My mom always used to tell me not to “act up” out in the streets because I was a reflection of her. Well, imagine the pressure that comes with being the eldest daughter of one of hip-hop’s biggest stars and the daughter of one of hip-hop’s richest men.
For most of us, Lil’ Wayne is just a rapper. He is arguably one of the greatest of all time, a label head with an incredible eye for talent. He’s another celeb who we gossip about over the water cooler. What he wore and who he’s dating are regular topics of conversation (even on this site). Wayne makes headlines almost every time he opens his mouth, on and off record. But for his eldest daughter, Reginae, he’s just Dad.
“One of the things that’s great (about having a celebrity dad) is that we have a lot of privileges. We can travel. We can do things that other 14 and 15 year old kids can’t do,” states Reginae Carter, “One of the hard things is that we are in the limelight, we don’t really have privacy.”
Same holds true for Bria Williams, 15, daughter of Cash Money head Bryan “Birdman” Williams. Bria has been able to live a little more anonymously than her higher profile “godsister.” Prior to the release of their new book, Paparazzi Princesses, little was known about the daughter of the culture’s 4th richest rapper according to Forbes Magazine.
In their new semi-autobiographical novel the girls are depicted as Kayla Jones and Promise Walker, girls who seem to have it all, but also have a lot of struggles that come along with their famous parents. Kayla and Promise have typical teen problems like getting good grades, crushing on the new boy in school, and trying to decide what to wear to the mall. But, they also have to deal with blog sites posting rumors about them, getting along with their new security guard, and trying to live up to their fathers high expectations.
Paparazzi Princesses was written with the help of a ghostwriter to whom the girls told their stories, “We added more to the stories in our book to make it more dramatic, and juicier for our readers.” Bria Williams explains. The book is a lot of fun. Paparazzi Princesses is a look inside the rap industry from the eyes of the youngest people involved. The children of rap stars. The book will make a great gift for any teenager and the girls hope that it will make kids want to read. “We want kids to think reading is fun and cool,” Bria explains, “We want kids to have fun reading, and to not think that reading has to be boring, or just for school.”
Both girls seem to have picked up great business acumen from their famous fathers, and look forward to working together on projects because they have been together all of their young lives. Reginae explains, “We really enjoy working together. We can read each other, and it’s good to do business with someone you’ve known for a long time.” And they have a major co-sign for their launch into the family business from Birdman himself: “Bria and Reginae gave this project their all, and had a good time in the process. As a father, it has been incredible to see Paparazzi Princesses go from the girls’ dream to a reality. This is just the beginning for these two creative young ladies.”
So, expect to hear more from these rap royals. Both Bria and Reginae are entering the family business. Reginae, 14, has appeared in the media quite a bit, as her mother, Toya Carter-Wright has herself established a brand starring on the television shows Tiny & Toya and Toya: A Family Affair. Reginae was also a founding member of the pop-group, OMG Girlz, and will be in a duo with another former member, Lourdes Rodriguez. Bria, 15, lives in Miami and has about as regular a life as someone in her circumstances could have. In addition to writing Paparazzi Princesses, she and Reginae are launching a clothing company, YMCMP: Young Money, Cash Money Princesses.
When it all comes down to it, the princesses of Young Money and Cash Money want you to know one thing: “We are still regular kids. We still have to do regular things. We have to clean our rooms, do homework, go to school. It’s still regular; it’s just that we have famous fathers.” There you have it, out of the mouths of babes.
Paparazzi Princesses will be available in stores and online June 4th.