How Jadakiss Achieved a Net Worth of $6 Million
There was a time when the name Jadakiss was synonymous with chart hits and pop icon. These days, Jadakiss has come to represent a generation that reminisces of recent pasts and music that’s not quite vintage but almost retro when heard today. We can say we’d leave it up to the moms and dads in their late 30s to rap Jadakiss lyrics today, but that’s doing the artist a huge injustice. Jadakiss’ music can definitely find fans today, and the controversial artist will always have a loyal following. Jadakiss’ career has spanned over 25 years, but he’s only achieved a net worth of $6 million. That’s surely more than enough for majority of the population, and it’s still something Jadakiss can be proud of. Here’s a close look into Jadakiss’ career and how he achieved his fortune.
Early life
Proud New Yorker Jason Terrance Phillips was born in Yonkers on May 27, 1975. Like most hip-hop artists especially from his generation, Jadakiss found his interest in music at a young age. He also found himself selling drugs at the young age of 12—something that seems to be common with artists in the rap community. Apparently, his parents wanted the budding rapper to start making his own money, and turning to drugs was just the easiest thing to do. Jadakiss didn’t sell drugs for long because he found something else that made him money without the risks associated with illegal selling. He got inspiration from other street artists and street rappers and decided to start freestyle rapping for money.
Early career
From street rapping alone, Jadakiss began to form a solid fan base at such a young age. Shortly after he started this gig, he entered a Florida freestyle competition and got some heads turned. More specifically, the owners of Ruff Ryders Entertainment took notice of the young rapper. Soon enough, the rap group The Warlocks was formed, which consisted of Jadakiss, Styles P., and Sheek Louch—both friends he met while freestyling. A little while after this group formed, they got signed onto Puff Daddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment via an acquaintance with one Mary J. Blige.
The Warlocks became The Lox. During this time in Jadakiss’ career, he got the chance to work with some of the industry’s biggest names including Mary J., Mariah Carey, Mase, The Notorious B.I.G., and Puff Daddy among others. Jadakiss learned a lot during this time in his career, and this would be the time when he began venturing off into songwriting. The Lox released their first studio album, Money, Power & Respect,in 1998, and it achieved success peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts. Even with that success, The Lox grew unhappy with Bad Boy Entertainment feeling that the record label didn’t represent who they were as artists. The group ended up signing with Ruff Ryders Entertainment shortly after their first album release. The Lox released another successful—and their second—album, We Are the Streets,in 1998.
Solo career
Jadakiss started a solo career just a few years later in 2001. Possibly reeling from the success of his first two albums with his former group, Jadakiss’ first album was a commercial success. However, it received much criticism artistically. His second solo album effort released in 2004 did slightly better. One of the singles from that second album—Why?—is Jadakiss’ most successful single to date. He released a few more successful singles during this time in his career, working with some of the industry’s biggest names including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Anthony Hamilton, DJ Khaled, and Mariah Carey again among a few others. Jadakiss would sign on with Roc-A-Fella Records in 2007.
Late career
Jadakiss released his third studio album, The Last Kiss,in 2009. He left Roc-A-Fella the following year. The rapper would release another studio album, his fourth, while continuing to work with some of the industry’s best again. Reception of his music in his later solo career would remain mostly positive. In 2016, Jadakiss reunited with his former group, The Lox, and they released their first album in 16 years. The last album Jadakiss released was a collaboration with Fabolous, and it was released in 2017.
Other ventures
It’s clear that Jadakiss made most of his fortune through his music. That would include album and single releases, tours, merchandise sales, and so forth. Jadakiss also made money through the many soundtrack features he had. His music was featured in many TV shows including Fresh Off the Boat and Fleabag, and some were also featured in video games, documentaries, TV movies, and other TV performances. Some of his songs were also featured in large scale films including Notorious (2009), Step Up 2: The Streets (2008), Blade II (2002), Drumline (2002), Honey (2003), Are We There Yet? (2005), and Beauty Shop (2005). The rapper is also credited as an actor in various features. He’s starred in a few TV features including The Roachesand Luke Cage.
Apart from his music ventures, Jadakiss also had other business ventures to create additional sources of income. The artist launched an online multimedia creative company called SoRaspy in 2015. SoRaspy served as the umbrella company for an online publication, online retail store, a YouTube channel, and a record label as well.
Jadakiss also opened up a juice bar in 2014 in Yonkers along with Styles P. The juice bar, Juices for Life, now serves a larger area in New York, as two other branches have opened up in Brooklyn and The Bronx. Both Juices for Life and SoRaspy continues to be steady business operations for Jadakiss, and they remain to be a legitimate source of income for the rapper as much as his music has been.