While most of America is pinching pennies, rappers are recession-proof. Recently, Bryan ” Birdman” Williams posted a YouTube clip of himself accepting his latest purchase-a $2.5 million Bugatti. That got us thinking, what are the most ridiculous purchases rappers have made over the years? TheBVX checks the receipts.
1) Diddy
The purchase: A lavish 40th birthday party at New York’s Plaza Hotel
The price tag: $3 million
The bottom line: When you’re worth almost half a billion dollars, a multimillion-dollar birthday party is an annual event. At this particular shindig, Puff treated guests Jay-Z, Bono, Nelly and Denzel Washington to a $30,000 orchid display, all black everything (including a black dance floor and a black chandelier) and a whole lot of bottle popping. Talk about racking up one hell of a bar bill.
2) Jay-Z
The purchase: A 1959 Rolls-Royce convertible he gave to then-girlfriend Beyoncé for her 25th birthday
The price tag: Approximately $1 million
The bottom line: Wow, we bet you feel real silly right now for trying to pass off a pair of tickets to a Rihanna concert as a birthday present to your girl, don’t you? Hov put Bey behind the vintage wheels and let her celebrate her 25th in style. No wonder he’s got the baddest chick in the game wearing his chain ring.
3) 50 Cent
The purchase: Mike Tyson‘s former mansion in Farmington, Connecticut
The price tag: $4.1 million
The bottom line: Four mill really isn’t a lot to a superstar rapper (re-read the Diddy entry above for proof). But the fact that Fif went from a down-and-out rapper at the end of the 1990s to shacking up in Mike Tyson’s old pad was a power move, if we’ve ever seen one. From the Gucci-print walls to the in-house club, this house was a knockout.
4) Nas
The purchase: Engagement grills for himself and Kelis
The price tag: $36,000 per grill
The bottom line: Wondering how we knew grills jumped the shark? Exactly… Nas scooping up these mouthpieces a nupital gifts was a pretty bad financial decision. And when you consider that his marriage to Kelis didn’t last, it only makes the purchase that much worse. Either way, we’re pretty sure who got the jewelry in the divorce. Let us see your grills, girl!
5) T-Pain
The purchase: His “BIG ASS CHAIN” chain
The price tag: $410,000
The bottom line: As far as chains go, there are plenty of obnoxious ones, from Soulja Boy‘s remote control car chain, Sean Kingston‘s Crayola Crayons chain and, of course, Lil Jon‘s “Crunk Ain’t Dead” chain. But the fact that T-Pain spent more than $400,000 on a chain that was good for one quick joke takes the proverbial cake. We just hope he recycled it when he lost interest.
6) MC Hammer
The purchase: A stable full of Thoroughbred racehorses
The price tag: Approximately $1 million
The bottom line: To be honest, just about everything MC Hammer bought during the 1990s could be considered obnoxious. After all, the guy made approximately $33 million rapping, turned around and spent $12 million of it on a crib just outside of San Francisco. But horses, Hammer? No wonder you went bankrupt.
7) Kanye West
The purchase: A replica of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting on the ceiling of his dining room
The price tag: $350,000
The bottom line: We’re willing to bet that just about everything Kanye buys could be considered an ill-advised investment, $1800 sneakers and $5000 suits are the norm for the Louis Vuitton Don. But the re-creation of the Sistine Chapel that he’s got in his dining room is… well, it’s just too much. Who do you think you are, dude? The Pope?
8 ) Nelly
The purchase: A mink-lined Rolls-Royce Phantom
The price tag: $385,000
The bottom line: Do you think Nelly was sitting around one day and thought about ways to make a list like this in the future? If not, we don’t exactly know how to explain taking a perfectly-good (and pricey!) Rolls-Royce and lining it with mink. What, the customized “F PETA” license plate was already taken? Good grief.
9) Master P
The purchase: The master bedroom in his mansion in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The price tag: $3 million
The bottom line: You know those days when you just don’t feel like getting out of bed? Well, for Master P, that was also known as “every day.” The guy had solid gold fixtures all over the place, a fish tank and a huge TV. Why leave?!
10) Birdman (yeah, again!)
The purchase: Lil Wayne‘s 26th birthday present
The price tag: $1 million
The bottom line: No, we didn’t forget to tell you what the purchase was. The $1 million was the purchase. Rather than get the martian another car or something he’d probably just return anyway, Birdman slipped Wayne a card briefcase filled with a milli. Hey Baby, want to come to our birthday party next year?! The invitation is in the mail…
Source: The BVX
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