In recent times, this problem has been two fold: 1) artists receive advances from labels, not only to record their album, but also to buy all of the gaudy possessions they ever wanted and 2) fans expect artists to have these riches because, for some reason, it has somehow become validation of an artist talent. How and why people expect artists to obtain this wealth before they even release a debut album is beyond me. However, the pressure of fan expectations leads to labels forcing these images upon them in order to garner record sales. 

Unfortunately, these images have trickled down into our community and into the lives of the consumers who attempt to mimic the lifestyle that they witness when they see these rappers on TV or hear their songs on the radio. When it comes to this, Joey says, “Did we send the wrong message with our slang/it’s broke n*ggas blowin’ they rent to make it rain.” People that really can't afford to do the things that artists talk about in their songs attempt to do so anyway, leading to very unhealthy habits in our communities. Instead of having artists that are talking about investing, buying property, savings accounts, etc., we have made spending more than you make cool. That's n*gga rich. We have to break that cycle. Until we do that, not only will the music suffer, but so will our society. 

What are your opinions on artists being "n*gga rich." What does that entail to you? How do we break that cycle? Let me hear from you. Leave a comment and as always, you can e-mail at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.

Peace.