How 8 Hip Hop Artists Make Their Money

The Beastie Boys may have the “skills to pay the bills,” but how many times have we seen rappers blow their advances and then go broke? Here’s how 8 rappers stay on top of the money game.

Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre hasn't released an album with his name on it in more than a decade, but producing fees and merchandising have kept Dre’s income in the eight figure range.

50 Cent

50 Cent is perhaps a better businessman than he is a rapper. Take a look at his feud with Game. Thanks to record label rights, when you buy a Game record, you’re actually putting money in 50’s pocket.

Lil B

Lil B is not the richest rapper by any means, and in fact boasts of his duct-taped shoes saying “I’ll buy a new pair when I make my first million,” but the media-savvy young rapper has become a success entirely through self-promotion.

Sean Combs

Combs is arguably not a great artist, but he knows a great artist when he sees them. An ear for success has kept him on top.

RZA

Not all of the Wu Tang Clan have managed to remain successful. Through licensing, acting and movie scores, RZA maintains a strong income regardless of whether or not he has a hot single on the charts at the moment.

Chamillionaire

He may only have one big single, but through tireless promotion of his own record label, Chamillionaire has maintained power and success in his career.

Akon

How do you stay rich with only two albums in release? Producing movies, designing fashion, selling certified non-conflict diamonds, and owning your own record label, for starters.

Chuck D

Public Enemy aren’t a big part of the hip hop world anymore, but Chuck’s company, Chuck D Mobile, was acquired by VeriSign for a quarter billion dollars.

Slim Thug

Wonder why Slim Thug seems so laid back? He never had anything to prove, haven been a successful real estate mogul before he ever picked up a mic.

COUNTRIES WHERE YOU’RE MOST LIKELY TO BE KIDNAPPED

Bon voyage!

What is your dream vacation?

Maybe you’d love to explore the jungles of Southeast Asia, or maybe you’d rather stick to the resorts. Perhaps your eyes are set on South America. Or maybe you’d prefer a traditional vacation to Europe or the American West.

While many of us dream of travel and endless vacations, we tend to forget about just how dangerous life can be for tourists. In fact, surviving the plane ride might be the easiest part.

Though you might feel safe in your own town or country, many places in the world today still aren’t as safe as we’d like to think they are, and hundreds of thousands of children and adults are kidnapped each year. What’s more frightening is that we’ll never know how many people go missing in cases that aren’t even reported.

When planning your next vacation, keep in mind the following countries where you’re most likely to get kidnapped. Safe travels!

Mexico

Mexico is consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and tourists are often cautioned not to travel beyond resorts. Tourists will most often face a risk of getting robbed at an ATM where they’ll be forced to withdraw as much cash as possible. Actual kidnappings are typically financially motivated and carried about by small-time thugs and gangs and not the larger cartels. There were over 1,500 reported kidnappings in 2013, but experts warn that more than 99% may be going unreported. Scary stuff.

Bon voyage!

India

Though the large country is a dream destination for many, kidnappings in India make the country substantially more dangerous. Sadly, the main targets are children, who can even be taken from their own home. Many of these kidnappings are done purely for ransom, however, so families desperately pay to have their kids returned. There were approximately 3,000 kidnappings in 2010.

Bon voyage!

Pakistan

Like its neighboring countries, many parts of Pakistan remain extremely dangerous for foreign tourists. In 2014, it was the third-most common country for kidnapping crimes.

Iraq

Another Middle Eastern country on this list, the instability of the area has prolonged the danger for foreigners wishing to travel to Iraq. What’s even more frightening here is that kidnapping isn’t limited to civilian travelers but to foreign diplomats as well.

Nigeria

One of the countries you may have heard the most kidnapping news out of in recent years in Nigeria, where groups like the Boko Haram notoriously kidnap large groups of girls (and others) at once, sometimes not releasing them for years.

Libya

Ranking as the sixth-most dangerous country for kidnapping in 2014, Libya’s unstable political climate makes it a perilous place for foreigners. In 2016, two Italian tourists and one Canadian were released after over a month of abduction.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh has only seen kidnapping rates increase over the past few years. What’s especially scary here is that sometimes it’s the police who are disappearing dissenters. One famous Bangladeshi rights activist has been missing since 1996.

The Most Expensive Smartphone On The Market

At A Cool $20,000, This Is The Most Expensive Smartphone On The Market

This guy has gotten pretty internet famous for his notoriously entertaining unboxing web series. Host, Lewis Hilsenteger takes his online reveals seriously, only bringing the dopest things to the desk and always coming through with a not only thorough but highly entertaining show.
So what’s better than a good show a the latest high-priced gadget? Eh, maybe a few things but this $20,000 smartphone is made of more than sugar, spice and everything nice. This thing is made for the big leagues donning features like no other handheld computer and made of only the finest materials.
It’s definitely worth taking at a glance at this luxurious phone made for ballers only.

Lewis Claims, It’s The Most Expensive Thing To Ever Sit Upon His Desk

Even The Packaging Screams Luxury

And That Gold You See? It’s Real

Watch this EPIC Unbox to reveal every last detail UP NEXT

PRESS PLAY To Peep Game On This Fine Piece Of Technology…

Ryan Giggs In The Running For Swansea Job

 Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs is one of the top contenders to take over as head coach of the struggling Premier League side, Swansea FC.

Swansea have already sacked two head coaches this season, first Francesco Guidolin and more recently, Bob Bradley who was sacked just on Monday night after a poor run of results. 

FG to buy N400m vehicles for Obasanjo, Jonathan others

The Federal Government will spend N400m on the purchase of vehicles for the nation’s former heads of government and their deputies in 2017.

The figure formed part of the N9.882bn budgeted for the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for the year.

According to the details of the 2017 Appropriation Bill currently before the National Assembly obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, N280.099m was budgeted for the purchase of vehicles for seven former Presidents and Heads of State.

Further details showed that N120.090m would be used to procure vehicles for four former Vice-Presidents and ex-Chiefs of General Staff.

The nation’s seven living former heads of government include Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.); Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.); Chief Ernest Shonekan; Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.); and former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The four living former Vice-Presidents and ex-Chiefs of General Staff are former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme; Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.); Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd.), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and former Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

The budget details did not indicate the number of vehicles that would be bought for each of the former leaders. The brands of the vehicles were also not disclosed.

Apart from the leaders, the office of the SGF will also buy N32m vehicles for offices and units in the office.

The government will also spend a total of N170m on the nation’s Independence Day and Democracy Day celebrations.

While Nigeria’s Democracy Day holds every May 29, Independence Day holds every October 1.

Both ceremonies have not been marked lavishly since the inception of the present administration.

The office is also expected to spend N1.322bn on the procurement and installation of security system across selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The number of MDAs that will benefit from the procurement is not disclosed in the details.

The office will also spend N104.586m on what it called support and maintenance of e-council document management; it will spend N290m on electronic document and content management system and another N45m on electronic document management and archival system in the OSGF.

Upgrading and maintenance of Council Chambers Conference System will gulp N55m; N35m will be spent on one Xerox D125 photocopy machine; N20.8m on purchase of 52 laptop computers; N54.35m for the purchase of equipment for the production of staff identity cards and installation of file tracking system; and N5m for the OSGF website.

Another N3.8m is budgeted for the purchase of what is called multi-functional photocopy machine for the Procurement Department and N29.5m for archival project Phases I, II and III for cabinet secretariat document and file organisation.

Obama Confident He Could Have Won The White House Again

Obama Confident He Could Have Won The White House Again

President Barack Obama says he could have been reelected for a third term and that the nation still largely embraces his political vision despite last month’s election of Donald Trump to succeed him.

The US leader’s remarks were made in an interview posted on the podcast “The Axe Files,” produced by CNN and the University of Chicago.

Obama, who ends his second and final term in office in just over three weeks, said he believes the American public still supports his progressive vision, despite having voted for Trump — his political opposite.

“I am confident in this vision because I’m confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it,” Obama tells the interviewer, his former senior adviser David Axelrod, in the most recent of several exit interviews he has been conducting.
But President-elect Donald Trump took to a favored platform, Twitter, to reject Obama’s supposition.

– ‘No way!’ : Trump –

“President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me. He should say that but I say NO WAY! – jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.,” he tweeted, referring to the president’s signature health care plan.

Hillary Clinton was defeated by Trump in a stunning outcome almost no one predicted, and Obama was philosophical and a little rueful in the interview regarding the Democrats’ loss.

“Losing’s never fun,” he tells Axelrod, a political strategist who helped craft Obama’s winning 2008 presidential campaign and then followed him to the White House.

“I’m proud that I have tried to conduct myself in office to do what I think is right rather than what is popular, I always tell people don’t underestimate the public humiliation of losing in politics,” Obama said.

“It’s unlike what most people experience as adults, this sense of rejection.”

But he was also proud of the way the progress made in the two terms of his presidency, thanks to the “spirit of America,” especially evident in the younger generation.

“That spirit of America has still been there in all sorts of ways. It manifests itself in communities all across the country,” Obama said.

“We see it in this younger generation that is smarter, more tolerant, more innovative, more creative, more entrepreneurial, would not even think about, you know, discriminating somebody against for example because of their sexual orientation,” the president said.

“All those things that I describe, you’re seeing in our society, particularly among 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds.’

Despite the election of Trump — a Republican who appears set to put in place policies that will take the country sharply to the right — during his presidency “the culture actually did shift,” Obama told Axelrod.

“The majority does buy into the notion of a one America that is tolerant and diverse and open and full of energy and dynamism,” the US president said.

“The problem is, it doesn’t always manifest itself in politics.”

Wow! Drake And Jennifer Lopez Confirm Their Relationship

Drake is back on the dating scene again a week after his breakup with Rihanna. This time, Drake is trying at love with the 47-year old musician, Jennifer Lopez.

J.Lo, as she’s popularly known reportedly turned down a major gig this week to spend time with Drake and the pair, have released pictures of them all cuddled up.

Headies 2016 Awards : The winners

BEST RECORDING OF THE YEAR

EMERGENCY – D’BANJ

PRAY FOR ME – DAREY FEAT. SOWETO CHOIR = WINNER

LOVE DON’T CARE – SIMI

ORENTE – ADEKUNLE GOLD

SOMETHING GOOD IS HAPPENING – BRYMO

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

DJ COUBLON ‘GOOD TIME & RABA’

PHEELS – ‘PICK UP & LAGOS BOYS’ – OLAMIDE

LEGENDURY BEATS – ‘FINAL – BABA NLA’ WIZKID

YOUNG JOHN – ‘MAMA’ – KISS DANIEL= WINNER

MASTAKRAFT – ‘FADA FADA’, ‘CONNECT’ – PHYNO

OSCAR HERMAN-ACKAH – ‘PRAY FOR ME’ – DAREY

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

EMERGENCY (D’BANJ) – UNLIMITED LA

MARY (SEYI SHAY) – MEJI ALABI

SOLDIER (FALZ THA BAD GUY) – CLARENCE PETERS = WINNER

MADE FOR YOU – BANKY W

BAD – TIWA SAVAGE FEAT. WIZKID – SESAN

BEST R&B/POP ALBUM

NEW ERA – KISS DANIEL

WANTED – WANDE COAL

KLITORIS – BRYMO

Unclad – DAREY = WINNER

SEYI OR SHAY – SEYI SHAY

BEST R&B SINGLE

LOVE DON’T CARE – SIMI = WINNER

MADE FOR YOU – BANKY W

SUPER WOMAN – WANDE COAL

PRAY FOR ME – DAREY

ADUKE – TJAN

SMILE – SHAYDEE

BEST POP SINGLE

A category for the best pop single in year under review (by single individual or group)

MAMA – KISS DANIEL = WINNER

FINAL (BABA NLA) – WIZKID

PICK UP – ADEKUNLE GOLD

OSINACHI – HUMBLESMITH FEAT. DAVIDO

REGGAE BLUES – HARRYSONG FEAT. OREZI, IYANYA, OLAMIDE, KCEE = WINNER

EMERGENCY – D’BANJ

FADA FADA – PHYNO FEAT. OLAMIDE

MONEY – TIMAYA FEAT. FLAVOUR

BEST REGGAE/DANCEHALL SINGLE

NO KISSING’ – PATORANKING FT SARKODIE = WINNER

BODY HOT – PRAIZ FT. JESSE JAGZ & STONE BWOY

JAGA LOVE – JESSE JAGZ

OLOWO – CYNTHIA MORGAN

PAM PAM – KETCHUP

TIMAYA – I LIKE THE WAY

BEST RAP ALBUM

A Non-Voting Category for the Best Album By A Rap Artiste Or Group In Year Under Review.

EYAN MAYWEATHER – OLAMIDE

POWERFUL – ILL BLISS = WINNER

STORIES THAT TOUCH – FALZ

LIL’ KESH – YAGI

BEST COLLABO

A voting category for the best R&B, Pop or Hip-hop collaborative track (including cameos).

SOLDIER – FALZ FEAT. SIMI = WINNER

REGGAE BLUES – HARRYSONG FEAT. OREZI, IYANYA, OLAMIDE, KCEE

OSINACHI – HUMBLESMITH FEAT. DAVIDO

WAIT – SOLIDSTAR FEAT. TIWA SAVAGE

NO KISSING – PATORANKING FEAT. SARKODIE

MONEY – TIMAYA FEAT. FLAVOUR

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE(MALE)

BRYMO – SOMETHING GOOD IS HAPPENING

DAREY FEAT. SOWETO CHOIR – PRAY FOR ME

SHAYDEE – SMILE  = WINNER

WANDE COAL – SUPER WOMAN

RIC HASSANI – GENTLEMAN

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE (FEMALE)

A non-voting category for the single female artiste with most outstanding vocal performances on a single song or album.

SIMI – LOVE DON’T CARE = WINNER

SEYI SHAY – RIGHT NOW

ARAMIDE FEAT. ADEKUNLE GOLD – LOVE ME

OMAWUMI FEAT. ANGELIE KIDJO – PLAY NA PLAY

NEXT RATED

This category is a voting category for the most promising upcoming act in the year under review.

YCEE

MR EAZI = WINNER

HUMBLESMITH

ARAMIDE

HIP HOP WORLD REVELATION

A voting category for the best new artiste in the year under review.

KISS DANIEL – NEW ERA = WINNER

SEYI SHAY – SEYI OR SHAY

LIL’ KESH – YAGI

RUNTOWN – GHETTO UNIVERSITY

LYRICIST ON THE ROLL

A non-voting category for the Rap Artiste with the best lyrical depth and performance on a single song or album.

ILL BLISS – CHUKWU AGOZI GOGI

REMINSCE – ASALAMALEKU

YCEE – JAGABAN

BOOGEY – SHOW YOU SOMETHING

A-Q – AGU JI NDI MEN’

MODENINE – NO MATTER WHAT

BEST STREET-HOP ARTISTE

A voting category for the artiste whose songs are inspired by the streets. Such song should captain lingua, which may also be originated by the artiste and popular on the street.

OLAMIDE – WHO YOU EPP = WINNER

AJEBUTTER FEAT. FALZ – BAD GANG

KOKER – KO LE WERK

YCEE – JAGABAN

SMALL DOKTA – GBERA

2T BOYS – CUSTOMER DADA NI

BEST ‘ALTERNATIVE’ SONG

A voting category for the artiste whose songs reflect any form or style of music which falls outside the mainstream of recent or past popular musical trends.

PICK UP – ADEKUNLE GOLD

SOMETHING GOOD IS HAPPENING – BRYMO

YOU SUPPOSE KNOW – BEZ = WINNER

WAIT FOR ME – JOHNNY DRILLE

GENTLEMAN – RIC HASSANI

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

A voting category for the best album (solo or group) in year under review, that meets judges requirements of excellence (Songwriting, production, rendition and promotion) and acceptability (Sales and popularity).

STORIES THAT TOUCH – FALZ

NEW ERA – KISS DANIEL = WINNER

WANTED – WANDE COAL

SEYI OR SHAY – SEYI SHAY

ARTISTE OF THE YEAR

Most critically and commercially adjudged artiste in the year under review. Overall most successful artiste for the year under review.

WIZKID = WINNER

TIWA SAVAGE

FALZ

YEMI ALADE

OLAMIDE

SONG OF THE YEAR

A voting category for the most popular song in the year under review.

FINAL (BABA NLA) – WIZKID

OSINACHI – HUMBLESMITH FEAT. DAVIDO

PICK UP – ADEKUNLE GOLD

REGGAE BLUES – HARRYSONG FEAT.

FADA FADA – PHYNO FEAT. OLAMIDE = WINNER

Tupac Shakur Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Tupac Shakur was only 25-years old at the time of his death, but his impact on the music industry and it's artists and fans is still being felt two decades later.

On Tuesday, December 20, it was announced that he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, according to the

The music icon released four studio albums between 1991-1996. Those albums produced the hit songs included "Dear Mama," "California Love," "I Get Around," "Brenda's Got a Baby," "Changes," "So Many Tears," "Keep Ya Head Up," "Holler If Ya Hear Me," "How Do U Want It," "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted," "I Ain't Mad Atcha" and many more.

Tupac adopted the moniker Makaveli for his fifth album titled "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory." The project was famously recorded in just seven days. It was released posthumously on November 5, 1996, less than two months after his death.

Notable records on the album included "Hail Mary," "Against All Odds," "To Live & Die in L.A." and "Toss It Up."

It was the first of six posthumous solo Tupac albums to be released.

"Still I Rise," a collaborative album with his group, Outlawz, was released in 1999. Two live albums saw the light of day in 2004 and 2005.

Tupac's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame comes in his first year on the ballot 

Pearl Jam

Other inductees into the 2017 class include Yes, Pearl Jam, Electric Light Orchestra and Joan Baez.

The hall's 32nd annual induction ceremony will take place on April 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. HBO will show highlights later, with SiriusXM doing a radio broadcast.