Lil Wayne is taking Birdman to court. The Young Money rapper has officially filed a lawsuit asking a judge to release him from Cash Money Records.
According to TMZ, Wayne claims Birdman violated the terms of their deal by withholding tens of millions of dollars Cash Money owes him for his oft-delayed album Tha Carter V.
Since Cash Money is refusing to pay, Wayne says he’s entitled to cancel the contract.
Not only does Weezy want his freedom, he’s also suing for a whopping $51 million.
Wayne wants the judge to give him joint copyright ownership of all Young Money recordings including those of Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga, and more. He plans to take his artists with him off Cash Money.
However, if Birdman pays, Wayne’s camp will allow Cash Money to release Tha Carter V. Wayne was supposed to get an $8 million advance when he started recording in December 2013 and another $2 million when he completed the album a year later, but so far he’s received nothing.
UPDATE: The full 19-page lawsuit has surfaced (via The FADER).