Baby

b. Bryan Williams, 15 February 1969, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Baby aka the #1 Stunna, the pseudonym adopted by New Orleans-based rapper Williams, was one of the leading architects of the rise of southern hip-hop in the late 90s owing to his involvement with the hugely successful independent label, Cash Money Records. Williams co-founded Cash Money in the early 90s with his brother Ronald ‘Suga Slim’ Williams and producer Mannie Fresh. At the end of the decade, Baby and Fresh formed their own side project, Big Tymer$, enjoying a string of successful album releases culminating in 2002’s US chart-topping Hood Rich. The flamboyant Baby launched his solo career the same year with the entertaining Birdman, which featured production work from Mannie Fresh and Cash Money’s rising star Jazzy Pha, alongside the ubiquitous Neptunes and Swizz Beatz. The star-studded guest list included vocal contributions from Toni Braxton, Foxy Brown, Lil Wayne and Cam’ron among others, while P. Diddy added extra vocals to the minor hit, ‘Do That … Baby’. Williams later adopted the Birdman title as his new recording moniker.