For sometime, especially in the years following it’s inception, Hip-hop faced a lot of hurdles and opposition. The bone of contention being the violence it glorified in it’s lyrics. For the minority African Americans, its founders and majority fan base, they had found something they could identify with or moreso earn a living from-get rich or die trying. In a society plagued by racism and high black unemployment, in some cases it was a way to vent about black oppression. No one really understood how far it would go or even thought it’s once violence laden lyrics, now somehow cleaned up, would be used as a source of money advice.
Today Hip hop is generally accepted and it’s influence on urban culture the world over can’t go unnoticed. Its artistes gross millions of dollars annually and some have grown their fortunes to near billions. A sign of meticulous money management. We have Jay-Z being invited to perform in Obama’s Presidential campaigns to a mainly white audience or Forbes magazine compiling lists of the industry’s top earners or the next door teens trying to dress like and copy Camp Mulla.
Entertainment and culture aside, would you take financial advice from a Hip Hop songs ? Here are a few you could work with.
Busta Rhymes/Dangerous- ” Floss a little,invest up in a mutual fund“
We all love to make money. In fact nothing beats that feeling one gets after being paid for something they have laboured for, But the golden money rule has always been- Do not spend all that you earn instead invest or save some. Busta Rhymes seems to understand this rule too well and cleverly puts it in a line advising his listeners against going over board with splurging but instead putting some of what they earn in an investment vehicle like a mutual fund.
Now what exactly is a mutual fund ? This refers to a fund that is made of money pooled from different investors and invested in securities or similar assets to earn returns. It’s normally put under a licensed money manger with in depth knowledge on the various investments targeted. Well managed ones can bring the investor good returns.
50 Cent/I get money- “I took quarter water sold it in bottles for 2 bucks
Coca-Cola came and bought it for billions”
In this line 50 cent basically boasts of a smart business move he made That saw him make a neat 100 million off a Coca-Cola buy out. His savvy saw him negotiate to endorse Vitamin water for a 10 % stake in the company which enabled him achieve that feat. A foresight that was pegged mainly on fundamentals of vitamin water that showed a strong company in the future, something that attracted Coca-cola. That quite resonates with Warren Buffet’s message of closely studying a company’s fundamentals before making an investment in it for future gains, a factor that has seen him continuously beat the markets and deliver profits for Berkshire Hathaway. This could work for you too in case you’re considering stock investing.Go for undervalued stocks that will appreciate in price thence increasing the value of your investment.
Or get famous and endorse something.
Notorious B.I.G/Sky Is The Limit-“Get my daughter this college plan so she don’t need no man”
If you were to calculate the amount your parents used to take you through school,you would obviously be shocked at how much was used to educate you. Yet most parents never actually have a plan that would see their kids through successfully completing school. What would happen to a child with no education plan in the event that a parent is no longer there? That’s where a college plan , as Biggie smalls put it, comes in.
Luckily most financial services companies have flexible Education plans that that should match your needs. Some even offer products that come with attractive benefits for both you and your child. A parent ? Work on an Education plan today.
There you go, as you pop your head to the latest hip-hop hit you might want to listen in for some advice that might help your money matters.