There are a ton of great rappers and hip-hop artists out there, and you probably know many of them from their music. Turns out, however, a lot of them aren’t just great musicians — they’re also good businesspeople.
Like who? There are a few hip-hop artists with side-businesses. Here are some of the most well-known.
Jay Z
Jay Z may be one of the biggest names in hip-hop, but he has some pretty serious businesses outside of writing music too. He also helps others write music through his record label, Roc-A-Fella records, plus he’s certified by the NBA and MLB as a sports agent, which he puts to use through his sports agency Roc Nation Sports. On top of that, Jay-Z has a sports bar called 40/40 Club.
Perhaps his best-known side-venture is Tidal, a music-streaming service that sets itself apart by being one of the only services that streams CD-quality files instead of MP3 files that don’t sound as good, but take less bandwidth to stream.
Between his music and his other businesses, Jay-Z is estimated to have a net worth of $810 million, according to Forbes.
Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre is perhaps more well-known for his businesses than he is for his music. After a super successful career as a music producer and rapper, Dre then became known for his line of headphones, Beats by Dre, which were developed with Jimmy Iovine and eventually sold to Apple for a whopping $3 billion.
Dr. Dre has a few other interesting businesses too. He’s acted in movies like Set it Off, and, of course, still produces music.
Thanks to his legendary music career, and his sale of Beats to Apple, Dr. Dre has a net worth of a whopping $770 million, according to NMA.
50 Cent
50 Cent is another super-famous rapper who has a couple side-businesses — and while there have plenty of rumors about the state of those businesses, it’s safe to say that he’s been pretty successful as a businessman.
So what are his businesses? Well, for starters, he’s involved with artist management, film production, and more. He also became known for his G-Unit clothing company, and he wrote a book called Playground. 50 Cent founded two film production companies too, G-Unit Films, and Cheetah Vision. And, in 2014, he signed a $78 million deal with FRIGO Revolution Wear.
While 50 Cent may not be as rich as he once was, his net worth is estimated to be around $20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake may be more of a pop star than a hip hop stare, but he’s dabbled in hip hop too. While he’s best known for his work as a solo singer and his role in boy band NSYNC, he has some pretty serious business ventures too. For starters, he has co-owned three restaurants to date, which opened in 2003, 2006, and 2007.
Timberlake also acts as a celebrity endorsement for a lot of products. He endorsed Sony in 2009, and is known for his endorsement of Myspace in 2011. More recently, Timberlake partnered with Sauza Liquors to launch his own drink, Sauza 901, and he became an investor in Bai Brands.
Thanks to his investments, Timberlake now has a net worth of a hefty $230 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Sean Combs
Sean Combs has gone by a ton of different names — P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, and simply Diddy — so we’re just going to refer to him as Sean Combs. Combs hasn’t just written great music — he has also supported others who have written great music through his label, Bad Boy Entertainment, and through his work as a talent director at Uptown Records.
On top of his career in music, Combs started a clothing line in 1998 called Sean John, and in 2008, he added a men’s perfume line to Sean John called “I Am King.” Combs is also the head of Combs Enterprises, which is an umbrella company that owns two restaurants, and Aquahydrate.
Thanks to his business ventures, Combs has an estimated net worth of a massive $825 million, according to Forbes.