Joe Budden Thinks Lil Wayne Didn't Sell Drake His Masters Because Of A Girl

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares
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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JUNE 2: Rapper, Lil Wayne, performs during Day 2 of the Roots Picnic festival 2024, in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Brandon Laws/HotNewHipHop)
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Lil Wayne reportedly sold his Young Money masters to UMG for $100 million back in 2020, which also allegedly included Drake and Nicki Minaj.

Drake and Lil Wayne have a stronger bond than most hip-hop duos out there, although folks are still questioning their current standing. The Joe Budden Podcast recently debated their dynamic on their latest episode, a clip of which was caught by ZADCOZZY on Twitter. More specifically, Budden and his cohosts theorized about Weezy's $100 Million Young Money masters sale to Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2020, which reportedly also included Drizzy and Nicki Minaj's masters with the label.

Of course, take everything here with a grain of salt, as there are various assumptions, interpretations, theories, and considerations flying back and forth. Still, all the hosts seemed to agree that Wayne not selling the masters back to his mentees might be a point of friction, even if they admitted this as speculative.

However, Joe Budden took things a step further by insinuating that this could have something to do with Lil Wayne and Drake's alleged relationship issues. For those unaware, one of the many resurfaced accusations in Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" diss track is that the Toronto superstar slept with his New Orleans mentor's girl while Tunechi was in jail. As such, Budden posited that Wayne possibly denied The Boy his masters for this reason. But again, that's wholly speculative and unconfirmed.

Drake Lawsuit

Elsewhere, the JBP theorized that UMG wanted the 6ix God's masters as part of the Wayne deal, which led to a presumed rift between the two. But Budden said that he can't be sure about these rumors. Maybe this is an effort to improve relationships with UMG for future deals and business, which is ironic considering Drake's failed defamation lawsuit against them. Then again, that was years after this whole debacle.

Speaking of that lawsuit, the OVO mogul will seek appeal over his lawsuit's dismissal, which accused UMG of defaming him by releasing and promoting "Not Like Us." We will see how that pans out.

As for this debacle, Lil Wayne's busy with other matters, so he probably won't address this publicly anytime soon. Just goes to show how much speculation and theorizing can paint a massive business deal.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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