13 Rappers Who Went Broke: They Should've Kept Their Mind on Their Money! (And Their Money on Their Mind!)

In many ways, rappers are like professional athletes: 

They're fiercely competitive; many view their talent as their only way to escape awful circumstances; they often experience success at a very young age...and they're frequently broke before they hit their mid-twenties.

And we're not even talking about the Vanilla Ices and MC Hammers whose riches to rags stories have become industry-wide cautionary tales.

13 Broke Rappers!

1. Lil Kim

There's nothing lil about Kim's debt. The legendary femcee owes more than $2.5 million to her former record label and $1million to the goverment.

Many rappers who are still bragging about their wealth in club-banger verses have squandered sums greater than the GDPs of some small island nations.

Naturally, lots of celebrities go broke as their star begins to fade and they struggle desperately to continue living the lavish lives to which they've become accustomed, but rappers seem particularly vulnerable to the "spend fast, go bankrupt young" mentality.

Maybe it's the genre's emphasis on jewels, clothes, and cars. Or perhaps it has something to do with the major labels' notorious (no pun intended) habit of screwing up-and-comers on what should be multi-million dollar deals.

Whatever the case, the list above is likely to surprise you.

Did you Kylie Jenner's boyfriend Tyga owes over $100,000 in back taxes? Or that the dollar sign in Ma$e's name is completely ironic at this point?

There's a lot to be learned from the list above. For one thing, don't start buying gold chains until your mortgage is taken care of.

For another thing, Lil Kim shouldn't have named her kid Royal Reign while she's seven figures in debt. That's putting a lot of pressure on a baby, Kim.