It takes a great deal to become one of the 7 most successful independent rappers in the world. Only a handful of aspiring artists really succeed whether it is through mainstream outlets or the independent scene. A lot of hip-hop artists, in general, don’t like the current trends on mainstream rap as it shies away from the essence of the genre. Many describe rap as a form of activism, a way to express, rather than a means to make money.
As such, a lot of rappers, not wanting to be limited to record companies, produce music independently and hope to succeed in the saturated market. The artists on this list have found a significant amount of success and promoted their type of music despite all odds. They’ve either released music that became successful or have been made popular through the independent scene which boosted them to mainstream popularity. Other rappers also venture beyond music and have found success through other means, such as the 13 rappers who own successful clothing lines.
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What measures their success? While we can look at a variety of ways to measure it, one of the true measurable factors we can look to is their current wealth. The amount of money they gained through their independent music is a good indication of how much they’ve succeeded in the industry. The higher their net worth, the more likely it is that their music and projects have gained success. To have a better and comparable data, we take a look at websites such as Celebrity Net Worth and Net Worth Tomb which does research on the net worth of these rappers, among many others.
Do take into account that we do not consider rap groups, duos or trios in this list of most successful independent rappers in the world. This is a list of individual rappers as their net worth is easily measurable, unlike groups. Many of the rap groups that exist also have solo careers with the group as a means to propel their individual names. With that in mind, let’s look further into the 7 most successful independent rappers in the world:
7. MF Doom
Current Net Worth: $6 million
Daniel Dumile is best known for calling himself the “super villain” of rap, having a stage persona and a mask similar to the comic character Doctor Doom. He has also taken in several stage names for collaborative projects, including DANGERDOOM, Madvillain, DOOMSTARKS, and JJ DOOM. MF Doom is well known for his unique lyrics, as well.
6. Curren$y
Current Net Worth: $7 million
Shante Scott Franklin is a rapper from New Orleans and one of the original members of the Lil Wayne label, Young Money Entertainment. Curren$y made his debut in 2009 with the album This Ain’t No Mixtape and has since collaborated with big names in the industry. He founded his own record label in 2011 entitled Jet Life Recordings.
5. Tech N9NE
Current Net Worth: $8 million
One of the most prominent independent rappers in the scene, Aaron Dontez Yates, has sold over two million albums. He is the founder of the label Strange Music and has been featured in all forms of media such as video games. He is known for his fast rhymes and his Chopper style, making him popular both for mainstream and indie audiences.
4. Fetti Wap
Current Net Worth: $8 million
Willie Maxwell’s stage name comes from Fetty which is slang for money and Wap as a tribute to Gucci Mane’s alias GuWop. In 2014, he released the single Trap Queen which found major recognition through SoundCloud and would become a platinum record. This led him to have a recording contract with independent label 300 Entertainment and his two album releases since then have both found success. With the amount of money he has earned through his music, Fetti easily makes it into the 7 most successful independent rappers in the world.
3. E-40
Current Net Worth: $8 million
Earl Stevens is a rapper, investor, and entrepreneur, first finding success with the rap group The Click. Throughout the course of his career, he has appeared on numerous movie soundtracks and has released 22 studio albums. His career began in the mid-1990s, and now he collaborates with more mainstream artists.
2. Mac Miller
Current Net Worth: $10 million
Malcolm James McCormick is a rapper and record producer, best known to take on numerous stage names with the most popular being Mac Miller. He started his career in 2010 and released the album Blue Slide Park the following year, which reached the top of the US Billboard 200 chart. It became the first independent album to do so since 1995, and this led him to launch his own record label entitled REMember Music, then partnering with Warner Bros. Records for distribution.
1. Macklemore
Current Net Worth: $18 million
Ben Haggerty started his independent rap career in 2000 but finally broke through mainstream audiences when he released the single Thrift Shop. He’s well known to release music without the support of a major record label and this was followed by the release of another single Can’t Hold Us. He has won 4 Grammy Awards in 2014 and has released another album last February 2016. The amount of success he has achieved helps him reach the top of the 10 most successful independent rappers in the world.
