Rappers and Their Expensive Cars: An Enduring Tradition
Alex Reale
· 4 min read
Since emerging from New York in the 1970s, rap has grown from a niche genre to a worldwide phenomenon. What's one constant over nearly 50 years of evolution in the genre? Lyrics about owning nice cars. Read on to learn more about the most expensive cars owned by famous rappers.
Rapping about cars: a brief history
The first rap song ever recorded is widely agreed to be “Rapper’s Delight,” by the Sugarhill Gang. It came out in September of 1979. The lyrics look positively chaste to rap fans of today, with PG-13 boasting about the protagonists’ talents in music and seduction of women. And halfway into the second verse, we get the first-ever car brag in a rap: “I got two big cars, that definitely ain't the whack, I got a Lincoln continental and a sunroof Cadillac.”
This is the beginning of a long, cherished tradition of talking about cars in rap. More famous titles from our contemporary era include “Ferrari Boyz” from Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame, “Beamer Benz or Bentley” from Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana, and “Aston Martin Music” from Rick Ross featuring Drake and Chrisette Michelle. Clearly, there’s a connection between the world of rap and the world of luxury cars.
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The ‘cheapest’ rides
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Rap artists talking about cars can have a chicken or egg feel: are you rapping about a car because you have it, or because you need royalty money to purchase it? For the most famous and recognizable, it’s the former.
HotCars
takes us through a list of some of the biggest names with the flashiest rides.Rick Ross takes the bottom spot in this absurd list, with a Mercedes Maybach that costs $430,000. Next up we have the legendary Diddy, né Puff Daddy, whose Rolls Royce Phantom comes in at $440,000. And rounding out the 400K group is T.I., whose discontinued Bentley Mulsanne impresses at $450,000.
Curtis Jackson III would have to multiply his chosen stage name of 50 Cent by about a million to purchase his $510,000 Lamborghini Murcielago, a beautiful and rare Lambo. Inching closer to the million-dollar mark is Kanye West’s Lamborghini Aventador, which set the iconic rapper back $750,000.
A few rappers own cars worth over $1 million
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A select few rappers have used their earnings to spend seven figures on their vehicles. New Orleans rapper Birdman is the proud owner of a $1.4 million Maybach 62 Landaulet, and California rapper The Game spent $2.2 million on a black and yellow Bugatti Veyron. The legendary Pharrell Williams surpassed both with a $2.5 million Ferrari Enzo, one of just 400 made.
But if we’re talking GOATs, Jay-Z has a case for the top spot in the domains of both rap and car collecting. The “Empire State of Mind” rapper can choose between Bugattis, Maybachs, and Bentleys without coming close to exploring the whole garage, as reported by
GQ
.One of the most insane cars in the group is the Pagani Zonda Roadster, which is one of only 140 and costs $1.7 million. He also owns the one-of-a-kind Maybach Exelero which comes in at a whopping $8 million.
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