Underground Kings: Rich Off A Mixtape, Got Rich Off A Mixtape!

Almost two months since the release of Drakes second studio album, Take Care, the album still receives heavy rotation in my car on a daily basis. At this point, I have most of the lyrics to every song memorized, simply because of repetition. No, I don’t have a favorite track on the album, nor do I have a top five. In my humble opinion, on any given day, contingent upon my mood, any given song can be my favorite because the album is just that good!

There is however, one song that consistently stands out in my mind every time I listen to it. On the track Underground Kings, Drizzy begins by proclaiming “bridge over trouble water, ice in my muddy water, rich off a mixtape, got rich off a mix tape”.

Perhaps this verse stands out to me because a mixtape, So Far Gone, propelled the Canadian star to instant stardom in the rap game (no need for me to remind you how much of a difficult task this normally is). Of course one can argue Drake was already rich from acting, but there is no question that mixtape super charged his career in the rap game. So yup, the YMCMB affiliate got rich off a mixtape… got rich off a mixtape!!

My question is, if one can get rich off a mixtape what’s the point of trying to get rich off of anything else (yes I’m being condescending)? What’s the point of working a regular 9-5 gig? Better yet, what’s the point of working hard in grade school, high school, let alone in college?? Drizzy touches on this issue later in the track by rhyming:

“Memphis Tennessee know/ see I start to go deep back, In Ridgecrest with my seat back/ with Yo Gotti and E-Mack, and these ni**as got them diamonds glowing in they mouth/ and they rockin furs like it’s snowing in the south. And every pretty girl tell me that’s the sh** that she like/ so why am I in class if this is who I’m trying to be like, so I drop out/ lessons I was taught are quick to fade/ as soon as I realize that turning papers in won’t get me paid”.

Whew.. Yes, it is true that you can get rich off of a mixtape, anything is possible. Is it likely that you will get rich off a mixtape, now that’s the question. Many hip-hop artists get their first break by promoting their mixtapes; this also creates a buzz about them as an artist as well. In actuality, the proportion of individuals that actually become “rich” off of mixtapes is astronomically small. In example, a 2010 report revealed that the top 1% of American’s, which includes top-level executives, celebrities, heirs, etc., earn yearly incomes of $500,000+.

The top .012% of individuals earns yearly incomes of $1.6 Million and up. Some artists such as your Jay-Z’s, Beyonce’s, P Diddy’s, etc., may rise into this top 1% of the population, however the majority of people fall within the working class and middle class. Thus, the likelihood of getting “rich off a mixtape” statistically speaking has to be less than .06%. No matter how likely or unlikely the statistics are, Drake sure knows how to make a great song! Even if your not in the top 1%, live life to the fullest my good people, like Drizzy states “bridge over troubled waters”!