After a series of conflicting news reports, it seems that Lil Wayne is actually deeply unhappy with his record label Cash Money.

Originally reported by TMZ.com, Weezy has described himself as a ‘prisoner’ and claims that his label are deliberately stalling with the release of his new album ‘Tha Carter V’. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to attack Cash Money publicly, saying that the album’s delay was out of his hands and all down to the label.

Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne is frustrated with his record label Cash Money after delays to the release of his new album

He ranted, "I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain't that easy. I am a prisoner and so is my creativity. Again, I am truly sorry and I don’t blame ya if ya fed up with waiting for me and this album. But thank you.”

Later, though, we got two statements in quick succession from Weezy’s manager Cortez Bryant. First of all, on Friday, he played down his client’s comments on Twitter and insisted that “everything is fine” between the two parties. On Saturday morning, though, he claimed that this original statement was “sarcastic” and that relations between Lil Wayne and Cash Money were actually very serious.

Many have wondered whether all this acrimony is just a publicity stunt ahead of ‘Tha Carter V’s release. It’s his eleventh studio album, and rumoured to be his final record. After all, the head of Cash Money Brian “Baby” Williams is often considered to be a father figure to the rapper, who signed to the label when he was a teenager. Weezy is also in charge of a subsidiary label within Cash Money’s corporate structure, called Young Money. Would he really want to throw that all away? And why now?

Lil Wayne’s distinctive rapping style has earned him a serious fanbase in the US, where he’s clocked up an astonishing 122 Billboard Top 100 singles as a primary and featured artist, more than Elvis Presley.

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