39 Hip Hop Facts About Your Favorites Rappers That’ll Blow Your Mind

In 2013, Kanye West's "Yeezus" was voted both "Most Overrated Album" and "Most Underrated Album" by Pitchfork readers.

2. In 2017, Chance the Rapper donated over $2 million to Chicago Public Schools. Working with 20 principals and his non-profit SocialWorks, he helped the schools gain $100,000 over 3 years and selected the schools based on budgetary and individual needs.

3. Rapper Busta Rhymes voiced Reptar from Rugrats.

4. In 2015, Dr. Dre donated all of his artist royalties earned from “Compton”, his first album in 16 years, to help fund new performing art and entertainment facility in Compton.

5. Gangsta's Paradise is one of the few Coolio songs to not feature profanity because it was the only way Stevie Wonder would authorize the sampling of his song 'Pastime Paradise.'

Rapper Ice-T served 4 years in the army, was a squad leader for the 25th infantry division and received an honorable discharge.

7. Nas listed his daughter Destiny as an executive producer on Stillmatic so that she would always receive royalty checks from the album.

8. Rapper Akon has brought solar electricity to over 1 million Africans and counting.

9. British rapper M.I.A. named her debut album "Arular" after the nom de guerre of her father, who fought in his native Sri Lanka as a Tamil Tiger. Her hope - which would be realized - was that he would one day google his old name, find her album, and reconnect with her.

10. In 1992, rapper Mac Dre was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and sentenced to 5 years in prison after he refused a police deal, which was informing law enforcement about his partners. While awaiting trial Mac Dre recorded a full album over the phone, taunting law enforcement officials.

LL Cool J was asked to be in a Gap commercial but was mad at how they treated him on the phone when they asked. He starred in the commercial wearing a FUBU hat and rapping "For Us By Us" in the ad, giving FUBU over $30 million in free advertising and propelling FUBU to a global brand.

12. Rapper Missy Elliot suffers from a disease called Graves' Disease that severely stunted her fast-paced, popular music career in the early 2000's.

13. Before he rapped, Ice Cube studied Architecture and Drafting, and he maintains a love for it to this day.

14. Big Boi from OutKast, as a child, would throw candy parties where he'd charge kids to come to his house and eat candy all day. He would DJ it.

15. Drake’s nickname among his fans in China is “gōng yā”, literally meaning “male duck”, while Kanye West's nickname in China is “kǎn yé”, which in Beijing dialect means “someone who brags a lot with no actions to follow it up.”

Tupac Shakur's favorite song was the folk-pop 'Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)' by Don McLean and so on his deathbed, his girlfriend played this song so it was the last thing that he heard.

17. African Rapper Sam Stigillydaa thought that "American rappers talk about crazy things- drinking, drugs, violence against women, American blacks kill blacks. I hope African rap stays African and doesn't turn crazy."

18. While André 3000 from OutKast was a vegan for 15 years, he recently gave it up, saying "Socially it became horrible. I was kind of just sitting at home eating a salad."

19. At 11 years old, Stanley Burrell was a batboy for the Oakland A's. He was nicknamed "Hammer" because of his resemblance to Hank Aaron. The nickname stuck, and he would later assume the rap name "MC Hammer."

20. Rapper Lil Dicky made the music video for '$ave Dat Money' a song about saving money by asking house owners, a yacht owner, and a car dealership if he could use their stuff for free. He also crashed a music video being shot by T-Pain and used it acting as if it were his own. Spending $0.

Donald Glover got his rapper name 'Childish Gambino' from an online Wu-Tang Clan name generator.

22. In 1992, Ice Cube released a single, "True to The Game," calling out Uncle Tom rappers who abandon hardcore rap in order to cater to white audiences. Mr. Cube has since been renewed for 5 seasons of the hit family sitcom "Are We There Yet?"

23. Hip-hop artist MF Grimm was expelled from his high school for assaulting the school dean because the dean owed him drug money.

24. The song “Day Dream” by Chamillionaire samples “Daydreamin’” by Lupe Fiasco, which samples “Daydream in Blue” by I Monster, which samples “Daydream” by the Gunter Kallmann Choir, which covers “Daydream” by Wallace Collection, which is based on Tchaikovsky's “Swan Lake”.

25. J. Cole graduated from St. John's University in 2009 but did not receive his diploma until 2015 due to an overdue library book.