Though he calls himself the #1 Stunna, The Source rated him #4 on their Top 10 list of all-time “#1 Spendas.” But that doesn’t mean much to the man who flashes $150,000 every time he smiles and rents out the top two floors–with access only by a private elevator–of the Hilton Hotel in Manhattan. Baby has basically redefined or better yet, fine-tuned the term “ghetto fabulous.” Nowadays, people would laugh at what was considered ghetto fab only a year ago. Time flies when you’re busy selling 20 million records and signing a three year-$100 million deal with Universal Records. Time really flies when you’re the Birdman, a nickname Baby picked up about two and a half years ago and the title of his first solo CD. “The title means I’m just fly. I’m a pimp. Right after “No. 1 Stunna,” I came with that. It’s been about a year with the coo coo [his signature sound heard on his new single “Do That”]. I love it. People love it.” Though Mannie Fresh, Cash Money’s resident beatmaster, produced 80% of Birdman, Baby felt it was prime time to take center stage. “My album is different cause it’s just me. But it’s not different ’cause Fresh was there with me all the way. So it’s down the middle. It’s just me being me, coming from myself for the first time. Speaking from my heart and my sight. Where I’m at with it. It came out fly.”

Going dolo has done good things for Baby and Cash Money. After the Cash Money kids started leaving the coup–Juvenile, B.G. and Turk, 3/4 of The Hot Boys–Baby knew he had to change CM’s game. “I was hurt the way it went down. It f**ked me up for a minute. I sat back. I never say anything negative about them. It is what it is. To each his own. I’m gonna live, he gonna live. I gotta do me now. I was a big influence in their lives. It’s all love.” It was time for Plan B. “When all that sh*t happened, I said, ‘Fresh it’s time for us to step it up. It’s you and me, for real baby you underdig. We got to do this sh*t for real.’ I started writing every day, getting my game tight and came out here [New York] and did some songs, went to ATL and f**ked with Jazze [Pha]. Now the shit is history again. Me and Fresh doing our shit. We have two big singles, “Oh Yeah” and “Still Fly” [from Hood Rich]. Shit is back on and poppin’.” True dat. Recently, XXL listed just some of Baby’s cameos: Swizz Beatz’ “Big Business Pt. 2,” Styles’ “Good Times Remix,” Foxy Brown’s “Stylin’ Remix,” the Clipse’s “Grindin’ Remix,” Cam’ron’s “Oh Girl (Oh, Boy Remix)” and Trick Daddy’s “Gangsta.” And the new CM roster reads like a major-label’s: Baby, Fresh, TQ, Teena Marie, Mack 10, Boo & Gotti, Mikkey, Gilly, Lil Weezy, Lac and Stone, Tateeze (formerly Strings) and Christina.

Birdman is actually more like a Cash Money compilation than Baby’s one-man show. Before the boys left, Baby and his brother Ronald hardly solicited guests on CM albums or allowed The Hot Boys to cameo much. All beats were Fresh. And Baby was mostly a businessman. Now Jazze Pha is a regular beat contributor. Timbaland, the Neptunes and Swizz Beatz all laced Birdman with a beat each. Guests include Toni Braxton, Cam’ron, P. Diddy, the Clipse, Keith Murray, Petey Pablo and 8ball. Baby’s all-star set is pretty awe-inspiring considering he never intended to rap. “Me and Fresh was just f**king around and we would always say ‘N*gga, Ya’ll can’t f**k with me and Fresh.’ And we just started writing and the sh*t just come out right and we stuck with it.”

“I admire the way Russell Simmons, James Smith, Master P, Suge Knight, Puffy, Easy-E and Irv Gotti do things,” explains Baby in businessman mode. “I watch them because I know as a CEO I’ll be faced with some of the same problems. I watch everybody so when my time comes I know how to make my moves. I studied the game before I jumped in it. It turned out beautiful.” For all his floss and flash, Baby’s head is definitely on straight. “My main formula is always, God first. You gonna go through ups and downs. You got to work hard. Go through sweat and tears and eventually it pays off. We’ve been doing this 13 years. Lot of sweat and tears. Hard work like a muthaf**ka. Nights with no sleep. Just grindin’.” They say preparation plus timing equals opportunity. “A n*gga’s just in tact with what’s happening. I try to be a trendsetter. I try to come with sh*t that makes the world follow. I think God blessed me with being able to do that. I set tones. I’m one of them n*ggas them little ones want to be like.” Baby’s secret to success is simple: He knows how to reach everybody: “We got all different breeds of people. I done been around the world five times. Everybody has different mentalities. But we still all the same.”