy (which was in 09)? before getting signed?

          I dont know if Drake has been around him since 07, i know they made Man of the year though and that was in 07. Tyga has been around.

          1. Tyga has Mtvs jam of the week. He and Twist are headlining Bet’s summer tour. Cory Gunz is on. Waynes lead single and has a reality show.

            How can you say forget Nicki and Drake. Ok! Forget Jay and Kanye. That would be a stupid way to look at the labels right.

            YM is in its third year since getting a distribution deal. That means they are like the ROC in 98. How many artist did they have out back then? None.

            Wayne was on sunshine, higher than a kite and young money ballerz all with Nicki Minaj (just to name a few).

            Putting out an album makes you successful. Most of them niggas wasn’t moving units. It was way easier for sales back then. If an artist goes gold today its like going Platinum back then. Rick Ross is a pperfect example. How many platinum albums does he have?

            yes YM is prepping thTygas album to come out. If you really want to be exact they ju they just put out DJ Khaleds album (yes if you buy the album YM is one of the labels you will see he is signed to).

            Your argument is as bad as Lil B’s hottest 16 bars.

  21. Naw I don’t see it. YM isn’t on the level with a prime Death Row and No Limit. How can you say what Roc A Fella did was unheard of? Did you really look at the business venture No Limit did and all the money Master P made in that short amount of time when they was blowing up?

    Roc wins easily against YM hand’s down. YM straight but a lot of them don’t really have their own style.

      1. How you gonna say they copied Big Sean? Just cuz Sean came out and said that in an interview recently? They’ve been around way longer than he has, so I think HE copied them.

          1. YES! That style is NOT new. Big Sean for some reason feels like he originated it. Kinda like how Game thought he WAS West Coast Hip Hop when he first came out.

        1. Well all I know they are coping somebody… Drake try to sound like Wayne so much. I really hate Drake musically…. Even though I like certain songs but that is about it. He don’t have no classic in my opinion. I’m just not sold on this guy and won’t be. Maybe because he was already doing TV shows before he came into the hip hop game so he already had money. Folks like Jay-Z, Beanie had to pay dues to get money which I can feel and relate to compared to Drake soft ass.

          You can’t even compare The Roc to YM…. There is no comparisons at all! YM Is more pop than anything if you ask me. Roc was more street and had doper music than YM put out. I’m not even the biggest Roc fan but I bought their music years ago.. I never bought anything YM put out and they haven’t made enough heat to convince me to shell out cash…. I haven’t bought a Cash Money album since 2001 when Juvenile put out “Project English”, Turk “Young N Thuggin” and Mack 10 “Bang Or Ball” which I took back to blockbuster to get my money back since those three albums was garbage.

  22. There are only a couple of people on the cast of Young Money that even have the potential to COMPETE with the great roc-a-fella role players: Tyga could if he honed his skills even more, and Lil Wayne could be the best if he had anything resembling quality control. Nicki Minaj flows in great ways, but her voice grates, and Drake, Cory Gunz, and Shannell are utterly useless. The Roc had some losers (Amil, Memphis Bleek), but overall it had one of the most varied and yet most talented all around cast in mainstream hip hop.

  23. They could NEVER be better than the ROC. Here’s why:

    YM is trying to duplicate what the ROC did…with the ROC’s help. Jay and Kanye are ALL over their tracks. Cmon son!

    Also, you honestly think that YM Compilation album is better than ROC La Familia, The Dynasty? CMON SON!

    1. Rocafella was trying to duplicate Def Jam!!! I don’t see what that has to do with anything.

      YM compilation was an actual compilation. Roc La Familia was a Jay-Z album.

  24. YM Has the potential to be better?? I’ve got to disagree.

    Wayne, Drake and Nicki have potential but the rest of the cast is garbage. With that said the rest of the supporting cast from Roc actually had talent, it just didn’t sell. So I’ll take having talent and not making sales over no talent and it shows in the features. How many albums from YM’s top 3 do you see feature from the supporting cast? While with Roc you actually saw Memphis and the others get shine. So in this case YM doesn’t have the potential. But as I said Wayne, Drake and Nicki do have potential but not to pass Roc. They have potential to leave their mark on the rap game(doing it now)

    1. So YM can have the bigger cultural impact?

      Wayne didn’t put Drake and Nicki on his albums either until they gained their own notoriety. Just because Wayne has a different formual than Jay doesn’t mean it isn’t working.

  25. Also the Roc grew to have two of the most lethal producers as well as others, YM missed out on signing Hit-Boy, and I’m pretty sure the Bangladesh shit will not make any producer wanna sign with them lol

      1. Debatable, that’s like saying dog poop is better than cat poop. Its still poop. I actually liked Lollipop more, I hate them both though

  26. I thought about this…

    Roc-A-Fella is like the Chicago Bulls with Jordan. They were a great team built around a huge superstar that was so good he made the other players better. Think how big State Property was when they was hooked up with the Roc/Jay-Z; them dudes had a clothing line and a sneakers line (Even a cartoon in the works at one point). While Jordan made us remember names like Longley, Horace Grant, Paxson, & Cartwright.

    Young Money reminds me of the present day Miami Heat. They have a great big three, but it’s the other players that bring them down as a unit. When you get past Weezy, Drake, & Nicki, the talent drops. And that’s the same way I look at the Miami Heat.

      1. Like I said YM wasn’t even on the level of Death Row nor the Roc. There shouldn’t be no comparisons at all…. I don’t see much talent in Drake nor Nicki. They are cool sometimes but that’s about it.

    1. Thank You B-Easy! You just made my point. Can YM be better than the ROC? Yes. Just like the Miami Heat have the oppurtunity to turn into a multiple champion.

      I am not claiming, by any stretch of the imagination that YM is better, but I am saying they can become better. YM has the potential to become Bill Russel’s Celtics and win more that the Roc.

  27. Wow, I don’t like sayin people are “haters”, but yall are HATING! Young Money is the biggest Dynasty since The Roc and owns the rap game right now. They are talented, heavily commercial, but also potentially the most successful label ever. It took them a year to make Drake & Nicki Household names, get Cory Gunz a show, somehow drop heavily popular Birdman songs, earn Lil’ Twist a CULT twitter following etc etc etc. I could go on for paragraphs, but yall get the point. Just stop the hate.

    1. Not hating, I just don’t see whats the fuss about with Young Money. They may have the potential to being successful label but I won’t say the most successful….. *Cough* No Limit, Cash Money Records, Death Row Records, Bad Boy were more successful and better. Them other guys like Lil Twist don’t have that “It” factor like Drake has… Drake have a following because women like how he looks, he is soft, and he sings… Nicki Minaj changed up her image to this barber thing and wearing outrageous stuff because of Lady Gaga.

      Maybach music has the potential to being better than YM but then again it is really only the main person who is getting all the shine *Ross*.

        1. Naw I’m not hating man I’m just calling it like I see it. As long as they are with Baby I don’t see that…. Baby aka Birdman is stingy and don’t want to pay people their money… They’re constantly getting sued which is uncool. He only using them because they are hot right now… You see the other artist on the label didn’t drop shit yet. They only focus on the main players instead of trying to let everybody else get a little shine…

  28. It has just been established that YM did not get a distribution deal until 0C.

    One gold album vs two platinum albums. You aren’t looking at the facts sir.

    1. so if you know that Drake and Nicki haven’t even been around till 09…why would you say that they haven’t even been on any wayne albums before 09? and 2 platinum albums and one gold album by who? Drake Wayne & Nicki. exactly the point i am trying to make.

      1. Let’s get this clear. Nicki Drake and Tyga have been around Wayne since 07/08. It would have been easy to let all of them appear on C3. Hell even before Wayne signed Curren$y he appeared on C2.

        Coming of age (Gold) vs. Thank Me Later (plat) and Pink Friday (plat).

        YM has put out 3 platinum selling artist. How long did it tak the Roc to do that?

        1. you still talking about nicki minaj and drake…we know they came out with platinum records ok? go past that…who else do they have? Jay didnt even push nobody else but himself till 3-4 years after he became more established…yea not everybody in ROC blew up, but they were all still successful. Almost everybody on the label had albums out…and usually more than 1. Other than wayne, drake or nicki…who else made an album somewhat successful? atleast gold? Wasnt tyga’s new album supposed to been out last year? wasnt lil twist album supposed to drop last month?

          and what other song was wayne on of nicki’s other than i get crazy (which was in 09)? before getting signed?

          I dont know if Drake has been around him since 07, i know they made Man of the year though and that was in 07. Tyga has been around.

          1. Tyga has Mtvs jam of the week. He and Twist are headlining Bet’s summer tour. Cory Gunz is on. Waynes lead single and has a reality show.

            How can you say forget Nicki and Drake. Ok! Forget Jay and Kanye. That would be a stupid way to look at the labels right.

            YM is in its third year since getting a distribution deal. That means they are like the ROC in 98. How many artist did they have out back then? None.

            Wayne was on sunshine, higher than a kite and young money ballerz all with Nicki Minaj (just to name a few).

            Putting out an album makes you successful. Most of them niggas wasn’t moving units. It was way easier for sales back then. If an artist goes gold today its like going Platinum back then. Rick Ross is a pperfect example. How many platinum albums does he have?

            yes YM is prepping thTygas album to come out. If you really want to be exact they ju they just put out DJ Khaleds album (yes if you buy the album YM is one of the labels you will see he is signed to).

            Your argument is as bad as Lil B’s hottest 16 bars.

  29. Dope post. But a couple notes

    -for one give Wayne his credit, the way Drake and Nicki tell it HE signed them, not Mack.
    -Bleek never trascended, but Is that your chick and do my were colossal and still get club spins today. Not to mention Mind Right. Up until third album, he had hits
    -Also for one, I really don’t consider the YM business team to be that good. They use the same business model for all three of their acts, oversaturate with features, then promise the album, then said album gets delayed a MILLION times. Unlike what we’re seeing with Watch the Throne *rumors* every YM album since C3 has had real release dates that saw drastic pushbacks. And I refuse to call people who still owe royalties to Bangladesh for A MILLI “good” businessmen lol.

    The Roc managed talent and promoted Beans (no matter what he says) Bleek, Free, Cam. I really truly, no hate, think that Birdman and them just stumbled onto three acts that they didnt even know would be as talented as they are. Like I got mad when I saw Birdmans name as exec producer of Thank Me Later, wtf did he really contribute or oversee on that? He has no artistic input or value to what Drake is doing, or Minaj for that matter. Or post C3 Wayne. Tez seems smart though.

    The true skill of their promotion team will be tested when they try and make Cory, Tyga, Millz, and Shanell blow up.

    1. I’m just going to say this, Birdman has been in the game for almost 2 decades now, and has put out 2 teams that have ran the radio ten years apart.

      You know what you are doing when that kind of thing happens.

  30. Nah you really are a hater. Drake has a following because in his early days he rapped his ass off lyrically and now he’s commercially rapping his ass off. The hell you mean he soft? Whats that have to do with his rapping skills? Eminem sing. J. Cole sings. Chamillionaire sings. Big KRIT sings. Wayne sings. They’re wack right?

    You cant use “sales” as a reason to be more successful, this is a different time in the game. It’s about the brand, the popularity, and the music. Wayne got one number 1 single, Jay got one number 1 single. Look at who got theirs first!

    Twist out workin with Beiber. He’s a star. Mack Maine is supposedly a business mastermind. Tyga’s gettin better runnin around getting a name with Chris Brown. They stay on the radio, TV, internet, whatever…

    Yall are basically saying you personally don’t like their music, but ignoring the fact that currently the rap game is centered around YMCMB.

    Son just accept that their movement is one of the biggest ever.

    1. How does having an opinion equals hate? Since I don’t like Soulja Boy music then that mean I’m a hater too? Or since I think Gucci Mane is a garbage lyricist then that make me a hater huh?

      I don’t have to accept it because I won’t listen to their stuff. Only album I’m waiting on is The Carter IV which I’ll probably be disappointed after that “How To Love” single but maybe he will prove me wrong. I always been a Wayne fan though

      Twist is not no damn star. A lot of people still don’t know who he is man…. You’re reaching with that one. I like how you use the word *supposedly* for Mack Maine. I’ll say this Tyga is definitely getting his name out there but he is no different than anybody else man.

      Maybach music stay on the radio, internet just as much as YM do if you want to be real and even though I don’t watch TV I’m pretty sure they are on TV as well. I’m not a Ross fan but he do put out some good music though when he isn’t rapping about who he want to be like.

      Without Lil Wayne nobody wouldn’t be checking for young money. Once again this is coming from a ex CMR fan…. I use to bump the hell out of Cash Money back in the day before a lot of people on here knew who they were. I done bought the B.G., Hot Boys, UNLV, Pimp Daddy, Big Tymers, Mr Ivan, Juvenile, Kilo-G and other albums they released over the years… Some people probably think Lil Wayne first album was “The Carter”. With that being said I’m not going to be biased. I use to be really biased about Lil Wayne and anything related to CMR but not now as I got older.

      I’m not biased about the Roc. I wasn’t a big Roc fan….. I’m a Pac & Nas fan more than anything else….

      I just don’t see Young Money movement being on the level like the Roc. They had artist on their squad with better quality music.

      Whenever you throw up the Roc sign everybody knew what time it was.

      1. Nah I’m saying you’re hating because you’re using opinions to judge a factual-based argument. “I dont like their music” doesn’t mean much when they sold 6million+ records since So Far Gone 2 years ago.

      2. I see what the problem is P-Body. You are comparing YM now to the ROCs overall greatness. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan but he never had a Drake or Nicki next to him. If you don’t like Drake or Nicki that one thing but you can’t deny he is talented and one of the most in demand rappers today.
        If Jay had the chance to sign both Drake and Nicki to the Roc, believe he would have given up every artist he had outside of Ye.

        1. I would have never guessed you were a big Jay-Z fan to be honest. Put it like this I see talent in Drake but I don’t think he using his full potential so that’s why I can’t lean towards him. All that girl songs he make I can’t get with that. If he came out being an R&B artist in the beginning then that is cool but he said he is a emcee so that threw me off big time. The only people who sing and rap that I like was Devin The Dude & Pimp C. Especially Pimp C dude had soul and with me being from the south I guess I can say I’m biased with that.

          Drake and Nicki wouldn’t fit the Roc sound and structure well maybe Nicki… I definitely don’t see Drake on the Roc. Nobody would not take Drake serious if he rap about busting people in the head or shooting folks. I think he would be better if he was just solo because he don’t fit Young Money at all….. That’s just personally me. Speaking of Kanye in the beginning dude had some dope ass albums and later on after his mom died shit just took a different turn.

          Overall Dub I definitely respect your opinion and thanks for hearing me out. That’s how a debate should be like. We don’t have to bash each other over the head to get our point across.

          1. As far as Drake not fitting in with the roc, they said that about Kanye too and he is the 2nd biggest artist to come from that label.

            Of course fam, I ain’t into dissing cats because we have different points of view.

  31. I mean come on man this aint hard The Roc talent was way superior to Young Money;s

    Jay-Z vs Wayne
    Drake vs Cam- The old Cam WOULD EAT DRAKE ALIVE!
    Kanye vs Nicki- No thought needed

    And the Roc’s roll players are KILLING Young Money’s role playes
    And we all know the Roc was better buisness wise

  32. Dub, where are your FACTS. Drake and Nicki havent even been signed until mid 09…when was Wayne’s last album before that? a year ago. you act like they been signed years ago or something. Yea, they waited 4 years for bleek to drop his album which went gold…but thats alot more than you can say for everybody else on YM not named Drake or Nicki…Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine been signed for the longest…where is their solos at? once they drop and go gold, then we have a valid argument, cuz your not looking at facts

  33. IF you wanna use the term “cultural impact” can you really give that to young money? Roc had their OWN sound. nobody was making music like them. I think people forgot about the Roc’s legacy… Wayne and Drake are the only ones I can say are most likely going to leave a dent on the game…I think Nicki Minaj is so popular right now because she’s filling that female void in rap right now. No other female is out like how she is RIGHT NOW. but when you look past that, do you really think she has longevity to be around for 5 years or more? I mean wayne is making songs like “John” right now…word to who you cant find another beat that sounds just like that? Young Money may be popping right now, but I only see them as a in thing right now…

    When they start making albums like Blueprint, Late Registration, B. Coming, American Gangster, Philadelphia Freeway, Tough Luv then the comparisons will make sense…cuz they don’t right now

  34. you see how even though you said the game is different, you still named the main attraction of YM? So Far Gone, Beam me up scotty (I dont even know whose mixtape that is honestly) and TON of wayne mixtapes…where does that leave the rest of YM still? and obviously young money knows this too, as Mack Maine, Lil Twist and Bow Wow are on what albums of the big stars (other than I Am Not A Human Being, which was a leftover album basically)? And Jam Of The Week means nothing, as YM doesnt have the say in who has jam of the week. You know how many one hit wonders had jam of the week?

    1. ?How many of Waynes albums were Drake and Nicki Minaj on before they gained notoriety? Zero. Point is Wayne has a an attack that isn’t like Jiggas was. You don’t have to like it, but point point is YM got their distribution deal in 09 and have put out a compilation album and dropped two platinum albums from new artist. Rocafella got their distribution deal in 95 and what year did Bleek drop? 99.

      Not onlycan YM be bigger than the Roc they are moving faster.

  35. You seem to have forgotten one thhing. The game is different right now. YM has put out quality work like that in the for of mixtapes. So Far Gone, Beam me Up scotty, and tons of Wayne mixtapes. When the Roc was poppin the mixtape was what it is today.

  36. So after reading all the comments I notice, most of y’all can’t name one reason YM can’t be bigger than Rocafella. Most of the argument is that Jay is great and you don’t like Drizzy or Nicky.

    1. Beanie Sigel and Freeway are rappers are legitimately dope rappers and are probably better than Jay is now, while Drake is one of the most incompetent young rappers out there, and Nicki’s voice is irritating as fuck.

        1. Nicki has SOME talent, but its nothing spectacular. She doesnt even make rap anymore anyway she makes pop. Drake gotta a little singing talent but he’s an average MC who is not creative at all. Wayne is just counter-productive and ridiculous. I said in 09 that I cant defend Wayne anymore he is just 2 much

    2. They are more pop than actually making hip hop music. Think about it? They rarely rap, they do more singing than anything. How can you even compare Roc to YM? YM is shit compared to Roc. YM is alright and I’m only saying that since I was a big Cash Money fan in the 90’s.

      1. Dub got the Devil in his head P-Body lol. No fucking way these souless pop rappers can compare to the Roc in there prime. Im sorry but Drake was on fuckin Degrassi! Before he was a rapper! Does background not matter anymore in hip hop? Wayne kisses men and raps bullshit. Nicki is just ridiculous with all those personas and voices. Their “Role Players” are mad lame. The wihole YM thing is just a joke to me

        1. Yeah a big joke to me as well. I definitely co-sign P

          I think Dub want us to see his point of view which I see but I just can’t get into Young Money. I don’t buy into the hype… They aren’t no different than any other garbage out there and their beats sound like everybody else.

    1. Ya gotta think, if we are all taking the side of the Roc who really is trippin. Your asking if they have the potential to be better. In truth every label has the potential to be better than the ROC. But the real question is “is YM living up to the potential?”

      Simple answer is NO.

        1. That doesnt make my argument any less valid. And did you see what I had to say about that album? LOL, im more a fan of the idea of Lil B and not the actual guy. AND U CANT TALK! THe dude defending the most pop rap label ever in history. We should get Dub a job at the Disney Channel. THIS IS HIP HOP (Old nigga voice) LOL

  37. Honestly, I feel this is a disgrace to Roc…Everybody on the Roc was all successful at one point and time. Young Money got 4 rappers thats really making money for them and im being nice by including Cory Gunz….I dont understand how Wayne has 4 albums come out in 3 years, Drake and Nicki have follow up albums when they just dropped albums last years, when nobody else from the camp has dropped a single album yet…. Young Money just riding the coattails of the “Big 3″s success.

    As for the music aspect, Jay and Wayne comparisons will always be around. But as far as the rest… For one, Kanye will always be light years ahead of anybody in Young Money. Drake even said himself when MBDTF that he wish he could have critical acclaim like Kanye… You have a producer that makes your own style of production, Kanye makes his own production and reinvents the wheel every time he comes out. Who on Young Money other than drake can make a record as deep as B.Coming? Drake got longevity because he is original, but who else is original like him? Not even Lil Wayne is, so I think young money is more of a “whats hot right now” thing.

    Look at the leaders…Jay-Z had hits on hits, back to back number one albums. Wayne came out with a milli…then came out with 6’7″ same producer, same ass beat pretty much just a different sample…The earlier carters even stole jay-z’s album designs for crying out loud. Once I hear a concept album or something like blueprint or even blueprint 3 where he can step out the box, Young Money will not be bigger than Roc

    1. Man history repeats itself so why shouldnt young money follow the rocs greatness and as i recall jay did want wayne on the team

    2. Since when Drake was original? He bit off Lil Wayne with the way he rap on certain songs. Drake is garbage man! He alright on some songs but that singing crap is going to far. Everything else you said I co-sign with

      1. For the record…Kanye will always be a better artist than Drake Or Nicki. Kanye was behind Jay-Z’s classics even before he became a star. Thats not even just an artist, thats chemistry. Blueprint, Black Album, even American Gangster are leagues ahead of YM artists thought process…maybe except Drake. Im just looking at it from an artistic point…concept wise what does YM rap about, what does their music sound like? Can any of YM make an album like Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? Late Registration? or even B.Coming?

      2. switch it around, actually. Drake and Lil wayne sound like each other now with that annoying ass flow they use (Im so fly, propellers). But when Drake came out in 09, nobody was making music like him…Houstatlantavegas? Best I ever had? his so far gone mixtape is a classic. What wayne album/mixtape can go against SFG? But drake’s originality is starting to wear thin as well. and I agree with the singing, I love the concept of Marvin’s Room, but somebody need to tell dude he cant sing like that, so stop trying.

  38. Overall let’s sum this up.. I hate to use this word *Swag* but I must use it for this topic.

    Young Money is basically a swagger jacking posse, look at how they bit off other artist & ran with their style….

    Roc had much more music that I can relate to and beat’s was much harder! They had two of the dopest producers on the team *Just Blaze & Kanye West*

    Young Money is Hip Pop while Roc was Hip Hop with a edge to it.

    Young Gunz “Neva Take Me A Live” featuring Jay-Z is a classic song…. When has Young Money ever made a joint like that? Their music is so disposable man. Young Money don’t even have a classic song yet. All their shit sound radio friendly

    Once again this is coming from a Ex Cash Money Records fan who use to co-sign everything they did & made back in the day.

    1. I guess you can compare Young Money “We Are Young” album against Jay-Z “Dynasty” since that was originally suppose to be a compilation album…. On the Young Money album Lil Wayne is on all the songs except for about 1 or 2, just like Jay-Z.

      Dynasty had “This Can’t Be Life”, “I Just Want To Give It To U”, “Stick 2 The Script”… Must I say more about that dope album.

      Young Money had “Every Girl In The World”, “Bed Rock”…. Those songs compared to Dynasty are trash!

  39. this devolved into people just riding for their favorites and trashing the rappers they dislike.
    DuB wanted us to be objective (I think). funny how that never lasts long, lol

    once again tho, our boy DuB can spark a debate like no other

    1. I think Jerm hold that title with the crazy debates but Dub is very close haha. Dub still my homie though but I just can’t cosign this young money stuff.

  40. Ok I don’t think you guys get my point. I’m not comparing them musicall. I’m saying that buisness wise they have the potetial to be bigger culturally. Not have better music.

        1. Yes commercially Lil Wayne is bigger…. I definitely agree with that. On a business tip I don’t even see them being bigger than the Roc and plus the economy was much better back when Roc was dominating. The value of the dollar went down since then, smh…. The name Young Money just don’t ring a bell as a heavy hitter, it sound too much close to Cash Money.

          1. I don’t mean in a content to where nobody don’t know who the big three is I mean as far as the name standing out… The Young Money name don’ t stand out at all…

            Drake isn’t a rapper man, dude is a R&B artist. I dismissed him as a rapper. Nicki Minaj I don’t take her serious. They riding off of Lil Wayne mane… I don’t think their next album going to sale as much as their first one, maybe they will but I doubt it. Only reason why YM is selling because they make a lot of bubblegum stuff and that’s what the kids are into now.

            I’ll compare Nicki and Amil to each other because they both was kinda corny to me but Amil was a slightly better rapper… I said slightly.

            That still don’t mean YM is better than Roc. Their quality of music haven’t showed that yet. Once again you forget I was one of the biggest CMR fans out there but I’m not going to front on the Roc. The Roc was a beast in their time. YM never made an album that make me want to spend cash on it. At least Jay-Z let his artist release music example: Young Gunz, Freeway, Beanie, Memphis Bleek, Christion, Cam’ron…. YM never let any of the other artist release shit except for Drake and Nicki.

          2. Idk man…. I guess…. Maybe with todays fans then they probably can make a impact since they like the cheesy stuff nowadays.

          3. P-Body

            Amil is better than Nicki? You are being biased. Next you will be saying Peedi is better than Gunz or that Bleek can out rap Drake.

          4. You must not have read the article. I am not comparing music but cultural impact. YM and their big three can and have been the main attractions on major tours. Only Jay and Ye have doe that for the Roc and that’s over the entire lifespan of the dynasty. That is why YM can become the bigger than the Roc.

          5. How Young Money don’t ring bells? They are a MAJOR PLAYER IN MUSIC RIGHT NOW! They got artists going plat in times when niggas is looking at GOLD as a success. Back then it was easy as shit to go plat.

            True YM has 3 STARS. But their 3 are bigger than the Roc Big 3. Let Freeway, Bleek, or any of them SP niggas come out today…THEY AINT MOVING SHIT. Only ones from the Roc that would sell today is Jay and Yeezy. Let’s be real…we not even comparing Nicki to Amil…we comparing her with the big boys.

            That is why I say YM is better than the Roc

          6. Actually I like Amil better than Nicki but I didn’t like Amil much either. She was annoying to me too…. She kinda look like a dude with a wig. I’m not being biased like I said earlier I wasn’t really a Rocafella fan but I call it like I see it. I give Roc their props…. Y’all must forgot about the quality Roc was dropping from the 90’s to early 2000’s…

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