Money Man is the hottest rapper you haven’t heard. If you’ve heard him, then you already know this. If you haven’t heard him, well, therein lies our conundrum. The independent artist has made internet waves during a few different periods throughout his five-year rap career, including the time he signed a deal with Birdman’s Cash Money Records, and the time he proceeded to buy himself out of said deal for a quarter of a million dollars. There’s also the time he had a viral hit, in “24,” and offered fans a radio-friendly remix with Lil Baby, before he ducked back out of the mainstream gaze.
If this preamble is any indication, Money Man could have become more of a household rapper-name but he seemingly chose, every time it was presented to him, the road less travelled — and while he’s now definitely settled into his position in the rap game, and solidified an impressive fanbase in the process, he still avoids day-to-day media antics and gossip. Instead, his twitter feed stays active in direct conversation with his fans, whether it be financial advice on the latest crypto trend, or a random question about what city he’s headed to, and what sort of activities he should do when he gets there.
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It is this exact nature that has not only steered his career in rap, but helped elevate him, and perhaps even driven so many fans to follow his releases with eagle-eyes (there are plenty, as we will discuss). Let’s unpack that briefly– Money Man is infamously here to get the bag. His 2018 interview with Pitchfork detailed as much: “I look at rap as a doorway to becoming a billionaire. It attracts different types of people for me to do business with, find out new things. It’s like holding a key right now.” If we examine Money Man’s career then, through this lens, it all begins to make sense. That being said, it doesn’t hurt (or conversely, it helps a lot) that the rapper makes melodic, trap-driven bangers similar to the likes of ATL favorites such as Future and YSL; however, Money Man has found an even more distinct lane within that category of music, one that he solemnly abides by, as you’ll see in our twelve essential Money Man songs, listed below.
“24” Remix feat. Lil Baby (Epidemic Deluxe, 2020)
Approximately one month after Kobe Bryant’s passing, Money Man released a song titled “24,” which was, of course, titled after the late basketball player, and paid homage to him. The song itself was not so overt in its homage, apart from a couple of poignant lines, but nonetheless it speaks to a more distinct quality that permeates most, if not all, of Money Man’s music, and incidentally, is also part of his appeal. That is to say, Money Man lives in the present moment when he is rapping, and he is not afraid to share that reality with the listener, with whatever seemingly inconsequential details he feels like in the moment. It could range from the aesthetic detail of his watch, or how he earned his latest bag, to a more introspective thought on life goals. This speaks to his range as a rapper, as well– which also makes him more relatable as a human.
Thus “24” is a quintessential Money Man song not only due to its extreme popularity and reach, but how Money Man simply flows in his trademark nonplussed sort of way, grazing through topics and thoughts, over melodic production with a heavy twang to it (the rapper’s preferred style). We are including the remix here, as it is this version of the song, featuring Lil Baby, that ultimately put Money Man on a mainstream radar– although he’s very much chosen to stay out of any and all rapper antics/media attention.
“OOOWWWEEE” feat. Peewee Longway (Long Money, 2019)
Money Man and Peewee Longway are a rare pairing. The two artists share a similar love for out-of-the-way celebrity fame, while they both also have dedicated and passionate following, and a real sense of street familiarity/attachment. Not only that, but either rapper sort of champions this a sense of growth and a desire to overcome circumstance.
Perhaps more to the point, they’re also both independent EMPIRE-distributed artists, and thus their connection seemed natural when it was first suggested by EMPIRE’s own Ghazi. The result was 2019’s Long Money, a 20-track offering that jumps back and forth between solo songs from either rapper, as well as collaborations. While this may sound chaotic on paper, what becomes immediately evident is that the two have such chemistry in sound and topic, and are sonically similar enough, that it flows without issue. Among the project stand outs, the proper collab and extravagantly titled “OOOWWWEEE” is a perfect depiction of this organic vibe, although “Back Stroke,” featuring another fellow EMPIRE artist in Young Dolph, is a worthy runner-up to this spot and thus receives an honorable mention in the form of this shout out (as is their latest collab, “Whole Lotta Money”).
Money Man, Ghazi, and Pee Wee Longway at the 2019 BET Hip Hop Awards – Aaron J. Thornton/WireImage/Getty Images
“How It Feel” (Black Circle 2, 2016)
An early fan-favorite for many a Money Man fan, “How It Feel” also accurately presents, and represents, the Money Man-song-style blueprint. The song was first released back in 2016, originally appearing as part of his Black Circle 2 mixtape. The record is easy to like; with CamGotHits cooking up a piano-laden beat and Money Man’s effortless flow — and yet, this was still considerably early in his rap career; his debut project was the first Black Circle released a few months earlier that same year. It simply goes to show how refined his sense of style was, even that early on. Following the early and initial success of “Boss Up,” generally recognized as Money Man’s first hit single, “How It Feel” quickly followed, and was ultimately re-released under the Cash Money label once Money Man had signed with them in 2017.
“Boss Up” (Black Circle, 2016)
“Boss Up” needs to be recognized not only as Money Man’s debut hit, off his debut project, but also as the song that seemingly solidified Money Man’s desire to pursue rapping as a career, proper. As he told us during our On the Come Up interview in 2020: “I had a house over on Wesley Chapel, and I recorded Black Circle. All them songs, I didn’t even scrap no songs from that project— no wait, I scrapped one song from that project, and the last song I dropped was “Boss Up,” which ended up being my big single from that project, and I put that tape out. Two weeks later, I got my first show for $2,500 in Mississippi, so as as soon as I put the tape out, it just caught on. It caught on in Memphis, Atlanta, Arkansas, Texas— it just started spreading like wildfire.”
Thus, the song’s importance is evident. Similar to “How It Feel,” it laid an early framework for what would quickly evolve into Money Man’s preferred sound; one that has its roots in ATL trap, veering into decidedly melodic territory by incorporating instruments such as the piano and the guitar, quite frequently.
“Money Man Perry” (Paranoia, 2019)
“Money Man Perry” appears as the opening record on Money Man’s Paranoia project, a 2019 album that preceded the platinum-success of “24” and its accompanying Epidemic album. WindyGotHits and Will Moreno are the producers who cook up this particular beat, dripping with piano keys from the get-go. But, what starts as a classical piano becomes more and more trap-infused as the song goes on, while Money Man keeps his rhymes short and sharp, before re-invigorating the listener when he raises the energy of his flow as he approaches the end of the hook. It’s this arrangement, from flow to production, that keeps “Money Man Perry” in an easy, constant rotation.
“Doubted Me” (State of Emergency, 2020)
Money Man has built himself a comfortable position in the game, however that didn’t happen without a consistency, quality, and work ethic — the man has basically dropped more than three albums per year since 2016, straight. Some years were much heavier, and some years slightly lighter– 2020 only produced two new bodies of work (although, if we’re getting technical, it would probably be three as the deluxe edition of Epidemic resulted in a whole album’s worth of unheard music). Nonetheless, it is not necessarily this constant string of projects that has solidified his fan base, it’s the consistency with each new release; each album delivering just as expected when it comes to tight, cohesive-sounding, melodic bangers.
Case-in-point, “Doubted Me,” which appeared as part of Money Man’s 2020 release schedule, stacked inside the State of Emergency album, which dropped at the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020. While it certainly follows the Money Man sonic template, it also contains these quick peaks inside Money Man’s life outside of rap. The rapper moves quickly through the song, seemingly not stopping for breath; it’s an unrelenting and an unforgiving take on his current position in the game, targeting anyone that doubted him.
“Precise” (Epidemic Deluxe, 2020)
“Precise” is a stand-out from the deluxe edition of Epidemic. The beat is seamless (perhaps evident by the familiar “TraumaTone” tag that kicks off the song– you know it’s gunna be good when TraumaTone and Money Man are together), relying on a looping key arrangement that’s bookended by closed hi-hats, creating this feeling of water; simply flowing. Money Man skates smoothly across the song, his voice pitched in a way that resembles a YSL artist like Gunna. The fact that this song is under two minutes perhaps relegates it more so to ‘palate cleanser’ material or even interlude-esque, especially given the song’s structure– one long verse sided by two short hooks. Regardless, it goes, and as we’ll soon find out, this is a song structure that Money Man often goes back to.
“Foul” (Paranoia, 2019)
Part of Money Man’s appeal undoubtedly stems from his tell-it-like-it-is approach, whether it’s about making money or life in the streets, Money Man isn’t necessarily one to sugar-coat things– so starts the hook of “Foul” off Paranoia. “These n*ggas so foul / They’ll take your life for a bag of some loud,” he starts out the song, on a seemingly bleak note, while the piano on this one is accompanied by a flute melody. Like much of Money Man’s music, the song itself is a description of his lifestyle with flickers of his past too, and similar to “Precise,” it has this same structure of chorus, long verse, chorus.
“Sacrifice” (Grow God, 2018)
Money Man’s previously-referenced, rather busy release schedule is reflected quite accurately, if not intensely, in the year 2018. This was not only the year that Money Man paid a reported $250k to leave his deal with Cash Money/Republic Records, it was the year he dropped seven projects. Among them, we received the 12-track GrowGod— his first project of the year, and released, at the time, under Cash Money.
The project apparently took “longer” than usual for the rapper too, as he told The Source that it took a week to complete–whereas, Six Hours was infamously created in the span of six hours. The project’s title and cover is an obvious nod to Money Man’s second income slash hobby, growing (and selling) marijuana, a topic which he’s continued to explore frequently throughout his career. On album opener, “Sacrifice,” the rapper once again starts the project on a high note, providing details from his lifestyle and upbringing, jumping from bar to bar alongside the airy bounce of the beat.
“Underworld” (Epidemic Deluxe, 2020)
Once again, TraumaTone links up with Money Man to create something amazing. “Underworld” is an eerie, strip-club-worthy anthem, that begins with Money Man sharing a random but valuable detail about his past: “Growing up, n*ggas used to roast me ’cause I had a lazy eye / Nowadays, I fuck they bitch every chance I get.” It’s vulnerable in a way, but at the same time, it’s not. Or, if it was vulnerable, it no longer is– whatever the case, it’s the sort of mundane, every-day-life detail that Money Man injects into songs, in a way that allows a fan to accumulate these little facts over time, through the rapper’s discography directly, ultimately creating a bond between artist and listener that feels more personal than the average rapper-fan bond. Not to mention, Money Man also goes out of his way to truly interact with his fans on social media, thus adding to the idea.
“Underworld” relies on that same chorus, verse, chorus structure we’ve seen Money Man use in the past, as the rapper adeptly runs through everything from the bags he’s flipping, to the cows he owns out in Texas, while TraumaTone and SethGetOffTheField created something both haunting and lovely, with the use of guitars, flutes and wobbly synths.
“Unknown” (Winter, 2018)
We’ve covered songs scattered across different albums through out Money Man’s short but prolific career, although not every single project was touched upon with this list. Nonetheless, back in 2018 (which, if you’ll recall, is the year the rapper released seven different projects), he dropped an EP titled Winter, in the, well, winter. It’s a simple 5-song offering, that actually includes a rare (!) feature from none other than DaBaby (!). Double the exclamation, for the fact that this is doubly rare– a feature with a clout-heavy artist (at the time)? Money Man is the exception in his ability to carry albums entirely by himself, seemingly avoiding features for the most part, where other rappers would covet them.
To hammer this point even further, the song we’re highlighting is feature-less. “Unknown” is sidled in the middle of the EP, with the strumming of a guitar and an array of flute sounds carrying the production. The guitar lick has a certain sadness to it, creating a more emotional record for Money Man, and perhaps inspired by the canvas he was provided with, the rapper details his come-up and the struggle that was attached to it; “Got the strap on my lap like a seatbelt Secret service cars / I know how Meek feel / Had a lot of friends that ain’t mean me well Sellin’ Gushers so I can feed my kids / Work so hard, I just did me like three shifts.”
“Amazon” (Epidemic Deluxe, 2020)
Money Man’s Epidemic deluxe edition is so consistent that it almost becomes difficult to choose stand-out records, because each song seamlessly flows into the next, carrying the album (and the listener) easily to its finish line. Nonetheless, “Amazon” became a clear fan-favorite, and perhaps this is what pushed Money Man to officially market it as a single off the project shortly after its release. The title alone may catch your attention for its reference to the world’s most dominant shopping platform, while the beat is once again this melodic, guitar-lick-driven trap sound that appears frequently throughout Money Man’s discography (for good reason, clearly).