Image via Complex Original
Child support: the second leading cause of preventable financial disaster among rappers. While many hip-hop legends and contemporary artists alike hide from the IRS and inevitably get nabbed for tax evasion (hold your head, Beanie!), some of our favorite MCs have trouble paying the extremely large sums of money judges order them to pay in support of their children. Life’s a bitch, but so is owing northwards of $40,000 for unpaid spousal and child care, wasting away the day arguing in court, and stuffing lawyers’ pockets by the hour. But, hey, like Lil Wayne said: "You got to take care of them kids, man, I know you heard Obama!" From French Montana to Nas, here are nine hip-hop figures with ridiculous child support payments.
Written by Alex Siber (@Alex_Siber)
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Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)
Date: February 15, 2006
What they owed: Monthly payments of $10,000
In 1996, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) married Maria Yepes. During their 10-year marriage, the couple had two children, Jauhara Smith and Chandani Smith, before divorcing in 2006. Not long after the split, it was reported that a judge declared Bey responsible for monthly child support payments of $10,000. He was previously paying $8,000 a month, citing failed business ventures and other fatherly obligations as reasons why he could not pay more.
50 Cent
Date: February 14, 2008
What they owed: Monthly payments of $6,700, reduced from $25,000
In 2007, 50 Cent was brought to court by the mother of his first child, Shaniqua Tompkins, who was requesting the rapper pay $50,000 a month in child support for their child Marquise. While the case was being deliberated, 50 was ordered to pay $25,000 a month in child support. In 2008, a judge drastically reduced the amount of money the 50 would have to pay to a "mere" $6,700.
Russell Simmons
Date: February 26, 2009
What they owed: Monthly payments of $20,000 for each child
Music mogul Russell Simmons and reality star/fashion designer Kimora Lee remained married for a decade before separating in March of 2006. The former couple share two children, Ming and Aoki, and relations between both parents are reportedly amicable. It's reported that the Def Jam co-founder has agreed to pay $20,000 a month in child support for his two daughters until they turn 19. On top of that, Simmons agreed to give them each $60,000 for a new car when they are old enough to drive.
Suge Knight
Date: May 21, 2009
What they owed: $40,476; monthly payments of $13,492
Marion "Suge" Knight's former wife and R&B songstress Michel'le sued him in 2009 after he failed to provide support for their shared child, Bailei, for three months. It is believed the reason Knight failed to make those payments was due to him being bankrupt. Suge was ordered to pay his ex-wife a lump sum of $40,476 as well as $13,492 a month in child support.
Nas
Date: April 12, 2010
What they owed: $87,703 in unpaid child and spousal support; monthly payments of $51,000
After divorcing wife Kelis, Nas was ordered by a Los Angeles superior court judge in 2010 to pay over $80,000 in back child and spousal support. A year earlier, it was reported that a judge ordered Nas to up his monthly child support payments from $40,000 to $51,000. In addition to that hefty sum, Nas also must pay Kelis $10,000 a month in spousal support until he pays off the $299,015 he owes her.
Scarface
Date: October 13, 2010
What they owed: $123,000
In 2010, reports surfaced about Houston rapper Scarface owning money in four child support cases. The unpaid obligations led to Scarface sitting in a jail cell in Texas from October 2010 to August 2011 after he owed $123,000. "It was a learning experience, and my advice to any father out there is that if you send anything, you send it through the courts," said Scarface, in a 2012 interview with MTV. "That's the best way to do, because at the end of the day, you not gonna get no credit for it."
Chief Keef
Date: November 25, 2013
What they owed: $25,000; a monthly payment of $2,500
Chief Keef got hit with a slew of lawsuits in 2013—around the same time he was waiting out a 90-day, rehabilitation stay in California. Upon DNA confirmation that he was the father of a ten-month-old infant, a Cook County judge ordered the GBE leader to pay a hefty lump sum of $25,000 and monthly payments of $2,500. Keef faced a similar lawsuit concerning another child last year, in that case he ended up paying $11,000.
DMX
Date: December 28, 2013
What they owed: A lump sum of $1 million
DMX failed to pay child support for 10 years to his the mother of his children, Patricia Trejo. When the case was in its developing stages, the man born Earl Simmons refused to bestow any amount of support without a DNA test. However, the L.A. Supreme Court forced the multi-platinum artist to pay up and provide his daughter.
Ludacris
Date: March 18, 2014
What they owed: A lump sum of $35,000
According to reports, Ludacris lost a legal battle with Tamika Fuller several months after fathering a daughter—Cai Bella Bridges—with Fuller last December and failing to cover child support costs. Luda apparently shells out more than $5,000 each month for pet care, but attempted to sidestep Fuller's plea for financial assistance. He claimed poverty in court, saying that he lacked revenue because the death of actor Paul Walker halted production of Fast & Furious 7. Nevertheless, Bridges must pay Fuller $35,000 per the state of Georgia's court-order.