The 10 Most EXPENSIVE Rap Albums Ever Made

Throughout hip-hop history, these albums have been the ten most expensive to ever produce. When it comes to the question of if these massive investments were worth it or not, that is up to you...

[@shape8198]

Donda is definitely the most expensive hip-hop album. It cost ye nearly a million a day to take up residence at MBS, and he was there for almost 3 weeks. That's 21 million dollars ALONE for just studio costs. Not to mention listening party event costs (which factor into production costs here since they were used to test the album and change it after every event), and the Soldier Field costs in Chicago as well. Add all of that with feature costs and marketing stunts as well as other costs, and Donda is easily a $30 million+ album, far toppling The Blueprint 2.

[@BetterWhenUnmastered]

It’s Kanye’s most underrated album, idk why it gets hated on so much, Jail (especially Pt. 2) and Heaven and Hell don’t get enough love 😢

[@Eggzy-b7f]

@@BetterWhenUnmastered why do you care? Just enjoy

[@YashPatel-yy7gs]

you think this guy puts that much critical thinking and research into the video? he probably got all the estimations from a website and rambled on about why he thought it cost that much lmao

[@mrpenta2498]

U re right!

[@larrybaygaming]

@@BetterWhenUnmastered I feel the same thing about Jesus is King. Album has some serious gems on it that get little to no love at all. “Everything we need” and “Water” are amazing

[@useless4979]

The Life of Pablo originally started as Yeezus 2, then So Help Me God, then Waves, then Swish, then the Life of Pablo. TurboGrafx16 was a completely separate album that he worked on around the same time.

[@mohannadsaeed5800]

You were right except the placement of waves it comes after swish

[@gv_nks]

​@@mohannadsaeed5800 for some reason the waves cover was made before all of the swish covers so he might be half-right (i mean half-right because its true that waves was also worked on after swish)

[@retroesso]

Nope all different albums and I have em

[@illford]

@@retroesso they all ended up becoming The Life of Pablo. I feel this is a well known fact, it's not even hard to tell lmao

[@Historicutuber]

He was right to change the title from So Help Me God

[@ErikSousley]

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 may be one of the most underrated albums of all time. That album is like an 8 to a 9 out of 10. Showcases so much personality and wittiness with amazing songs throughout the whole thing.

[@MuiltiLightRider]

Nah, that album has aged really badly

[@ErikSousley]

@@MuiltiLightRider Not in my opinion. What about it has aged badly

[@outmywritemind1739]

Most of Eminem's flows have aged poorly on that album, although I agree that its the only album Eminem's put out since Encore that I would even tell anyone is worth a listen. I really do applaud Eminem for making a sequel to a classic without it being a cash grab for attention, he really was expanding on many of the same concepts he touched on in MMLP and bringing us up to date with how an older Eminem sees the world he lashed out at when he was younger. It's those awful staccato flows that now remind us of projects he's put out since then that he ran into the ground until they were unlistenable that makes some tracks on MMLP2 difficult to listen to even when he genuinely being serious about something

[@ErikSousley]

@@outmywritemind1739 Bro Relapse is fire as well. But yeah Revival and Kamikaze are mid as hell. MMLP 2 is dope imo

[@z1ronic741]

i agree . its underrated because it's made for the hardcore listener in mind . someone who appreciates the lyricism. it was that album where eminem double down on his writing skills and took it to the next level .MMLP2 is dope . songs like brainless , bad guy , wicked ways , headlights , so much better , beautiful pain , legacy still gives me chills

[@Knicksfan7]

The blueprint 2 is so underated

[@suenoslucidos3899]

Imagine your final shift at Pizza Hut, you have to take a medium sausage lover to a major label studio, little do you know Kanye has ordered it just so you can listen to a song, life is weird, life is good 😂

[@footballdesk4417]

Life is not good.

[@thecompany2836]

@@footballdesk4417yes it is bro

[@PlethoraYT]

just ran into your channel last night, and I love your content man. very concise and also to the point. not many hip-hop channels like that right now. great stuff man, just subbed

[@fantastichiphop]

Glad you enjoy my guy 🙏 Only getting better from here 🔥

[@brandonalessio1586]

Technically, wouldn’t that Diddy album with the Sting sample be #1? That uncleared sample costs him $50k per day

[@quietman208]

No way he’s profiting off that 😂

[@aezakmi047]

5K not 50

[@ayusharora3763]

J cole being there at MBDTFs session would not cost much in late 2010

[@Observerw]

It was early 2010

[@spacecash9721]

album would have been better without his clown ass bars.

[@thepurplesaiyan631]

@@Observerw costing even less

[@Observerw]

@@thepurplesaiyan631 I know but late 2010 it would cost alot after forest hills drive etc I was telling homie that it was early 2010 so yes it wouldn’t cost as much

[@thepurplesaiyan631]

@@Observerw forest hills drive came out in 2014 what are you babbling about

[@RayTrismegistus]

We gotta get you more subs, fam. Your presentations are excellent. Many thanks for the content.

[@solas444]

Donda??? He rented out Mercedes Benz studio for 3.2 million a day and hosted multiple events

[@shape8198]

It was 1 million a day but I completely agree, Donda definitely surpassed Blueprint 2

[@JacobMerrithew]

This was a very introspective and really well done video. Good job!

[@fantastichiphop]

Thanks more great stuff on the way 🙏

[@Historicutuber]

I didn’t expect to see Curtis up here lol

[@christianfriedric]

I wish fifty would make another good album

[@fantastichiphop]

Same he said he had an album coming out this year so lets hope it drops

[@jamludentertainment]

Truth be told it was not his fault, it was the machine behind him...... especially (my favourite producer) Dre, not paying attention to his ' second album

[@Dipset415]

@@jamludentertainment Dre produced plenty of tracks on the second album cuh😭

[@InternetAnarchist]

Errrr, think you missed Donda.

[@king6595]

I really thought MBDTF would be way higher on the list. That shit sonically was godly

[@paypastackz2g328]

Curtis was so slept on Still will kill I get money that album has bangas

[@HenryFrankenstein18]

I think Paul’s boutique should be at number 1 because if it was made today it would be around 20 million dollars to produce

[@randomdudeontheinternet9556]

I bet most Drake albums use 20% of their budget on ghostwriters

[@SANDHAGENENJOYER]

50%*

[@Knicksfan7]

0%*

[@randomdudeontheinternet9556]

@@Knicksfan7 Dawg ur a knicks and a drake meat rider, what a trash combo

[@TheCoolestJose]

Oh yeah? Bet your life savings on it, fella

[@TayT300]

I bet Tyler’s albums use 20% gay lines

[@orlandowright2323]

Saw this in my recommended and now I'm hooked to your channel.

[@unknownx1877]

I like the Carter 3 album, but I felt the album would’ve been 10x better if they have kept some of the leaks on the album imo

[@Dipset415]

That album was complete trash😭

[@Historicutuber]

Album was fire

[@fred1395durst]

Great fucking video man! smooth transitions, clear exposition, your choice of clips is outstanding and i died when you out will smiths slap when you named chris rock 😂😂 like other comments ive read have said, keep this quality and youre gonna make it big with your cotent man, i do believe that, subscribed!

[@freezhollywood]

Glad u discussed Curtis. Everybody talks about 50s dominance but don’t wanna talk about how fast it was n how fast he declined. The massacre was already a dip in quality. Curtis took a nosedive

[@maestro1298]

Curtis did not flop. Especially overseas

[@jastrology4192]

The Donda thing was insane because he was making back the money every listening party. He probably made more off ticket sales than streaming sales.

[@fantastichiphop]

Facts

[@barianelozano2614]

though 50 lost on that album it is still a fact that his "get rich or die tryin" album is still one of the best albums during the 2000s

[@demonte5305]

Great content man, you’ll blow up soon!

[@fantastichiphop]

🙏🙏🙏 we working hard

[@emilio6291]

Amazing content nice microphone/sound quality and keep up the great work

[@geedotthreethree3524]

Very good video. Quick correction though. The RZA was using soul samples and the chipmunk sound way before Kanye and Just Blaze

[@leoneruri6857]

12:02 was this pic necessary 🤣🤣

[@fantastichiphop]

Yes 🤣🤣🤣

[@shanedoesntplay5211]

I think the Marshall Mathers lp 2 cost was because of the beats headphones em wore at the end of his berserk vid

[@kaan8296]

kanye's tweets cost more him to his albums. especially the death con 3 one.

[@wyattyoung705]

very well produced video, was suprised to see only 130 likes

[@siciliani16]

And Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown only costed sub 100k and its the best out of all the albums on the list besides mbdtf (granted Danny went broke because of it but ya know Imagine if it would be as much as these)

[@siciliani16]

@@Val_D both of those albums are in my top top 3 in fact mbdtf is 2nd and A.E 3rd

[@samuelmassea]

randomly saw this in my recommended, good video

[@timshaver996]

Curtis was a great album but it's marketing put it up against one of the goat hiphop albums ever (graduation) kills it's legacy

[@dysti2]

I’m so appreciative that I got to witness the ASTROWORLD rollout

[@seanjjpaul]

Love your content keep it up!!

[@chillack7762]

To me, the most expensive hip-hop albums to produce are boom BAP albums due to heavy use of sampling and turntablism done with gear that’s expensive for most people to produce not to mention the cost to hire attorneys to aid in sample clearance. It’s also because one would have to either purchase records, tapes, CDs, or Load up iTunes card many times to get more songs to sample.

[@Gamarra.]

Curtis number 2,what is the source of this? At that time 50 cent was complaining that the label didn't put money on the project,so this is weird

[@SManSmith73]

Curtis is a great album.

[@JoviLeMonstre]

Exactly he made it look like Magna Carta was better than Curtis . Curtis was WAY bigger than Graduation internationally . Europe , Asia and Africa

[@jeff-hd9og]

@@JoviLeMonstregraduation sold more

[@Historicutuber]

Mbdtf was money well spent

[@JK-gm6kk]

As much as I dislike Travis Scott, it is refreshing to see an artist other than ye really put emphasis on albums as entire listening experiences.

[@wodedagawd9328]

12:02 😭😭😭😭😭 i wasnt ready

[@MrSecondchancebro]

I love lil wayne would even have called my self a wayne stan during the carter 3 era but bruh it didnt push boundaries or change culture. That era Wayne did change culture but it wasnt form C3 it was from his mixtapes C3 was crescendo. FYI Leaked C3 would have been better.

[@RahLeone]

What you're saying is very true but C3 was what the majority of the public heard and it permeated into households Across America. Songs like lollipop maybe a Wayne and even bigger household name than he already was. Not to mention the way he rapped on the album definitely pushed boundaries and changed things going forward

[@MrSecondchancebro]

@@RahLeone the way he rapped on c3 is the same way he rapped since C1.

[@Dipset415]

@@RahLeone change things for the worse💯😭

[@loganleatherman7647]

It definitely pushed Wayne fully into the mainstream. I had never heard of Wayne before “Lollipop” came out, then suddenly that shit was everywhere. Damn near every late-teen/early-20s person I knew in white suburbia had C3 and didn’t know about Wayne until then

[@NoChillAustin]

How did you forget to mention that most of mmlp2 songs had rock samples that were hits, so those were also expensive to clear i would assume

[@sohomarco]

Solid video but I think adjusting for inflation would’ve really driven the point home for an album such as blueprint 2 and could’ve totally changed this entire list.

[@diamonddead8162]

Should make a part 2 most expensive albums never made, dr dre detox

[@gamer-ml7ec]

thought donda, tpab, or 2001 would be on this

[@Sammyconray]

He just looked it up on a website

[@paidstacks]

He tripping saying Curtis album wasn’t heat

[@JK-gm6kk]

I know its like a meme to say this now, but it is for good reason. 50 could have dropped grodt 2, and it would have flopped compared to graduation, imo

[@danielbastron7462]

Igor by tyler had a 6million Dollar Budget

[@myownlife6975]

You are going far sooner than you think

[@fantastichiphop]

😭 we working our way up. Thanks my g ❤️

[@moises4730]

Great video never thought about this topic 👍

[@Eggzy-b7f]

Tbf Curtis is actually a good Album, Just got a few shite songs on it like ' FIRE '

[@danyl123]

Compared to movies these are cheap. Blockbusters are now 300 Ms!

[@fantastichiphop]

For sure the music business can be generally more profitable for most artists and studios because of that reason

[@Youknowmeozone]

Wow .. I would have never guessed these numbers ..

[@shanedoesntplay5211]

I haven’t watched all of this but I’m guessing jay, Kanye and Eminem will be here or maybe drake idk

[@shanedoesntplay5211]

Hell yeah

[@emkay4752]

4:19 "Chris rock part killed me😂

[@carlbrooks6043]

So no one’s gonna talk about the pizza delivery guy?👀

[@fantastichiphop]

💀💀💀

[@paydenmcknight]

Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown cost a million, and almost 300k from his own pocket because of features and samples alone!

[@LatifHZ-ww1tl]

Curtis can't be the weakest of fifty's first 3 Albums because it's the 4th album he made....

[@i_am_gohan9232]

How could you not mention Bink when talking about the blueprint sound. I see why he gets pissed, y’all always leaving him out of history.

[@uranusneptun5239]

Especially in HipHop I feel like less is more. The most expensive one don't seem to be the best and thinking about favourtie albums of rappers I usually consider the first ones or the compromised ones the best, when the artist was still on their way up. Often mixtapes were better than albums. Maybe that's because when it's too big of a project it looses its rough realness feeling.

[@spacecash9721]

Yeah except Ye spends the most and all his albums are better than every other hip hop album ever made.

[@loganleatherman7647]

@spacecash9721 All of his albums…? How’s that Ye dick taste? Can you even taste it with it pressed so hard against your tonsils?

[@Tsutsu5]

Was half expecting atrocity exhibition here

[@AMARI_TOXIC]

Yor are great in producer and the videos are amazing hip hop more.....

[@donanz7543]

Were these budgets adjusted for inflation?

[@youcantbeatk7006]

3:10 According a Supa Hot Fire interview, they didn't pay to get this sample cleared.

[@mvax24]

The guy that delivered pizza to Kanye might be the happiest man ever

[@OMWToFlavorTown]

Man shows frame of key n peele in the beginning 😂

[@JK-gm6kk]

Sublime recorded (imo) alot of their best work after hours at recording studios for the free free.

[@kayvee5286]

Carter 3 was only that big for top 40 fans

[@2pacalypse93]

3 out of 10 most expensive Album from specific Rapper just proofs that dude is actually a bad rapper and just good at marketing celebrity and gossip shit. RIP 2Pac Shakur

[@charlsinawaves1329]

Lil Wayne = Tupac = GOAT

[@punkrockjemojzivot]

what about Wu-Tang Forever?

[@JK-gm6kk]

Ugh it'll be too soon if I never hear rap God ever again

[@alexmicha9957]

😀😀It's a joke. 50's Curtis and J's Blueprint 2 of the most expensive hip hop albums ?. I was not ready

[@richardNbacchus]

How is Donda not #1?

[@mrpenta2498]

Bad list

[@eushazabeer4069]

Donda almost costed 25-35 million $.

[@blacknature]

wasn't Wu Tang Forever the most expensive album ever at the time of its release? I remember reading that. Same for MC Hammer 2 Legit to quit

[@Voltrical]

mach hommy THE GAT

[@vindoesnothing]

There’s no way Travis spent 8 million on astroworld but was recording a verse with a blanket over his head

[@loganleatherman7647]

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do

[@Hard3R]

Nah man, donda is EASILY the most expensive ALBUM ever

[@GojiGetsDown]

absolute banger channel ! only watched a couple vids so far but the content is great . hopefully 10k subs soon !! stay cool man

[@fantastichiphop]

🙏🙏🙏🙏 NEW VIDEO COMING TODAY FAM

[@nonamegrey1331]

Donda

[@joebrat6809]

It's ironic that the artist that has had the most money invested in him (Kanye) is also the one who ended up destroying his career.

[@explicitcomments]

kanye did not destroy his career he could literally announce a tour right now and it would be sold out in less than 5 minutes lol

[@bestbeatsever]

had to put the video on 1.25 speed. u talk too slow man

[@ShadyVargas30]

It took this much to make your album but did you lose your soul?

[@Cappadonna72]

Curtis was a good album tho

[@JK-gm6kk]

I'd like to think ye tossed each pizza delivery guy at least a rack each time. Only for some melon guy to shit all over it, for some reason. He's never living that down, idc how much and how successfully he trolls Aubrey

[@dannyflores9495]

Why is donda not here ?

[@EatinBubsy]

Bruh it's not from Blades of Glory

[@tariobrown9133]

Bruh buggin sayin Curtis is a bad album

[@fernandoparadacastillo5901]

Now the question is: How much did it cost you to make this video? 😆 It was worth it tho 👌

[@christianfriedric]

where u get these number from haha

[@wisamkhamies44]

4:49

[@jalazel6447]

"for years afterwards"? This is the first time I've heard anyone bring up MMLP2 since 2013 when I bought the disc from a best buy. It was not being talked about for years 😂 It was okay, unlistenable now as a 24yo.

[@KingLee8977]

Right. Nobody was really messing with that album like he was saying. My bro is a big ass em fan and was mad af listening to that album 😂 idk em is a hit or miss 2 me honestly

[@trendkillallyoufucks9463]

MMLP2 is a classic album what you talking about?

[@jalazel6447]

@@trendkillallyoufucks9463 😂 You might as well say you don't know what a classic is. 100% of this album is skippable.

[@andresduques2013]

It was great, and it still is. How the fuck is it unlistenable 😭😂😂?

[@jalazel6447]

@@andresduques2013 It's been ten years since I really listened to it. Going back to it, it feels really shallow to be a p2 to Mmlp1. It's really shallow In general, the production is hella "Okay". Then you got Bad Guy, Rap God, Monster, Legacy And Survival which are just some of the worst songs ever 😂 It's cringe just to think I use to rock to Pop Rap so hard.

[@dmercy8477]

Hell I’ll take Curtis over Jay and Em’s albums anyday.

[@thorstenboy8574]

Well the list shows that most exspensiv doesn t mean quality....😅really not feeling this list at all....MM2 was good the rest is really nothing i would had remembered if it wasn t on the list😂

[@RKIJSITFAHCWGOR]

lmao i'll never understand how albums that cost 8-10 million in production are that bad...

[@yaserkhalid4867]

I'm sorry but the information in this video is totally inaccurate and the numbers are very speculative.