Life has a funny way of humbling people. Hip-hop often seems like an untouchable genre, but rappers experience their fair share of unavoidable Ls, too, which help bring them back down to Earth.
Sometimes, the ways in which rappers are humbled come as a result of their egos being checked. Concerts are ideal environments for situations like that. Remember when Ja Rule went viral for his halftime performance at the Milwaukee Bucks game in 2019? When trying to hype the crowd, Ja asked if they were ready and got silence as a response. “I guess not,” he said, seemingly defeated. On the same note of failing to be embraced, DaBaby made a couple of headlines this year when, after some of his shows, he tried to kiss two fans and got rejected. He tried to play it off, downplaying one of the attempts on Instagram, but the viral footage caught him red-handed.
Sports and hip-hop are synonymous with one another, but sometimes rappers get humbled when they attempt to switch lanes. Dating decades back to 1998, Onyx’s Sticky Fingaz was selected to fight in a celebrity boxing match against skateboarder Simon Woodstock. Fingaz lost the battle, and the moment has yet to leave the memories of rap fans who witnessed his televised defeat. For people a little younger, that rapper-turned-athlete failure was displayed when Drake suited up with the University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball team in 2014. During the school’s pep rally, Drizzy embarrassed himself in the shootaround, tossing up airballs and showing that a causal hooper and a division 1 player are far from the same thing.
Those examples don’t tell the full story, of course. In the voice of Cam’ron, rappers get humbled every day, B. Check out 20 times in which rappers were humbled in public below with evidence that informs it all.
Rick Ross’ name holds weight in the states, but perhaps not as much in the United Kingdom. In August of 2022, Rozay tried to use his name to gain entry into London’s Buckingham Palace. He was denied, but offered forgiveness once the security guard referred him to a nearby restaurant.
“I pulled the homie to the side and told him who I was—of course the biggest boss. And for one of the first times in a long time, that didn't get me in. I didn't get through the gates," Ross said on Instagram after. "I didn't get to sit at the table, but what he did do was refer me to a spot, and he said they'll be waiting on me. And he said I can pick the lobster that I wanted to eat. So, I forgave him."
Friendships aren’t always fairy tales. That idea was emphasized in January of 2021, when documentary footage leaked of Kanye West screaming at Chance The Rapper. As the story goes, back in 2020, Chano reportedly visited Ye in Wyoming while Donda was being cheffed up. Yeezy lashed out at some point during the studio session, hollering at Chance. "Sit your ass down and listen to the album or leave!" he said, among other things.
Dame Dash narrates the viral, minute-long clip of this incident that surfaced, and added some context to the incident. "Chance, honestly, because of what he was reading, he came through just to check Kanye. You know, again, Kanye deals with his issues at all times. They got into it, but they worked it out. At the end of the day, Chance was there just to be a friend," Dash said. Chance The Rapper hasn’t commented on the matter.
In early April of 2022, DaBaby tried to kiss a fan and failed to land it. While he was being mobbed by fans outside of a venue, Kirk spotted a woman, grabbed her head with both hands and attempted to plant a wet one. She pulled away, twice, before he gave up.
The Shade Room posted the video on Instagram, spawning a response from DaBaby who wrote, "I’m sorry bae," and "Bae was upset that I blew a kiss at her lil buddy first" in two separate comments. He later went on his Instagram story and added, "Y'all Go head on man” with a laughing emoji. Continuing, he said, "Me & my booboos love each other to death but ain't no kissin goin on."
When it comes to big names like A$AP Rocky and Rihanna, their face cards are often enough to get them into any room. A rare instance where that wasn’t the case happened in June of 2021, when Rocky pulled up to a New York City bar with his girl Rihanna. Security refused to let the legendary artists in without showing their IDs first. After conversing with the staff for a couple of minutes, surrounded by commotion and eager fans, Rocky and Rih were eventually granted access to the barcade. Neither of them have addressed the situation.
DaBaby doesn’t have the best luck when it comes to smooching on fans. In May of 2022, he was curved once again following a performance he had in Florida. On his way out and seated in his SUV, the rapper attempted to kiss a fan that caught his eye outside the window. She turned her head once he got closer and went out of the camera's view. DaBaby didn't comment on being stiffed this time around.
Kanye West really ran for president back in 2020, though he wasn’t an official option on the ballots. Still, he was confident that he could win, telling the world on Twitter in July of 2020 that he would he would "beat Biden off of write ins #2020VISION." When the results came out in November of that year, it was revealed that Yeezy, who ran as an independent candidate under the Birthday Party, received nearly 60,000 votes. It wasn’t enough to do the trick, of course. Seemingly admitting his defeat, Ye later tweeted, "KANYE 2024." Catch him during election time in two years.
Blueface also had an incident in which he was asked for ID before entering a venue. In January of 2021, the rapper attacked a worker at a spot on the West Coast. When Blue arrived at Skinny's Lounge in San Fernando Valley, Calif., the bouncer asked him to show valid identification. Blueface acknowledged that he didn’t have one, and pulled out his phone to provide Google verification. That wasn’t enough for security, leading to an upset rapper throwing punches and kicks with two other people. The guard was rushed to the hospital to get treated for scratches, some that required stitches, and bruises. A battery report was filed as a result of this incident, and camera footage of the ordeal was soon released.
Rick Ross was getting a pinky ring brought to his Georgia mansion in February of 2022, when he encountered a brief hurdle in receiving it. The delivery driver, who was making the play on behalf of Jacob & Co., and armored truck company Malca-Amit Armored, Incorporated, asked Rozay to show identification for confirmation of the package, to which The Boss refused.
"I’m the boss, I don’t need ID. Boss, Rozay,” the rapper said while recording the situation for Instagram. Ross wrongly thought that the R’s coated on his property were enough. In the next video, the package was no longer in the hands of the delivery driver who was stern on getting government proof. And Ross was heard saying, "Gracias." So it's safe to say that things worked out.
It seems like every rapper has a dopplegänger these days. However, not many of those twins are both artists, like the comparison between Boosie BadAzz and Flava Flav. In April of 2021, Boosie was mistaken for the Public Enemy legend at the airport. Following the moment someone mistook him for Flav, Boosie got on Instagram and let it be known that he was pissed at the audacity.
"I was just in the fucking airport, lady come talking ’bout, 'Flavor Flav!' I don't look like no damn Flavor Flav. I look like Boosie," he said angrily. "That's why I don't wear these damn red glasses. Fuck. Got me fucked up early this morning. Too early for this shit. 'Flavor Flav!' I kept fucking walking. Flav, you can't fuck with me, man. Talking ’bout I look like Flavor Flav."
In 2007, Kanye West and 50 Cent were two of the hottest artists in the game. Ye was rising through the rapper ranks with projects like The College Dropout and Late Registration. And Fif was reinvigorating gangsta rap with efforts like Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre. Their junior albums, Graduation and Curtis, were both set to drop on Sept. 11 of that year, sparking a battle of the big dogs.
Yeezy and Fif embraced the circumstances with spicy pre-release tactics like Rolling Stone covers, plus appearances on shows like BET's 106 & Park, and the MTV Video Music Awards. Both parties were talking confidently. While on 106 & Park, Fifty even claimed, "Kanye West doesn’t stand a chance. And I’m gonna tell you that early." When the projects came out, Kanye West was victorious with Graduation, edging out Fif in first-week sales, Billboard Hot 100 hits, streams, overall sales and pretty much every other category.
MTV held a celebrity boxing event in November of 1998, in which they put professional artists and athletes against each other. Onyx’s Sticky Fingaz went against skateboarder Simon Woodstock in a match that was ushered in by the commentary of Jamie Foxx and the live performance of DMX. After starting off solid, Fingaz seemingly got tired after a few rounds and took an L.
The moment continued to live on for years after. One year later, 50 Cent rhymed about it in his track "How To Rob," spitting, "Tell Sticky give me the cash before I empty three/I'll beat your ass like that white boy on MTV." And even further in 2020, the fight was spotlighted again when people compared it to Nate Robinson’s loss in the ring to Jake Paul.
Rich The Kid got some free game from bestselling author Grant Cardone about his finances. The two hopped on Instagram live in May of 2020, where they discussed what was said to be a multimillion-dollar deal and talked about strategies of how to flip that into passive income. Cardone kept it candid with Rich, calmly checking his mindset when it veered off topic. For example, when Rich brought up his collection of six cars, Cardone firmly responded, "When you're 40 years old, nobody is going to remember the car you drove in 2020."
Cardone spent minutes giving Rich advice and getting him on track, all for viewers to see and witness. He schooled the rapper, respectfully.
When 6ix9ine was released from prison in April of 2020, he crowned himself as a king in rap and spoke as if he could never be dethroned. He did in fact score a No. 1 song with the post-incarceration release of "Trollz" with Nicki Minaj, but whether or not he would be able to do that with his sophomore album, TattleTales, was still in question. The project was released on the same day (Sept. 4, 2020) as Big Sean’s Detroit 2. And in the end, it was Sean Don who actually debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart in a lopsided battle that revealed how Sean sold nearly double the amount that 6ix9ine did.
In a since-deleted Instagram post, 6ix9ine doubled down on the idea that he was being blackballed, writing, "When the industry knows that you are a monster and you cant be stopped, they make sure they do everything in there power to make you lose .. these award shows these top charters are there because they want them to be and they’ll beat them in your face till you think you like them … i dropped a album today and they have completely blacklisted it so no one can see it @thelarryjackson @carlchery the industry is rigged." Larry Jackson and Carl Chery are the shot-callers at Apple Music and Spotify, respectively.
6ix9ine took his L in stride though, posting a video of him ripping down his own album posters.
Drake has deep ties with the men's basketball team at the University of Kentucky and their hall of fame coach John Calipari. When Cal's squad won the NCAA national championship in 2012, thanks to the unguardable performance of Anthony Davis, Drizzy received a ring for the feat. Fast-forward to 2014, Drake's admiration was taken up a notch and reciprocated. He was invited to shadow the men's team, composed of soon-to-be NBA stars like Devin Book and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Drake attended their college pep rally (Big Blue Madness) ahead of the ’14-’15 season. While warming up with the boys in blue, the man who later rapped, "I been Steph Curry with the shot," let go of a three ball that touched nothing but air. This televised moment brought about plenty of jokes and the humbling reality that there was indeed Room For Improvement on Drake's behalf.
In February of 2019, Ja Rule was recruited to perform during halftime on ’90's night at a Milwaukee Bucks game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Ja tried to entice the crowd ahead of his first song, asking if they were ready, to no avail. It was so quiet that in the viral clip, people could even hear someone else talking in the venue. Acknowledging the silence and lack of response, Ja said, "I guess not." He continued to perform, as Bucks players like Giannis Antetokounmpo came out and started warming up mid-song.
Soon after, the official account for the Minnesota Timberwolves chimed in to joke about the moment, uploading a pic of Ja during that time with the comment, "We too were hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hood winked, lead astray!!!" above it. That resulted in a quote tweet from Ja which read, “You just jinx yourself talking to the GOD this way… your CURSED NOW!!! You won’t win a championship for the next 30 years… AND KAT IS LEAVING!!! Apologize and I’ll lift the CURSE!!! kiss of death…”
Over one year later, ESPN resurfaced the moment as well, posting the viral clip with a caption that said, "Never forget this Ja Rule moment." Ja wasn’t feeling that. He claimed that his mic wasn't working and called for whoever posted that to be fired on Twitter: "I usually mind my business and ignore the white noise but I think it’s very unprofessional of @espn to try and diminish or discredit who and what I am to this culture… whoever post for your social accounts @espn needs to be FIRED…"
Rich The Kid and Lil Uzi Vert started beefing back in 2018. This began when Uzi was going through his label woes with DJ Drama’s Generation Now imprint, and Rich commented unsolicitedly with a post suggesting that Uzi should’ve signed to him. The two rappers continued to trade shots on social media and in interviews following that day on Twitter.
In June of 2018, Uzi spotted Rich in Philadelphia while they were both scheduled to perform at the Roots Picnic Festival. Uzi stepped out to handle the issue with his hands. He pressed Rich, who seemingly didn’t want any smoke at the time. Rich scurried off, while Uzi and his crew chased Rich. Things got physical, but both rappers had no choice but to fall back once the occurrence made its way inside a Starbucks. One year later, the two squashed their beef. In an interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood in 2019, Rich said, "We ain’t got no beef. We straight. We cool. The world is big enough."
Ace Hood’s watch gave up on him back in the day. In June of 2013 at the BET Awards, Ace stopped by the red carpet for a quick promotional interview with correspondents Bow Wow and Angela Simmons. While teasing his forthcoming album, Trials & Tribulations, Ace was using his hands and arms to emphasize his excitement. As a result, the bezel on his Rolex fell off.
“You lost somethin’, bruh?,” Bow Wow asked as he realized what happened. Ace picked up the fallen piece and slowly tried to screw the face back on, but that didn’t work. The embarrassing moment resulted in Ace eventually firing his jeweler, which was revealed shortly after in a now-deleted interview with the Power 106 radio station in Los Angeles. "I spent $60,000 on that watch, man. I was just as shocked as everybody else was when it did happen. It never happened to any of my other watches or anything," he said when asked about the situation.
Seven years ago, A$AP Ferg tried to check a reporter named Michell C. Clark for Clark's response to an announcement about the rapper's sophomore effort, Always Strive and Prosper. The journalist used the word "forthcoming" in his tweet—"@ASAPferg announces the name of his forthcoming album"—to which Ferg mistook and tried to correct him.
"U said fourth coming album it's only the second," Ferg wrote on Twitter in 2015 in response. This was before he was informed that the word "forthcoming" had nothing to do with the number four.
Ferg took the jokes like a G, and later addressed the occurrence once again in a 2019 interview with No Jumper. "I'ma be honest with you, I did not know what forthcoming meant," he admitted. "People was probably laughing and act like, 'Ah, this nigga sound so stupid. Did you know what forthcoming meant?' I lied and said like I just woke up but really I did not know what forthcoming meant, so I learned the hard way."
Drake, the most popular rapper in the world, got booed off a stage at Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw festival in November of 2019. Fans were upset because they thought that the surprise performer was going to be Frank Ocean, not Drizzy. Concertgoers didn't let their guards down and the energy got pretty uninviting.
"If you want to keep going, I will keep going tonight, what's up?," Drake asked, only to receive more boos before eventually walking off. After the fact, the crowd engaged in a "We want Frank" chant to cap things off.
Four years ago, 6ix9ine was performing at a Fetty Wap concert in New Jersey when he decided to stage dive. No one caught him, causing the rapper to slam into the ground and hit his back on the concrete. When speaking about the 2018 incident one month later with Revolt TV, 6ix9ine explained the extent of his fall, saying, "I hit hard, bro. My lower back was done. I thought I was gonna be paralyzed." He went on to explain how he tried to stage dive once again a day later at a Marshmello show, where he failed once again. "Anytime I get dropped, it's at another person's show," he admitted. "I feel like the fans thought it was funny."
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