Yo Gotti Says 50 Cent Told Him To Change Cocaine Muzik Group’s Name: “They’re Going To Be Scared Of That”.
Yo Gotti‘s been seeing a lot of success, and he’s not afraid to show it. Earlier this month, the rapper/record executive bought Lehla Samia a pink Lamborghini. He then brought back his annual “Yo Gotti & Friends Birthday Bash,” which was a predictably star-studded affair. And his birthday celebration didn’t end there- he also dropped $1.2 million on 2 Rolls Royces as a gift to himself.
In recent interview with Billboard, Gotti detailed his journey to success, and learning a lot from the greats. One of these greats was 50 Cent.
When discussing founding his label CMG, Gotti says that 50 Cent gave him a word of advice about the young company’s branding. At the time of CMG’s inception, the label was called Cocaine Muzik Group, which Gotti says was in reference to the group’s music’s “addictiveness.” The company was doing well, but had yet to see mainstream success. According to Gotti, 50 Cent knew why.
In a phone conversation, Gotti says that 50 told him, “Yo, you’re winning, but you can’t be Cocaine Muzik Group– that’s too harsh. They’re going to be scared of that.” Gotti claims this was a moment of clarity: “[I] thought about it like, ‘Damn, he’s right. What else does CMG mean?’ He put it in my head to start thinking in that direction.”
Gotti arrived at Collective Music Group, which he thought appropriately summed up his collaborative approach to the music business. The rest is history– Collective Music Group became a hugely successful label.
Gotti also claims that he learned a lot from Birdman and Lil Wayne. Gotti says he was in the room as Birdman listened to Wayne’s turning-point album Tha Carter. Gotti says they too were instrumental to his own growth: “I always give them high respect for a lot of the things I’m doing today.”
With all the luxury cars he’s been buying, it seems like the lessons learned were extremely valuable.
