Lil Wayne has arguably been the biggest, and most consistent, star from the iconic rap group the Hot Boys.
Coming to the stage, give it up for Juvenile, Lil Wayne and B.G. a.k.a. the Hot Boys.
Wait, what?
What happened to Turk?
With the prison release of rapper B.G. and the red-carpet treatment he received from Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman (a.k.a Baby, a.k.a the #1 Stunna, a.k.a. Beatrice), fans of the New Orleans rap group began anticipating a new album and a new tour.
But immediately fans began to question why Birdman did not roll out the red carpet for rapper Turk when he got out of prison?
People began to ask if there was beef at Cash Money, the record label that also gave the world Drake, Nikki Minaj and the Big Tymers, which consisted of Birdman and former Cash Money in-house producer Mannie Fresh.
Well, Birdman ended the speculation during a live Instagram video interview with New Orleans blogger and hip-hop figure Geedy P by stating that while Lil Wayne and B.G. were like his children because he helped raise them, he has no relationship with Turk.
However, Birdman said that the main players from Cash Money Records’ national breakthrough era will participate in the tour and that he is personally putting up $100 million for the tour.
The hip-hop mogul born Bryan Williams said, “We definitely going on tour. I ain’t guaranteeing that’s it’s gonna be everybody. If it work out, it work out. If it don’t, it don’t. But we definitely gonna get that money. The main players going to be there.”
Although Birdman and Cash Money have faced allegations and lawsuits for cheating their artists out of money, the label’s co-founder seems to have gotten over his past squabbles with artists like Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G. and Mannie Fresh.
Turk sued Cash Money Records, winning his lawsuit.
However, Turk has been very vocal about his differences with Birdman and Mannie Fresh, even wanting to fight the producer at a concert in their hometown.
Cash Money Records began making noise in the New Orleans hip-hop scene in the early 1990s.
Local classics like the Mystikal diss record “Drag ‘Em N Tha River” by U.N.L.V. gave the label a unique sound.
But it was not until the individual members of the Hot Boys blew up as solo rappers, as well as a collective, that the label began dominating hip-hop on a national level.
While still known as a local or regional rap hit factory, many say that B.G. held the label down before Juvenile and Lil Wayne became breakout pop stars.
B.G., born Christopher Dorsey, was responsible for hood classics like “Uptown Thang” and “Retaliation” with Bun B before releasing national hip-hop anthems like “Bling Bling,” which featured his fellow Hot Boys and the Big Tymers.
But when Cash Money began dominating the national charts, it first was because of Juvenile with classic solo songs like “Ha” and “Back That Thang Up.”
Juvenile’s star turn as a solo artist gave momentum to the Hot Boys’ second album, and first group album after Cash Money signed a national distribution deal with Universal Records, “Guerilla Warfare.”
That sophomore effort included classics such as “We On Fire” and “I Need a Hot Girl,” with many fans believing that Turk had the best verse on the latter track.
After the Hot Boys broke nationally, Lil Wayne launched his solo career with “Tha Block is Hot.”
While the other Hot Boys had their ups and downs with their albums and singles, Lil Wayne has consistently put out successful projects while also launching the careers of Drake and Nicki Minaj through his label Young Money Entertainment, which initially had a partnership with Cash Money Records.
Turk became the last member of the Hot Boys to release a solo project with 2001’s “Young & Thuggin.’”
The breakout single from Turk’s debut was the lead single “It’s In Me.”
The Hot Boys released a third album called “Let ‘Em Burn” in 2003.
However, many of those songs were several years old upon release.
Juvenile, B.G. and Turk had left Cash Money Records by the time of the album’s release.
Therefore, the album consisted of unreleased songs by the supergroup.
Birdman, who considered himself more of a “game spitter” than an emcee joined with Mannie Fresh to release hits “Get Ya Roll On,” “#1 Stunna” and “Still Fly” as Big Tymers.
In 2000, Big Tymers and Hot Boys were so popular that three “Kings of Comedy” (Cedric the Entertainer, Steve Harvey and D.L. Hughley) appeared in the video for “#1 Stunna.”
Both went solo.
But Birdman continued making hits a solo artist with songs like “What Happened to that Boy” featuring Clipse.
Birdman also made collaborative albums with Hot Boys members.
He had a hit with Lil Wayne with “Stuntin’ Like My Daddy” and made noise with “Just Another Gangsta” from his joint album with Juvenile.
Turk has gone on to start his own record company, YNT Entertainment, releasing multiple solo albums.
He has released a memoir, The AutoThugOgraphy of Turk.
And he makes regular appearances as a podcaster with Atlanta radio personality B High where he gives wisdom from lessons he has learned from past successes and failures.
Several semi-Hot Boys reunions have happened through the years from Lil Wayne’s “LilWeezyana Fest” to a LeBron James party performance.
Obviously, all previous “reunions” happened without B.G. because of his previous incarceration.
The question now is will the next Hot Boys reunion consist of four members or only three members like past reunions?
