People usually assume that nothing would ever make a rich and famous artists go broke. Unfortunately, some famous rappers have had financial issues at some point in their careers.
Although things have changed for most of them, but let’s take a look at 7 rappers who previously had financial issues in their careers.
Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith popularly known as Busta Rhymes is especially known for his incredible ability to rap quickly. He was born on May 20, 1972. He’s a rapper, singer, record producer, actor and record executive. Busta Rhymes has received 11 Grammy award nominations for his work.
The one thing Busta Rhymes does faster than rapping is spend money. He never became a household name but spent money like he was one. After numerous unpaid bills and taxes, he eventually busted his bank account resulting in him owing over $800,000k.
50 Cent
These days 50 Cent is not even worth 50 Cents. He was born Curtis James Jackson III on July 6, 1975. At his peak, he was a rapper, songwriter, television producer and actor. In the hip-hop industry, he has been described as a master of the nuanced art of lyrical brevity over the course of his career.
50 Cent made a massive $115 million from hit albums like Get Rich Or Die Trying and his numerous business ventures which made him the fifth richest rapper at the time. He blew all that money and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2015 with a debt of 32 million dollars.
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones also known as Nas, is an American rapper and songwriter born September 14, 1973. With his start in the New York rap scene, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time.
Nas has released 12 studio albums since 1994 with seven of them certified platinum and multi-platinum in the U.S. His debut album Illmatic released in 1994 received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip-hop community and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
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Nas divorced Kellis in 2009 and was ordered to pay $300,000k in child support. The rapper successfully convinced a judge that he did not have the cash for even a single payment at the time. Nas also reportedly owned the government over $6million in back taxes. Nas used his earnings garnished in 2009 to pay back these taxes, maybe his priorities were a bit skewed.
Ja Rule
Born in Hollis Queens, Jeffrey Bruce Atkins better known as Ja Rule, is a rapper, songwriter and actor. Ja Rule was at the peak of his fame in the early 2000’s. The title of his highest earning album was Pain is Love.
He should have been rolling in dough and paying taxes, however this is clearly not the case since he owed over one million dollars in taxes. He also spent two years in prison from 2011 to 2013. It was reported that he has continued issues preventing him from getting his taxes paid.
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Nicole Hill was born on May 26, 1975. She is a singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. She is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Lauryn broke barriers for female rappers, popularizing melodic rapping and helping to bring hip-hop to popular music.
In 2012, Lauryn Hill pleaded guilty to tax evasion. She was almost evicted from her home. She was sentenced to 30 days in prison and has apparently since paid her back taxes in full. In an interview, Hill said that she had gone underground and had rejected pop cultures climate of hostility, false entitlement manipulation, racial prejudice and ageism.
Lil Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones also known as Lil Kim is an African-American rapper, songwriter and reality television personality. She is also known as the Queen Bee and the Lieutenant. She was born on July 11, 1974 in Bedford Stoivasant Brooklyn New York, but currently lives in New Jersey.
Despite her rise to fame, Lil Kim faced bankruptcy after she was sued by her former label for 2.5 million dollars in 2008 and 2012. She reportedly owned the government one million dollars in back taxes which got her a little cranky.
Mase
Mason Durell Betha also known as Mase is an American rapper and songwriter. Believe it or not, his 1997 album Harlem World was Grammy nominated and certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA. He also produced two other albums Double Up and Welcome Back which are both certified double platinum and gold by RIAA.
Mase who was once more than $100,000 in debt and he reportedly took a several year sabbatical from hip-hop. Maybe those years without an income caused his debt problems.
