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| Photo by Jorund F Pederson / CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Kelis before she found her new path
Rappers throughout history have been known for their extravagant lifestyles. Fur coats, diamond studded phones and so much bling you need a pair of sunglasses just to sit in the same room as your rap hero. But that goes with the territory. Coming from nothing and making a name for yourself, right? Yep, we’re good with that. But it may come as a surprise to find that the rap gods and goddesses of this world are just like us. They watch TV, eat pizza, and maybe even spend their downtime playing with their collection of dolls.
Wait, what?
As you may have guessed from the title, we’re taking a little look at the hobbies of our favorite hip hop and rap stars. Some are a little weird, while others are so normal they’re kind of weird too, if you know what we mean.
DMX and his bugs
Yes, you read that right. DMX and bugs. Now, we’re not talking about cutesy ladybugs plush toys (although that would be just as weird) we’re talking about real live bugs. Or maybe dead ones, we’re not 100% sure.
Either way, DMX is big into his entomology, which if you didn’t know is the study of insects and their relationship to humans. We’re marking this one off as a weird one.
Ice-T is an avid gamer
Hip hop exploded around the same time as video games really took off, so it’s no real surprise that rappers are into their video games. But Ice-T, well he’s really into his gaming. If you don’t believe us, check out his Twitter feed where pretty much every second tweet is ‘Gamer Stuff’, as he calls it.
He’s also a champion of the gamer community and recently called out those players that are giving the genre a bad name.
Nelly at the WSOP Yes, poker is a hobby that most rappers and pretty much everyone with a bit of money will admit to enjoying. But Nelly takes it to another level. This guy is obsessed with the game and even went so far as to try his hand against the pros at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in 2009.
Admittedly, he didn’t do all that well the first time around but hey, he was up against the pros. Unperturbed by his loss, he’s been back to the WSOP several times in the years since.
Warren G and his community work
When you hear about a rapper doing community work you automatically assume it’s for all the wrong reasons. And to be honest, that’s a really unfair assumption. Take Warren G for example, he is well known for his community outreach work in Long Beach.
The Mayor of the city even went so far as to name an entire week after the rapper in recognition of his good deeds. Seems when he’s not producing amazing tracks, he’s out there helping folks – what a man.
Kelis the cook
Okay, so you might know this one already but Kelis is quite the chef. She had a pretty successful career in music, but her real passion was cooking. So a few years after her initial success, she started studying and eventually graduated as a fully qualified saucier.
She even has her own cookbook and a show on TV. Now if that’s not a complete turnaround in careers, we don’t know what is.
50 Cent shovels snow
Right well this may not be a hobby as such, but it gives us a little insight into the man. In a blizzard in 2010, Fiddy went out and started shoveling snow for his neighbors. He even hired a bunch of kids to help him out.
But this was no work of a good Samaritan. Fiddy charged his neighbors for the service and charged more if they wanted a photo with him. Perhaps times were hard for him even back then!
Will Smith plays chess
Another strangely normal hobby is that of the Fresh Prince, Will Smith. He likes nothing more than to sit down for a game of chess. His father taught him how to play when he was just a young 'un and he has passed his skills on to his own brood.
He’s such a fan that he regularly talks about the game and has recently endorsed major chess tournaments.
So there you have it. Some hobbies that are weird, some surprising and some that are simply so normal that it just doesn’t seem to fit with their image. If anything, we think that this just goes to show that while they may play the gangsters in their videos and on stage, most rappers are just like us. Well, maybe not just like us, their rhymes are pretty sick after all.
As you may have guessed from the title, we’re taking a little look at the hobbies of our favorite hip hop and rap stars. Some are a little weird, while others are so normal they’re kind of weird too, if you know what we mean.
DMX and his bugs
Yes, you read that right. DMX and bugs. Now, we’re not talking about cutesy ladybugs plush toys (although that would be just as weird) we’re talking about real live bugs. Or maybe dead ones, we’re not 100% sure.
Either way, DMX is big into his entomology, which if you didn’t know is the study of insects and their relationship to humans. We’re marking this one off as a weird one.
Ice-T is an avid gamer
Hip hop exploded around the same time as video games really took off, so it’s no real surprise that rappers are into their video games. But Ice-T, well he’s really into his gaming. If you don’t believe us, check out his Twitter feed where pretty much every second tweet is ‘Gamer Stuff’, as he calls it.
He’s also a champion of the gamer community and recently called out those players that are giving the genre a bad name.
Nelly loves his poker
Photo by Mark Richardson / CC BY 2.0
Nelly at the WSOP Yes, poker is a hobby that most rappers and pretty much everyone with a bit of money will admit to enjoying. But Nelly takes it to another level. This guy is obsessed with the game and even went so far as to try his hand against the pros at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in 2009.
Admittedly, he didn’t do all that well the first time around but hey, he was up against the pros. Unperturbed by his loss, he’s been back to the WSOP several times in the years since.
Warren G and his community work
When you hear about a rapper doing community work you automatically assume it’s for all the wrong reasons. And to be honest, that’s a really unfair assumption. Take Warren G for example, he is well known for his community outreach work in Long Beach.
The Mayor of the city even went so far as to name an entire week after the rapper in recognition of his good deeds. Seems when he’s not producing amazing tracks, he’s out there helping folks – what a man.
Kelis the cook
Okay, so you might know this one already but Kelis is quite the chef. She had a pretty successful career in music, but her real passion was cooking. So a few years after her initial success, she started studying and eventually graduated as a fully qualified saucier.
She even has her own cookbook and a show on TV. Now if that’s not a complete turnaround in careers, we don’t know what is.
50 Cent shovels snow
Right well this may not be a hobby as such, but it gives us a little insight into the man. In a blizzard in 2010, Fiddy went out and started shoveling snow for his neighbors. He even hired a bunch of kids to help him out.
But this was no work of a good Samaritan. Fiddy charged his neighbors for the service and charged more if they wanted a photo with him. Perhaps times were hard for him even back then!
Will Smith plays chess
Another strangely normal hobby is that of the Fresh Prince, Will Smith. He likes nothing more than to sit down for a game of chess. His father taught him how to play when he was just a young 'un and he has passed his skills on to his own brood.
He’s such a fan that he regularly talks about the game and has recently endorsed major chess tournaments.
So there you have it. Some hobbies that are weird, some surprising and some that are simply so normal that it just doesn’t seem to fit with their image. If anything, we think that this just goes to show that while they may play the gangsters in their videos and on stage, most rappers are just like us. Well, maybe not just like us, their rhymes are pretty sick after all.