You likely know Boosie Badazz from his string of viral interviews on outlets such as DJ Vlad, his myriad of controversial takes on the modern field of hip hop, or from his catalog of hit records that span over 20 years of releases. Through the years, he has gone by a number of different monikers, including Lil Boosie, and has faced numerous trials and tribulations. Despite all of his public and private missteps, Boosie is said to have a net worth of $2 million in 2024, per Celebrity Net Worth. This nest egg may not measure up to some of Boosie’s contemporaries, though it still displays an impressive financial acumen, as the vocalist has seen his fair share of nearly career-ending controversies.
So, let’s take a look at Boosie Badazz’s net worth, and see what we can learn from his successes, his failures, and his spending and investment habits. Most of his money likely comes from record sales, feature verses, and additional ventures such as the release of his own streetwear line. Still, it’s difficult to track down exact figures for some of these outlets, as the 41-year-old rapper has pivoted multiple times in his storied career. Without any further preamble, let’s dive in to Boosie’s net worth.
Boosie’s Humble Beginnings
Long before he was known as hip hop’s king of controversy, Boosie was born Torrence Hatch in 1982. The rising star grew up in a particularly bad neighborhood within the Baton Rouge area, where he was subject to violence and crimes on a regular basis. In interviews, Boosie frequently claims that his block was so dangerous that police officers would routinely refuse to show up to investigate reports. Per a profile on Last.fm, Boosie’s father, Torrence Hatch Sr., was killed in a drug deal gone wrong, leaving the rapper with no strong guiding force at the age of 14.
Shortly after his dad died, Boosie moved in with his grandmother and began turning to outlets such as basketball and writing raps in order to escape from the dangers of his environment. Apparently, Boosie’s on-the-court skills were so strong that he was expected to receive scholarships for college basketball, despite his incredibly short stature. Despite his extracurricular skills, the young man was never able to chase his hoop dreams as he became wrapped up in the street life in order to survive and provide for his family. To make matters worse, Boosie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in his childhood, though he wouldn’t reveal this information to the public until 2006, well after his rap career took off.
Rap Career
The greatest contributing factor to Boosie’s net worth is undoubtedly his music career, which includes dozens of albums and mixtapes, as well as a wide variety of chart-topping guest features. First rapping under the moniker Lil Boosie, the budding artist connected with C-Loc and Young Bleed in the late 1990s. After working alongside the pair for a few years, Boosie joined their collective, the Concentration Camp, and began working on his debut solo record, “Youngest of da Camp.” By 2001, Boosie had gained so much local notoriety from his music career that he was able to link with famed UGK frontman Pimp C. Under Pimp C’s tutelage, the 19-year-old joined Trill Entertainment, where he continued releasing hit albums such as “For My Thugz,” “Bad Azz,” and “Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz.”
At the time of this writing, Boosie’s latest project is the album “Lines For Valentines,” which fittingly released in February 2023. During the height of his rap career, Boosie also ventured into mogul territory by launching Bad Azz Music Syndicate, a record label focussed on signing young up-and-comers who embrace Boosie’s loose, nonrestrictive style. To get the label off the ground, Boosie partnered with his brother TQ Hatch, signing an array of underrepresented talent including OG Dre, Tootie Raww, Quick Badazz, and others.
Label Issues
Unfortunately, Boosie and his brother’s blood connection doesn’t seem to be preventing them from having major business disagreements, as the duo have been publicly beefing for the last year or so. Late last year, Boosie claimed that TQ had forged both his own signature and the signature of their artist Yung Bleu in order to swindle the label out of thousands of dollars. TQ responded during a lengthy interview on No Jumper, where he argued that Boosie, quote, “does not have the emotional maturity to have somebody’s career in his hands.” Elsewhere in the podcast appearance, TQ explains that he has handled most of the business aspects of Bad Azz Music Syndicate since the label’s inception, while Boosie simply collects the checks.
Any way you slice it, this rift has been bad for business, as the Bad Azz Music Syndicate socials have been barren for several months. With any luck, the brothers will soon find a way to reconcile and get back to business as usual, though it seems that they currently aren’t on speaking terms.
Legal Issues
Needless to say, Boosie is no stranger to controversy. Much of his career has been mired by problems with the law, the public, and his own problematic views on the world around him.
Back in 2010, the rapper was indicted on first-degree murder charges, with additional charges including possession with intent to distribute narcotics. The indictments stemmed from an apparent gang slaying, with prosecutors arguing that Boosie may have been responsible for as many as five other murders. Luckily, the jury wasn’t convinced by the prosecutor’s case against Boosie, and unanimously voted not-guilty after only 10 minutes of deliberation. If he had been convicted, there’s a serious chance that the rapper could have been given the death penalty during sentencing.
Despite getting off on his murder charges, Boosie was sentenced to serve eight years in prison on drug charges, though his legal team were able to fight to have him released after serving only four years. While there’s no way of knowing for sure just how much Boosie spent on his legal team over the years, it seems obvious that this was a worthwhile expense, which surely saved the rapper’s life.
Personal Controversies
While Boosie Badazz has likely spent millions on things like legal representation, he has also lost millions due to his penchant for espousing inappropriate comments in interviews and online. Over the years, Boosie has been known to use patently homophobic and transphobic language, which has certainly blocked an unknown number of brand deals and financially lucrative collaborations. Specifically, Boosie used invalidating and vulgar language when speaking on Dwayne Wade’s at-the-time 12-year-old daughter, who had recently come out as transgender. Boosie shared a video to social media which argued against gender-affirming care for children, and suggested that parents should hit their children in order to prevent them from transitioning.
Boosie famously went on a homophobic tirade regarding Lil Nas X in 2021, shortly after the “Old Town Road” vocalist had come out as a gay man. During his rant, Boosie suggested that Lil Nas X should commit suicide due to his sexual orientation, and articulated that he would never work alongside a gay musician in his life. Boosie was also criticized for a 2020 Instagram post where he suggested that he would sooner allow his underage son to watch hardcore pornography than let him see “cartoons with two men kissing.” In the same video, Boosie joked that he would be happy to pay adult sex workers to perform illicit acts on his underage nephews, who were 12 and 13 at the time.
While it’s functionally impossible to measure the exact financial ramifications that these controversies held over Boosie’s career, it’s obvious that other performers and business interests would cut ties with the rapper in the wake of these controversies.
Additional Expenses
Given that Boosie Badazz has lost money due to incarceration, public fallout, and issues with his own family, it’s fairly impressive that the rapper still touts a net worth of over $2 million today. Unfortunately, those things don’t encompass all of his expenses, as Boosie has also lost out on medical bills, as well as the cost of raising numerous children. As previously stated, Boosie is a lifelong diabetic, and has to take insulin on a regular schedule.
Back in April 2020, when the world was facing global insulin shortages due to supply chain issues wrought by the pandemic, Boosie reached out to the public to ask for support. Apparently, a kind man travelled to Jacksonville, Florida with a supply of life-saving insulin for the rapper after he explained that he had run out on an Instagram post. Boosie has also been diagnosed with kidney cancer, though he claims that surgeons were able to successfully remove the cancerous tissue before it spread too deep.
Though Boosie has never married, he has fathered eight children with six different women. The rapper has been vocal about his choice not to remain tied down with a single woman, arguing that marriage is a nearly guaranteed way to lose half of your money in an inevitable divorce. Still, it can’t be cheap for the artist to support his numerous kids.
