A New York judge who initially ruled in favour of Drake suing his former label is pulling a 180 on his prior decision. The previous ruling, rendered in July, paved the way for Drake to recoup the profit-share withheld by Birdman, Cash Money, and Universal over his first 6 albums. The reclamation efforts were being led by Aspire Music Group, an imprint co-founded by Cortez Bryant, Lil Wayne's longtime manager.
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New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager is now barring the lawsuit from advancing any further, meaning Lil Wayne's former manager will ultimately come out on the losing end. Interestingly enough, Drake is ultimately just this middleman in this squabble over proceeds.
"Even assuming Universal was an 'equitable owner' of Cash Money, the complaint fails to allege that Universal's domination of Cash Money was used to commit a wrong against plaintiff," states the appellate juror. "The complaint essentially alleges that Universal took advantage of Cash Money's cash flow problems by helping to satisfy millions of dollars of Cash Money's debts in exchange for control of Cash Money, and then, through such control, paid itself higher distribution fees, thereby reducing the net profits that plaintiff was entitled to receive under the Aspire/YME Agreement."
All in all, Drake has other business to attend while Universal (his former label) and Cash Money argue over percentage points. As Drake was more than eager to point out in "Going Bad," it ain't nothing but a ten-piece - "it doesn't mean that we're involved" in any way, shape or form.
