In today’s world, particularly in western civilization, bragging rights have become the bar at which one gages his or her success. This generation has put more weight on having fancy cars, big jewels, and money than any other generation before it. Don’t get me wrong, those same items have always been a symbol of status, but if one is spending all of their efforts on their image, then they are missing out on what is truly important.
Unfortunately, the Hip Hop culture has ultimately misguided
our youth and kids today think that they must have the riches and diamond rings right now. These are terrible goals to
have. First of all, it creates the
shortcut mentality. This mentality makes
one think that he or she should acquire these items now and by any means. Second, by having these goals the youth are
clearly missing the bigger picture.
Getting good grades, staying out of trouble, and going to college will
help one get to the level one needs to reach to acquire these riches, but this
comes with time.
The picture that Hip Hop creates is an illusion and our
society is striving to make it a reality. This article is a warning shot for
our readers. We want you to stay away
from these traps and to keep your focus on the bigger picture. It’s not about keeping up with the Joneses, it’s
about becoming the Joneses.
The rap game is an optical illusion. We see the videos in which rappers are flaunting
their money, women, cars, and jewels, and we begin to think that we too need
these items to be happy and more importantly; to show others that this is how
we are living. Unfortunately, most of us
are not actually living like that and neither are the majority of these emcees
who boast that they are. Some of your
favorite rappers are dead broke and you wouldn’t even know it. Let me provide
you with some real life example to really bring this issue to light.
G-Unit rapper Young Buck went bankrupt and loss his
home. This forced the southern emcee to
sell all of his jewelry and pretty much everything else. Let’s see if this rapper continues to flash
jewelry now that he is back with the Unit.
I’m assuming that his current financial situation weighed in heavily on
his decision to reunite with the G-Unit.
Former Roc-A-Fella rapper Beanie Sigel used to be a part of
one of the most lucrative labels in hip hop.
The Philly native landed himself in jail over a drug possession and soon
found himself in a deeper hole as the IRS came looking for him. It looks like Beans forgot about Uncle
Sam. That’s one relative that you must
always remember to pay, even if you don’t like him.
Murder Inc. rep Ja Rule went to prison for two years for tax
evasion after owing millions to the IRS.
He’ll be paying those debts off for the remainder of his life and it
doesn’t look like a hit from Murder Inc. is coming in the near future to help
with this debt. Ja can thank 50 Cent for
that one.
New York rapper Fat Joe, famous for his “Lean Back” song, went
to prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion after owing over a million
dollars to the IRS. Yup, that’s not a
typo…one million dollars.
Wu-Tang Clan rapper Method Man was arrested in 2011 for
failing to pay his taxes. He took care
of the rapper, but is still in great debt.
I guess cash doesn’t rule everything
around him.
West Coast rapper and former Pimp My Ride host Xzhibit filed bankruptcy after owing over one
million dollars to the IRS. He has filed
twice since 2009. Looks like someone
needs to pimp his bank account.
Lil Bow Wow found himself in court after his beloved Bentley
was repossessed. He publicized that he had only $1,500 in his bank
account. The rapper now has a gig on BET’s 106 & Park, but this is
probably not enough money to get him out of debt. According to sources,
Bow Wow owes $90,000 to the IRS and another $280,000 to a luxury car leasing
company.
Finally I wanted to speak on a Ludacris’ situation, which
really surprised me. Ludacris was in a
custody battle with his child’s mother and revealed in court that he had earned
only $55,000 over the previous year (2013).
With being featured in the highly successful Fast and Furious film series, it is really hard to believe that the
Disturbing Tha Peace emcee only brought in $55k last year. C’mon man.
Luda has been on the rap scene for over ten years and has had a mildly
successful career in film. He should
have taken notes from MC Hammer.
As you can see, what you perceive in these videos is not the
reality for most of these rappers. It’s
time to change your thinking and begin to set your focus on the bigger picture.
Once you see the bigger picture, everything else will become so much
clearer. What motivates you may not
change, but hopefully your reasoning will.
We have to stop thinking rich and start thinking wealthy. Let’s start building assets that can be
handed down to the next generation. In
simple terms…don’t aim for Nicki Minaj…aim for Oprah Winfrey.
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