When aspiring for a career in music, fame is never that far behind. It’s not like other jobs, where you can be an anonymous cog in a larger machine. There are no biweekly paychecks or employer-funded health insurance to cash in. Instead, it’s all about gaining more listeners. More eyes and ears equals bigger paydays at shows and more people buying albums.
However, not everyone is quite suited for the mass perception that comes with fame. Artists just want to get rich from the art they love to create (or just make a living in general). Where some people thrive in the lack of privacy, others try to stay away from the spotlight as much as possible. You can’t necessarily avoid being famous, but you can decide not to indulge as much in the trappings of fame. Noisey has selected three prominent rappers who continuously aim for a life off the radar rather than being in front of the cameras.
Three Rappers Who Opted for Life Out of The Spotlight Over Fame
André 3000
André 3000 is perhaps the most prominent artist who decided the pressures of fame weren’t for them. One-half of the most iconic hip-hop duo of all time in Outkast, André essentially vanished from the spotlight after the 2006 release of Idlewild. Even his acting career took a noticeably more indie approach. Save for some scattered features and movie roles over the years, the Atlanta legend stayed to himself.
Why doesn’t one of the greatest rappers of all time want to rap anymore? How come we never got that elusive solo rap album? For André 3k, he felt like it would be inauthentic to try. In a 2023 conversation with GQ, he admitted he had nothing to say and felt it was a young man’s game. He’d much rather quietly make his jazz albums and stay out of the way.
“I jot down what’s going on in my life. But to make it into an entertaining song to where it’s just not self-serving or it’s not just—like there’s a part of entertaining someone else too. And what’s that saying with recovering addicts? They say, ‘The longer I’m out of it, the better chances I have of staying out of it,’” Andre told the publication.
Yasiin Bey (Mos Def)
Yasiin Bey is another rapper/actor extraordinaire who remains particularly evasive towards the spotlight. Initially going by Mos Def, records like Black on Both Sides positioned him as one of hip-hop’s great hopes. However, eventually, he found the name to be particularly limiting. “I began to fear that Mos Def was being treated as a product, not a person, so I’ve been going by Yasiin since 99. At first, it was just for friends and family, but now I’m declaring it openly,” Bey told GQ in 2012.
In 2016, he said he would retire, something he never formally stuck with, given all his features and the second Black Star album in 2022. But over the years, he’s remained hush about the prospects of another solo record. Who knows if he’ll ever oblige there?
Malice
Jaded by fame and the music industry, and empowered by his conversion to Christianity, Malice denounced much of his early Clipse work. By 2012, he announced he would go by ‘No Malice’ instead, an attempt at shedding his old lyrics. For years, he quietly released Christian-inspired rap before making music with his brother, Pusha T, again. Still, it doesn’t seem like Malice is particularly interested in being in the spotlight. Instead, he’d rather stay away from it unless he’s rapping and supporting his brother.
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