Before They Were Famous

From Naya Rivera to Pop Smoke and King Von, the world of entertainment lost a lot of greats throughout the year 2020. In a year that will go down historically as one of great struggle for everyone on the planet, tragedy was felt by all in some way shape or form. From old school Hollywood legends like Alex Trebek and Regis Philman to Reality Television stars. Musicians, YouTubers, and children entertainment legends like William Dufris who voiced the character for Bob The Builder all had their lives cut short under an array of different circumstances. Some murdered, others due to covid, and some in freak accidents like the terrible tragedy that Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna at the start of the year.

After Lil Xan hit single, “Betrayed” was certified platinum. After Lil Xan would quit rapping to focus on his clothing line but then uploaded a video with the caption: “not quitting” and even released an album entitled ‘sorry, I didn't quit’. After Lil Xan and Billie Eilish dressed up as each other for Halloween. After Lil Xan checked himself into rehab to combat his addiction to prescription pills and then reemerge saying he’s sober and seizure-free. After Lil Xan would be rushed to the hospital after having a panic attack caused by the current pandemic. It seems when Lil Xan made his debut and blew up on the scene - it was during a time where there was a whole slew of sound cloud rappers that had face tattoos, videos directed by Cole Bennet, massive streaming numbers, and of course, a rap name with Lil in it.

After Lil Pump would get dragged for endorsing Donald Trump by posting photos of himself in a MAGA hat and with Donald Trump and then releasing his pro-Trump anthem ‘Lil Pimp Big MAGA Steppin’. After Lil Pump would cause PETA to call for an investigation after he visits Doc Antle’s zoo and climbs on Bubbles the elephant’s trunk and loses his balance and falls. After Lil Pump would get brutally shot down by Billie Eilish in response to his request to wife her on Instagram Live. After Lil Pump would lose a significant amount of followers on Instagram and Twitter, around 300k following his Trump endorsement - Instagram now at 17 Million followers, 1.1 Million followers on Twitter, 4.2 Million followers on TikTok and 17.6 Million subscribers on YouTube at the time of this recording. If you’re unfamiliar with Lil Pump and come across a photo of him…it’s understandable why some people earlier on in his career didn’t take him seriously. From his multi-colored, ever-changing hair to his strange face tattoos to his catchphrase, esketit.

At 4.5 million followers on Instagram at the time, Belle Delphine’s account was banned from the platform on July 19, 2019, citing that she had continuously violated the company’s community guidelines. Could it maybe have been her close to pornographic content? She returned to YouTube this year in June with a parody song of 6ix9ine’s Gooba within it she promoted her NEW Instagram page along with a TikTok AND an OnlyFans account. She was later also banned from TikTok AND her YouTube channel was terminated at 1.2 million subscribers because of 18+ content but her OnlyFans account was pulling in about 1.2 MILLION dollars a MONTH. PER MONTH, y’all. WHAT IS THIS GIRL DOING ON THERE? Anyway, her YouTube channel ended up being reinstated and her $35/month OnlyFans account continued booming. This Christmas is about to be a very merry one for her fans because she said she’ll be performing specific content on her OnlyFans on Christmas…I don’t even know what that MEANS.

Though some people might still consider YouTube to be something of uncharted waters in terms of overall revenue sustainability, there’s no denying that with each passing day and month, more and more YouTubers are raking in millions of dollars from not only their content but merch sales as well – often out earning more traditional entertainers like actors and musicians. And Danny Duncan is sitting near the top of that earner’s list. The most amazing thing? He’s accomplished a lot without ever taking himself too seriously. Over the past few years, he’s amassed over 5 Million subscribers and a total of over 1 Billion views! All this from the type of guy we all remember in high school, the kind that used to pull pranks on his buddies for a good laugh and then never bothered growing up – but for Duncan, this way of life eventually led to him becoming a Millionaire. Despite all the fun he has in his videos, Danny can also be something of a humanitarian – oftentimes spending his hard-earned money on people other than himself. Not only did he buy his mom a house almost as soon as he started making profits off of his channel but he also bought his sister a brand-new car and fed the homeless pizza with Steelers Wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster. Since becoming a Millionaire in 2018, about two years into his YouTube journey, Danny has also finally done something fully and totally for himself, buying a $3.5 Million home!

About six years ago now, Damien Prince and Biannca Raines knew that their lives had to change. Both were living paycheck-to-paycheck while working at their local Little Caesar’s in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The two quickly struck up a relationship and before they knew it, Bianca was pregnant with the duo’s first child, an expense that they frankly could not afford at the time. They worked themselves to the bone to try and get ready for their upcoming kid, but they were constantly tired and needed a way out. Enter YouTube. It would turn into the best idea these two ever had. Over the past handful of years, they’ve managed to build a highly commercial brand and a YouTube empire. Now known as “The Prince Family”, they’ve bolstered their income to absolutely epic proportions. Within a year of starting their channel, they were getting around 10 Million views a month, now that number is much closer to around 100 Million monthlies. And while their family started off with just the two of them, it has since expanded by four, with their sons DJ and Kyrie as well as their two baby daughters, Nova and Ayla. And guess what? As their family has expanded, so too has their revenue streams. It seems like with each new child they have, the Prince’s add another channel onto their ever-growing roster, and right now they currently have at least four channels bringing them in over 6 figures each.

On the BRIGHT SIDE OF FAME – Kanye West is one of the world’s best-selling musicians, exploding onto the scene in 2004 with his debut album: “The College Dropout” and ultimately selling more than 20 million albums and 140 Million singles sold worldwide. He would also go onto become one of the most awarded artists ever, collecting 21 Grammy’s to this point in time, and even seeing six of his 10 albums included on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list. But on the DARK SIDE OF FAME is a different story altogether. Look, celebrities have always been braggadocios, it’s basically in their job description, but Kanye has taken that trait to new heights seldom seen before. He’s also a walking, talking, mixed-message. I mean, this is the man who once wrote a song called: “I Am a God” and then a few years later, followed it up by releasing a Christian Gospel album – just try and do the mental gymnastics on that one. hen there are his feuds with other artists, public support of notorious figures, fortunes made and fortunes lost, battles with mental health, and most recently, a misguided attempt to run for the highest office in all the land, the Presidency. Honestly, Kanye has enough controversies in his past that he could release a greatest hit album – and knowing him, it would probably sell like gangbusters. So, I hope you guys will join me as I take a look at Kanye West’s plunge into The Dark Side of Fame.

Macaulay Culkin is that name that always rolls around this time of the year…doesn’t matter that’s really been over 25 years that he’s seriously acted in a major motion picture. Macaulay took his hiatus from acting in 1994 and didn’t return until 2003 with a guest appearance in the TV show, Will and Grace and then after in the film Party Monster. In 2013, he co-founded a comedy rock band called The Pizza Underground where he was the lead singer - they even toured but three years later, the band split up in 2016. Now he is the CEO and self-publisher of a satirical pop culture humor-based website and podcast called Bunny Ears that he funds himself. As for his net worth, whew, that information was not easy to find. If you Google it, it brings you to his website Bunny Ears, which he started in late 2017. It pretty much makes fun of the internet and confuses readers if you don’t know what you’re in for. Like me, for example. I googled “Macaulay Culkin's net worth” for this video and was pleasantly surprised when an entire article popped up but I was quickly confused when I started reading it… the article is about a butterfly net and it’s, not surprisingly, one of the top results on the entire site. I guess a lot of people want to know!

YoungBoy NBA is not only the king of the rap game, but he’s also the king of YouTube, which makes him something of a double threat and a man with at least two massive revenue streams that are helping ensure he truly will never (ever) be broke again. In fact, my man is doing so well, he likes to let the entire world in on his success – like showing off a brand-new Porsche Panamera GTS that he bought for his girlfriend-of-the-month. An impulse gift that likely would have set him back a cool $80K at least. When he’s not buying his shortie a car, he’s keeping his homies flush with the type of ICE that has them looking fresh every day of the week and even buying his moms a house. But... oh boy, did that ever get complicated quick, so stick around to hear more about that. And look -- all of these expenses? That’s without even mentioning his near-annual arrest fees. Seriously, my man has been arrested so many times over the past few years that he must keep his lawyer on retainer – and that kind of thing doesn’t come cheap. YoungBoy famously became a millionaire at the age of 18, and to be honest, he’s lucky it happened, because, with the life he’s lived to this point, he’s needed every penny of it. Recent estimations online suggest that YoungBoy’s net worth is somewhere in the $3 Million to $6 Million range. So, let’s just split that down the middle and suggest that he’s probably worth something close to $5 Million. It certainly helps that in 2019 he firmly established himself as the most popular musician on YouTube, and, to be honest, it was barely even close.

YouTube has made many, many millionaires and Pontiac Made DDG is no different. His rise to fame began through reaction videos, parodies, challenges, pranks, and skit videos and eventually through vlogging his day-to-day life where he makes his viewers feel like they are truly part of the family and pretty much in the video themselves… and this is why he’s made the money he’s made. He’s a rapper, an entertainer, and a CEO.
The DDG Family channel has over 3.95 million subscribers at the time of this recording and has accumulated over 550 million views. Phew. On average, he gets about 400,000 views PER day which equals out to about $2000 per day and $730k per year from ads. DDG also has a strong music career where he racks in dollars from performances and royalties from hit tracks like Givenchy that went super-viral as well as his diss track geared towards Lil Yachty called Big Boat that has over 10 million views on YouTube. The man KNOWS how to go viral. He just bought a 2.4 million dollar mansion and did a full tour in May 2020. He spent $700k in renovations and says it’s one of his most prized possessions and biggest accomplishments. And at 23-years-old, he is all about that humble brag with his new Lambo and the kid loves his bling.