Big egos, talk of big banks, and bombastic lyrics have been a cornerstone of hip-hop ever since its inception. But now, rappers are not only talking big about their fat wallets, their backing it up with lucrative empires that rival even some of the most seasoned and hardworking businessmen in the world.
But although some of hip-hop’s biggest moneymakers are telling the truth about their bank accounts, others are telling tall tales about their not-so-gargantuan piggy banks.
Inspired by Jay-Z’s new song, “Versus,” in which he raps, “The truth in my verses, versus, your metaphors about what your net worth is,” Businessweek recently compared lyrics from some of today’s most lucrative rappers with info from Forbes’ “Cash Kings of Hip Hop” and “Forbes Five” reports from the same year the given artist’s cash-related rap song was released.
Check out which rappers are sincere about their wealth and which aren’t below. –nicholas robinson
