Bryan Christopher Williams ( Brooks; February 15, 1969), better known by his stage name Birdman (also known as Baby), is an American rapper and record executive. He is the co-founder and public face of Cash Money Records which he founded with his older brother Ronald "Slim" Williams in 1992. Birdman released his debut album in 2002, and has gone on to release four solo studio albums in total. Aside from his solo career, he is also a member of the hip-hop duo Big Tymers, along with producer Mannie Fresh. Along with his solo work and numerous releases with the Big Tymers, Birdman has released a collaboration album and numerous tracks with fellow rapper and protégé Lil Wayne, whom he discovered and took under his wing at age twelve. Birdman has also made his name by contributing to the making of YMCMB (Young Money Cash Money Billionaires), a combination of the former's "Cash Money" and Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment, formerly an imprint under the label. Birdman has also founded the project and hip hop supergroup Rich Gang in 2014, bringing initial attention to fellow Southern artists such as Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Early life Birdman was born Bryan Christopher Brooks on February 15, 1969, at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Johnnie Williams and Gladys Brooks. Williams did not sign the birth certificate, which led to Bryan initially taking his mother's surname. For almost a month after his birth, he did not have a given first name and was simply referred to as "Baby", a nickname he retains to this day. As a small child, Brooks and his family lived on top of a bar owned by his father. His mother, Gladys, became ill and died in 1975 when Bryan was five years old. After their mother's death, Birdman and his siblings Kim, Ronald and Ray were taken in by their uncle and spent two years living in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, followed by two years in foster care upon their return to New Orleans. After Johnnie learned that they were in the foster home, a long legal battle took place in the mid-'70s which eventually ended with Johnnie and his wife Patricia gaining full custody of the children and Bryan's name changing to Bryan Williams. He and his siblings moved in with Johnnie and Patricia and lived in the Magnolia Projects in Central City in