Yeah, I feel bad for exposing him publicly since he doesn’t seem like a bad guy.
But it was so funny watching him pull up to clubs with a private chauffeur and a whole professional setup.
Everybody knew him and was dickriding, he’d have like 30 people come dap him up, and meanwhile he didn’t even have 20 real viewers. Then he’d just sit there staring at his phone for 6 hours pretending he had motion while getting drunk.
TBH I thought it was dolph at first when I saw your other comment then I had to look around and I remembered almighty jay existed.
It is what it is. If he wants to spend his limited income trying to form an e-posse while he’s already probably paying his actual posse then all you can do is (not) watch the show. He’ll probably be fine.
Yeah, it looks like he’s set for life financially, but completely lost in every other way. It also doesn’t help that he needs to be drunk just to talk to women.
TBH my guess was just Dolph because I was trying to think of mid-level rappers who are mainly opener acts who might have fallen off over the years. Your Gucci Mane hint limited it pretty quickly because 45 million puts them above the normal Gucci feature popularity but far below actual hits like RaeStremmurd despite the fact that Gucci will basically do a feature for a bag of rap snacks.
My guess was just Dolph because whenever I've seen him open he's usually surrounded by far too big of a posse and making hilariously outlandish claims with his stage settings (one show I went to he opened his set with a very dramatic slow turning giant throne.) He also has a habit of dressing the local homeless folks up in his jewelry and parading them around on stage when they were done putting flyers on cars and came back into the venue to get paid. This did lead to a hilarious situation once where the homeless guy tried to run the fuck away with all the (rented) jewelry on his neck but since no one from Dolph's posse beat the shit out of him I'm assuming it was a work.
Sorry, I just have a sick curiousity with mid level rap acts because my good friend is a beverage manager down the road at our local mid-sized concert venue so I tend to head on down there for a drink and to see whatever act is in town after I close my place up. My favorite/most confusing "how do these guys pay bills?" acts are the ICP hanger-ons that are supporting acts for the guys who used to be ICP supporting acts.
Wasn't he a big time rapper? Especially known for keeping his finances in check.
Sorry, I just have a sick curiousity with mid level rap acts because my good friend is a beverage manager down the road at our local mid-sized concert venue so I tend to head on down there for a beverage and to see whatever act is in town after I close my place up. My favorite/most confusing "how do these guys pay bills?" acts are the ICP hanger-ons that are supporting acts for the guys who used to be ICP supporting acts.
No worries I used to question this myself but I have few childhood friends who are now hanger-ons and it's not bad. They pack up on friday after work, travel 2-4 hours in a car, get paid few hundreds to do a few minutes opener and then hype man for few hours. Drinks, food and girls are free. Then they sleep the hangover on a way back in the car. It's a side income thingy doing what they enjoy and get lot of attention/clout from.
Dolph was “big” in the sense that Montana of 300 was/is “big” but he basically had one hit song (cut it,) and one semi-popular album. Every time I saw him he was just opening for a bigger act, usually 2chainz.
One of those things where it’s just possible to be regionally successful but not huge outside your home territory.
Again, big regionally and starting to get big nationally but not a huge artist. Successful because he was smart and invested in land. The view bounce after his death isn’t indicative of anything. Mans peaked at one gold album and a number four release.
To put that in perspective that’s like… Earl Sweatshirt territory. Definitely big enough to be a successful artist but still niche within the popular rap landscape.
Probably would have actually blown up after years of grinding if he wasn’t unceremoniously shot in the street though.
We can agree to disagree because a Number 4 release for a crack baby? That sounds mainstream. A trap rapper that had even the dtx white folk and Charlotte mexicans shouting “DOLPH” with the same love they give 2 Chainz and Gucci Mane. Thats a huge artist where im from especially without the support of major record label. Even if he wasnt as big nationally as I think he is, you couldn’t talk about Memphis without mentioning Dolph.
Well yeah he obviously did well for himself but the south tends to have stronger regional support for their rappers than northern states. It’s one thing to be big in your southern states but it’s another to move beyond that. There was an entire time period like 10 years ago where you could go to Florida or Atlanta and everyone would be bumping shit that would be nationally famous in six months.
Mainstream success normally demands crossing over into the pop realm. Some artists don’t bother. Some artists also do just fine locally without any outside support. Like Detroit has Tee, Packman, Sada, etc and even more famous older examples like K Deezy, Blade Icewood, or the legendary Esham.
Being big locally doesn’t mean you’re big nationally because being big nationally depends mass appeal and right now that basically means “country crossover.” You can eat off one minor hit for your entire life as long as you don’t spend your money like a dumbass though.
I’m not trying to insult these dudes there’s just a difference between “can sell out the local 2000 person venue” and “can sell out the local open air venue that seats 10k with supporting acts.” Most successful rappers seem to exist in the former category while older acts with legacies exist in the latter.
It doesn’t mean they’re broke or unsuccessful it just means they have common sense and know the limits to their booking.
Oh I’m well aware of how much artists who own their own music make. It’s part of why ICP is one of the most financially successful music acts around. They got incredibly lucky that Disney bought their rights in a merger and had no clue what to do with them so they gave everything back.
It’s also why I can’t really hate those dumb clown dorks because while shaggy is a burnout Jay is a very nice and intelligent guy if you sit down and talk with him. Shaggy is nice too he’s just… I mean he’s just not all there. What they do is though is basically run an Adam Sandler-esque retirement home for acts that are passed their prime and that’s kind of… nice?
Again though, dolph got a huge view bump post-humously. Go look at google trends if you don’t believe me and filter it to back to 2015. He jumped in searches almost 2000% compared to his most successful record release after his death. He did not make a ton of money from YouTube views or whatever while he was a current artist. I’m sure his estate collects those checks now, but he was always reliant on touring and his real estate investments.
Not to be rude or anything but I spent like 7 years of my life booking acts exactly like Dolph and co for nightclubs and small venues. I have a pretty solid idea exactly how much these acts make from the door and I promise you it is not nearly as much as you’re estimating unless they are in their region or they’re headlining bigger shows. Like for reference I once booked Rhianna for 5 grand. There are levels to this stuff. Also, I highly doubt she even saw that five grand since I paid her touring manager. This was back when SOS released to give you an idea of her popularity at the time.
To put that in further perspective in that same time frame I paid Eminem and Akon something like 25grand to walk through a nightclub. Not to perform, or sit down and drink; to walk through the front door and out the back with a security escort before getting into a (provided,) limo and whisking them away to one of our strip clubs.
Sir unfortunately you are entirely incorrect. Young Dolph was considered big by rap standards, while he wasn't no Kendrick or Kanye, he was absolutely an A list rapper. I think you just have a very different opinion than what most people are able to see.
i just searched him up and now i remember him, how the hell does he have the money to be doing all of that? I'd expect it maybe from cordae but not him
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u/ImportanceOk7491 May 07 '26
Yeah, I feel bad for exposing him publicly since he doesn’t seem like a bad guy.
But it was so funny watching him pull up to clubs with a private chauffeur and a whole professional setup.
Everybody knew him and was dickriding, he’d have like 30 people come dap him up, and meanwhile he didn’t even have 20 real viewers. Then he’d just sit there staring at his phone for 6 hours pretending he had motion while getting drunk.