Lil Wayne Has A Powerful New Ally In Birdman Beef

Lil Wayne will get every penny Birdman owes him, or else ... this according to powerful music honcho James Prince, who's jumping in to settle the longstanding beef.

Prince, the head of Rap-A-Lot Records, decided it was time to get involved when Wayne started talking about retiring due to the financial war with Cash Money. He tells TMZ, "Where [Wayne] is weak, I am strong. He has gained an ally, and together we will get back all money owed to him and my son off the Drake albums."

If you didn't know ... his son, Jas Prince, discovered Drake and set him up with Weezy and Young Money. James adds, "I witnessed the hard work that went into Drake's career and for Cash Money to try and take something that isn't theirs to take, does not sit well with me and family around the world."

Translation: We're putting the heat on Birdman to make things right with Wayne. Stat.

We're told the new alliance was hashed out last month backstage at Drake's D.C. show. You'll recall ... James also stepped in when Drake and Diddy were beefing -- delivering the now-infamous and menacing "courtesy call."

As we've reported ... Jas has his own beef with Cash Money -- so, it's clear the Prince family's decided there's strength in numbers when it comes to taking on Birdman.

Now we know why Wayne was bragging about his "family at Rap-A-Lot" always having his back ...