In two separate interviews, one with Funkmaster Flex on Hot 97 and another with XXL, the patriarch of Cash Money expressed his “respect” for T-Raww in the wake of the West Coast rapper blasting Drake, Nicki Minaj and his YMCMB label home in a Vibe magazine interview.
The whole thing came as a surprise to Birdman. “My intake is, I’m family orientated … either you’re in or you’re out," he told Flex. "If you’re out, you’re an outcast.”
He was more forthcoming with XXL, admitting that he doesn’t know exactly what Tyga’s beef is with the label. “I always had respect for Tyga,” he said. “We built something together. Another person we took from nothing to something. It will work itself out. It will work itself out. I’m just not with the Internet s**t, saying nothing negative ‘cause I can’t say nothing negative about Tyga, ’cause I got respect for Tyga."
Although Tyga never said anything negative about Birdman or Lil Wayne in the interview (he noted Wayne as one of his four rap inspirations), the candor didn’t sit well with his Cash Money boss. “I don’t like him saying nothing negative about Drake and Nicki. To me, that s**t ain’t cool to me ‘cause they never did no wrong to him. You understand me? But, he still the little homie and I do anything in the world for him. Nicki and Drake, that’s the family. Whatever side you choose, it is what it is. But I ride with the team. I could say nothing bad about little Tyga. He’s always been a man to me. A young man to me. A young man to the team. This s**t coming out of left field to me. I don’t understand it, but it is what it is.”
