“We don’t believe you, you need more people.” The famous line uttered by Jay-Z as a way to dash his foes’ credibility on the 2001 track “The Takeover” is still an oft-used phrase in the hip-hop lexicon. Why? ’Cause rappers be lying.
By nature, rap is a genre filled with braggadocio, and it has been since the beginning. Only now, it’s gone from “My Adidas” to my Maison Margielas. Rappers flex on a whole other level. Hip-hop artists appeal to the masses with grand claims in order to make themselves look bigger than life. Because, honestly, who wants to seem like a broke rapper? As the years passed and more money was poured into the genre, making rap artists millions, the bombast has risen exponentially, with rappers blurring the lines between flexing and outright fibbing.
For example, many rappers make widely unsubstantiated claims about how much money they make for shows, with some even claiming to rake in $1 million a set. Unless a rapper shows proof via pay stub, the only way to verify that information would be to ask the people that allegedly coughed up the money. And it’s often in their advantage to lie about the price because it makes them look better. While some rappers do make six and even seven figures to step on stage, flexes like those are definitely the exception. And more than likely a lie.
The same thing goes for jewelry. Rappers often list gargantuan prices for their gaudy jewelry pieces. Again, it behooves them to inflate the number. Some of the pieces have turned out to be fake. There have long since been rumors about rappers knowingly passing off fake jewelry as the genuine article.
In 2021, Lil Baby got called out for wearing a fake Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711/1P 40th Anniversary to Met Gala. The jeweler who sold it to him admitted to selling the knockoff by mistake. This obviously wasn’t Baby’s fault, but is an example of how easy it is to be duped.
There’s an Instagram page called FakeWatchBuster that routinely called rappers out for wearing fake timepieces. In 2013, they called out YK Osiris for wearing a fraud Richard Mille. Rick Ross was recently blasted for wearing a bootleg Audemars Piguet.
What will it cost to get a verse from a fan’s favorite hip-hop artist? Rappers make huge claims. But, again, the proof is few and far between. It is also a case-by-case basis for many people. Depending on the relationship, a rapper might not even charge another rapper for a verse on the front end. Is Drake hypothetically gonna charge J. Cole the same price he would charge Lil Lean Head? Of course not. But is that as exciting as saying you charge $500,000 for every 16? Hardly.
The truth is malleable. And some rappers have no problem shaping it into whatever they want fans to believe.
