Are we finally ready to accept that rappers today are way richer than those in the 90s

[CoCKy GeNiuS]

I posted a truth and just like I expected some of you couldn't handle it. Biggie & Pac both left earth financially disrespected by their labels and basically broke. 42 Dugg & EST.Gee both have touched more paper from their Label than what the 90s two biggest icons ever did. It's not a diss neither it's just something that should be respected.

I get tired of the way some of you washed up, played out, stuck in a era that's long gone ass peons disrespect the young rappers of today. U act as if your ear is too good to hear them out. While at the same time rehashing posts about shyt that happened literally 20-25 years ago. Instead of trying to move on you dudes will rather live in the past and remain miserable with today's reality.

 

[JustCKing]

I posted a truth and just like I expected some of you couldn't handle it. Biggie & Pac both left earth financially disrespected by their labels and basically broke. 42 Dugg & EST.Gee both have touched more paper from their Label than what the 90s two biggest icons ever did. It's not a diss neither it's just something that should be respected.

I get tired of the way some of you washed up, played out, stuck in a era that's long gone ass peons disrespect the young rappers of today. U act as if your ear is too good to hear them out. While at the same time rehashing posts about shyt that happened literally 20-25 years ago. Instead of trying to move on you dudes will rather live in the past and remain miserable with today's reality.

And you're dumb if you are using an IG post as proof of how much money he's actually worth. And when you actually look up his net worth, it is considerably less than what Biggie's worth was before he passed.

 

[CoCKy GeNiuS]

And you're dumb if you are using an IG post as proof of how much money he's actually worth. And when you actually look up his net worth, it is considerably less than what Biggie's worth was before he passed.

Nah you're dumb for thinking IG is proof of anything. And even dumber for actually looking up his net worth. Just accept that him Pooh Sheisty, Big 30, Tee Grizzley, EST. Gee, and BabyFace Ray all are rich without needing number one hits. Just HUSTLE. Those are just a few of the young guys that have monetized big time.

Nigg u salty and stuck in the millennium days.

 

[JustCKing]

Nah you're dumb for thinking IG is proof of anything. And even dumber for actually looking up his net worth. Just accept that him Pooh Sheisty, Big 30, Tee Grizzley, EST. Gee, and BabyFace Ray all are rich without needing number one hits. Just HUSTLE. Those are just a few of the young guys that have monetized big time.

You're the one who posted IG posts of dude showing off stacks of money as if it proved anything.

Breh, a lot of 90's rappers were rich without ever NEEDING #1 hits. Master P NEVER had a #1 hit.

 

[FreshAIG]

But if Biggie got 40k in 95, what was he getting in 96? or right before he died in 97?

If a new rapper is getting 80k, but the 360 got him missing 50%.... Then how he getting more money? Seriously... Where are y'all getting these numbers from these new rappers? Cause nikkas can SAY anything

My point is, what Biggie made in 95-97 is what B-list rappers make for shows. Biggie was the biggest in Hip Hop from 1995-1997 outside of a few acts (Pac, Fugees, Bone Thugs), and he was making 40k a show. Let's say he got up to 80K (which I doubt), the upper echelon rappers now like Drake, Kendrick, Cole, Kanye, wouldn't even cross the street for 80k. Depending on the venue, there's some B-List rappers not doing that. And how much the label takes varies greatly. It could 5% or 10%.

There's nikkas most people on here never heard of making 5 figures to perform. There's artists in the 90s that had hits and big name recognition that wouldn't even get 5 bands for a show.

I know people who book rappers, I know a lot of people who work in the music industry. I'm not saying I know how much every single rapper gets paid, but I know some specific A-List, B-list and C-List rappers get paid, and it's a lot.

 

[FreshAIG]

You're the one who posted IG posts of dude showing off stacks of money as if it proved anything.

Breh, a lot of 90's rappers were rich without ever NEEDING #1 hits. Master P NEVER had a #1 hit.

Master P had to sell a shyt load of records to get to that point, and Master P and Diddy are anomalies.

All the 90s rappers that are rich, were guys who sold a shyt ton of a records and were people we all knew

But rappers now, barely with buzz for their music are pulling in high 6 figures/low 7 figures. There are rappers who were the biggest thing in Hip Hop who didn't even make teachers salaries. Q-Tip said he was sleeping on his mother's couch and was broke after Low End Theory dropped. Let an artist today drop Low End Theory and and have the name identity and popularity of Tribe in 1991-1993, they're going to be a millionaire that same year. Not years down the line like Q-Tip had to do.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Nah.

Rappers are nowhere near as paid as they were in the 90's.

The music business itself is 65-70 percent less profitable today. Which is why all the labels started shifting over to only offering 360 deals. Which actually made the current rappers broker and way more in debt. There aren't any more of the contract incentives that you used to get in the 90's or even early 00's. Today, once you sign, you're basically automatically in debt. Some labels will even give you an extra credit line or loan to fund your image and "operating costs", but all of that has to come back to them. You're fronted whatever paper you may need to get your album done, and if you're lucky, you'll be able to do that without dipping back to the label for more paper.

Sales are basically nonexistent today. They had to switch the entire system to accommodate a new streaming format, that pays pennies on the dollar for every play. Back in the 90's, labels were seeing $15M-$25M cash for every 800,000-1,000,000 units sold for a physical album (CD's, cassettes, vinyl, etc.). That would usually net an artist with a 1/2 decent deal, around $225K of that, before taxes. But they would still own their publishing and bread made from shows and merchandise. Streams do not pay what a physical product pays.

In today's market, the label is taking a majority of ALL the bread an artist makes, until the artist recoups their advance and whatever else the label has covered. So artists are literally working 90% of the time now, to get out of debt. You're afforded the appearance of looking rich, but the books are going to show that their paper is mostly going right back to the parent company. Labels today are taking most of the money from the merchandise, the shows, any appearances you do on TV or films, and most of them won't even sign you today unless you forfeit your publishing rights. The labels all lost so much money once content started going digital. They needed to come up with a way to take less losses, while also being able to push out product. That opportunity is now being covered by the artists, who make incredibly less today, for the benefit of more exposure.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Master P had to sell a shyt load of records to get to that point, and Master P and Diddy are anomalies.

All the 90s rappers that are rich, were guys who sold a shyt ton of a records and were people we all knew

But rappers now, barely with buzz for their music are pulling in high 6 figures/low 7 figures. There are rappers who were the biggest thing in Hip Hop who didn't even make teachers salaries. Q-Tip said he was sleeping on his mother's couch and was broke after Low End Theory dropped. Let an artist today drop Low End Theory and and have the name identity and popularity of Tribe in 1991-1993, they're going to be a millionaire that same year. Not years down the line like Q-Tip had to do.

P and Puff weren't anomalies. They were owners. They owned what they were putting out. So they saw profits that everyday random artists wouldn't see. Both of them had P&D deals with huge parent companies. They weren't signing over their rights or publishing like rappers do today. They were the label themselves. People were signing over their rights to them. P owned his masters straight out the gate. Dude went from being indie to pulling 80% of every dollar No Limit made during that run. The rappers today literally don’t even own their likenesses or names anymore. Definitely not their publishing or masters.

Q-Tip was still living at home a couple albums in because Jive owned the music Tribe was releasing. The deal was structured very closely to what we see today with current artists, to benefit the label. It's not about how popular you are in the music business. It's always been about what you actually own. Zomba owned their publishing and they used a lot of samples where the publishing for those records were almost entirely going right back to the original artists. You can sell a lot of records and be popular, but the people who get paid first, especially during the 90's where we sampled all day, were the parent companies and the original artists of those records. Tribe gets whatever's left and not owed to the label.

 

[JustCKing]

Master P had to sell a shyt load of records to get to that point, and Master P and Diddy are anomalies.

All the 90s rappers that are rich, were guys who sold a shyt ton of a records and were people we all knew

But rappers now, barely with buzz for their music are pulling in high 6 figures/low 7 figures. There are rappers who were the biggest thing in Hip Hop who didn't even make teachers salaries. Q-Tip said he was sleeping on his mother's couch and was broke after Low End Theory dropped. Let an artist today drop Low End Theory and and have the name identity and popularity of Tribe in 1991-1993, they're going to be a millionaire that same year. Not years down the line like Q-Tip had to do.

There were artists that were selling much more than P and he was still making more money. Think about it, Diddy and Master P both dropped albums in 1997. Diddy's album sold more than double what P's album sold and P still walked away with just as much if not more money than Puff. That's where this thread fails at, the rappers we all knew were still making more money than these mid tier guys he's propping up in this thread. Now, had he said the average rapper now sees more money than the average rapper in the 90's, it would've been a true statement.

P and Puff weren't necessarily anomalies. Look at The Source Power 30 from the 90's. Specifically the late 90's. I'm still dumbfounded by how successful many of them were before they even reached 30.

 

[CrimsonTider]

I don't have any evidence any of these dude aren't just spending money in massive debt.

It's WWWAAYYYY easy to front and create an illusion.

I'll judge in 20 years.

This is just hating. Sad

 

[JustCKing]

My point is, what Biggie made in 95-97 is what B-list rappers make for shows. Biggie was the biggest in Hip Hop from 1995-1997 outside of a few acts (Pac, Fugees, Bone Thugs), and he was making 40k a show. Let's say he got up to 80K (which I doubt), the upper echelon rappers now like Drake, Kendrick, Cole, Kanye, wouldn't even cross the street for 80k. Depending on the venue, there's some B-List rappers not doing that. And how much the label takes varies greatly. It could 5% or 10%.

There's nikkas most people on here never heard of making 5 figures to perform. There's artists in the 90s that had hits and big name recognition that wouldn't even get 5 bands for a show.

I know people who book rappers, I know a lot of people who work in the music industry. I'm not saying I know how much every single rapper gets paid, but I know some specific A-List, B-list and C-List rappers get paid, and it's a lot.

It is unfair to compare Drake, Kendrick, Cole, and Kanye to Biggie or even a current act. Drake, Kendrick, and Cole have had to grind to where they can demand 80K a show. They are over a decade in. Kanye is nearing two decades. If I'm not clear, the OP is talking about newer artists.

 

[OHSNAP!]

Master P be laughin' hard

 

[hex]

Lol you can't see past the artist you grew up on.

Why the hell won't modern rappers be able to tour in 30 years.

In every era of music these guys have existed.

Nobody can see past the rappers I grew up on because that's the only example we have.
The rest of you cats are talking about what you think or hope will happen. Or do you have footage from 2040 you want to share with us?

And for the record I'm not saying nobody current gen will be touring 30 years from now. I said it's unlikely for most of them, because that's only been true for literally a handful of artists in hip-hop.

Fred.

 

[hex]

Thread is comedy because cats are talking like I'm nostalgic for the 90's when I'm literally telling you what happened.

And it's not even favorable towards the 90's. It's reality. There was hundreds if not thousands of rappers back then....only a handful can tour consistently, 30 years later.

But hear you all tell it damn near every rapper from the last 5-10 years will be able to do it at will.

Fred.

 

[FreshAIG]

P and Puff weren't anomalies. They were owners. They owned what they were putting out. So they saw profits that everyday random artists wouldn't see. Both of them had P&D deals with huge parent companies. They weren't signing over their rights or publishing like rappers do today. They were the label themselves. People were signing over their rights to them. P owned his masters straight out the gate. Dude went from being indie to pulling 80% of every dollar No Limit made during that run. The rappers today literally don’t even own their likenesses or names anymore. Definitely not their publishing or masters.

Q-Tip was still living at home a couple albums in because Jive owned the music Tribe was releasing. The deal was structured very closely to what we see today with current artists, to benefit the label. It's not about how popular you are in the music business. It's always been about what you actually own. Zomba owned their publishing and they used a lot of samples where the publishing for those records were almost entirely going right back to the original artists. You can sell a lot of records and be popular, but the people who get paid first, especially during the 90's where we sampled all day, were the parent companies and the original artists of those records. Tribe gets whatever's left and not owed to the label.

That makes them anomalies lol.