Lil Wayne and Young Money are in trouble for not paying money owed to a fellow musician. The only difference in this most recent news is that it involves a guy most everyone knows: David Banner.
According to report by TMZ, Weezy and his label stiffed Banner for his work on Tha Carter III and We Are Young Money. The M-I-crooked-letter rapper landed production credit on Lil Wayne’s “La La” and “Pussy Monster” as well as Young Money’s “Streets Is Watching,” work that should have netted him $138,787 and $15,000, respectively. Banner filed suit to recoup what he was owed. Since no one stepped forward to defend Young Money in the case, the presiding judge ruled in Banner’s favor and he was awarded $164,303.19, a sum that reflects the amount owed plus interest earned since all of the songs were released in 2008.
There are a lot of hypothetical reasons why Wayne and Young Money didn’t bother to contest the case. First and foremost, he has his own legal wrestling match going on with Birdman, Cash Money and Universal. But, it strikes me as odd that they wouldn’t pay Banner since both Carter III tracks were well received and the album sold like crazy. Then again, Weezy does come from the Birdman school of accounting so maybe he adopted his mentor’s motto of “if you want to get paid, sue me.” Again, still odd since not being paid what he’s owed is exactly the reason Wayne’s wrapped up in the bigger legal battle in the first place.
