Rappers love to brag about their wealth in songs, but sometimes it’s all for show. Here are 13 hip hop artists who went flat broke.
Lil Kim
There’s nothing lil about Kim’s debt. The legendary femcee owes more than $2.5 million to her former record label and $1million to the goverment.
Fat Joe
Joe was locked up for failure to pay taxes in 2007. Sources say he’s still in massive debt due to poor management by his financial team.
Tyga
T-Raw owes over $100,000 in back taxes. No wonder he’s so desperate to marry a Kardashian!
Lil Flip
Flip had a string of hits in the early 2000s, but things went downhill quickly. In 2007 he was arrested for credit card fraud. Two years later his baby mama revealed that he was paying less than $500 a month in child support.
Scott Storch
Okay, so he’s not a rapper, but in the early 2000s, Storch was one of the most in-demand producers in hip hop, with an estimated worth of over $70 million. Thanks to his addictions to both cocaine and status symbol items like yachts, Storch is now rumored to be flat broke.
Bow Wow
No longer Lil, Bow Wow is big time broke. In 2012, he told a judge he had just $1,500 in the bank. These days, he’s landed a gig hosting BET’s 106 & Park, but he’s still far from balling the way he did in his younger years.
Nas
When Nas divorced Kelis in 2009, he was initially ordered to pay $300,000 in child support. The rapper successfully convinced a judge that he didn’t have the cash for even one payment. At the time, Nas reportedly owed the government over $6 million in back taxes.
Lauryn Hill
The once hugely popular Fugees singer and solo artist nearly went to prison in 2012 after accumulating nearly $2 million in tax debt.
Ma$e
Ma$e took a several-year sabbatical from hip hop and it looks as though those years away from the industry have caught up to him. TMZ recently reportedly that Ma$e is more that $100,000 in debt.
Xzibit
X to the Z isn’t driving any pimped out rides these days. He nearly went to prison in 2011 thanks to a more than $1 million tax debt. These days he still owes the government over $100,000.
Ja Rule
Ja was locked up for ta evasion in 2011. He reportedly still owes the gvernement over $1 million.
Busta Rhymes
Rhymes is past broke – he’s flat busted. The iconic emcee reportedly owes over $800,000 in back taxes.
MC Hammer
One of rap’s best-known cautionary tales, Hammer was the biggest thing in rap in the early 90s. These days, he owes over $700,000 in back taxes.