Producing a song can cost a lot of money, from studio time to the process of mixing and engineering the track. But, if you want to get your favorite artist to hop on your record, it's going to cost a lot more than what you would have expected. As musicians get more and more famous in a mainstream market, feature prices are a token for their relevance.
The price for a feature on a track that we are talking about here is astronomical. After all, the end product should be beneficial for both artists: the host benefits from the exposure the featured artist brings to the table, and the featured gets to make a large amount of money. Some rappers, who have just started making a name for themselves in the music industry, may only charge less than $1k for a verse, but as their popularity grows, so do their prices. To round up these numbers, we're digging up interviews, vlogs, or some of their verses that explicitly mention the number of their price.
8 J. Cole Charges Around $2k Per Word For His Features
J. Cole doesn't really collaborate with other artists that often, but when he does, his pen game costs a whopping $2,000 per word. In his hard-hitting verse on Young Thug's "The London," the 2014 Forest Hills Drive rapper hinted at his price tag, "A verse from me is like eleven birds / Just did the math, that’s like two thousand dollars every word."
Although this number may have been an exaggerated estimate, still, it's a good price considering the exposure and the quality that the wordsmith of his caliber has.
7 Kendrick Lamar Charges $250k - $400k Per Verse
Dave Free, Kendrick Lamar's longtime manager, spoke to Complex for his artist's cover story in 2014 to anticipate the release of his magnum opus, To Pimp A Butterfly. He revealed that K-Dot's verses usually cost around $250k all the way to $400k, depending on the situation.
While this price may be outdated, it's still a good start to guess how much the Compton rapper will charge as he rakes more and more in popularity.
6 Lil Baby Charges Over $100k For A Featured Verse
Lil Baby is among the hottest rising stars in the rap game at the moment, and it makes sense if he charges a serious fortune for his verse. During the pandemic in the summer of 2020, the "Drip Too Hard" rapper shared his price on Twitter, demanding a whopping six figure ($100k) for a feature.
It's not an overly bizarre price considering his status in hip-hop at the moment as a recipient of one Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance for the aforementioned track and the Songwriter of the Year from ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards back in 2021.
5 Eminem Doesn't Usually Charge Anything For A Collaboration
Surprisingly, Eminem's feature does not cost a dime. However, all it takes to convince the Rap God to do a song with you is to gain his respect and make him impressed enough lyrically. Legendary rapper Tech N9ine, who collaborated with him on his Special Effects cut "Speedom," spoke to BET that the superstar just wanted a verse in return.
"[Eminem] did the verse for nothing but a swap," he said, adding, "I was flabbergasted cause I know it costs so much to get Eminem, and he’s worth every penny. For him to say, ‘I just want a song from you for this,’ that made me feel really beautiful that he felt like that about my music."
4 DaBaby Charges $300k Per Verse
When DaBaby was just starting to make a name for himself in hip-hop back in 2019, he only charged $5k per verse. Fast-forward to this day, he valued his words at a whopping $250k to $300k, as he revealed on his Instagram story back in February 2021. The price may be going up in years to come, but the rapper himself once revealed that he won't be rapping for a long time.
"Five years, I’ma be retired in five years," he told XXL on his future plan. He further added, "I won’t be rapping. I’ll be creating other superstars. Billion Dollar Baby Entertainment, five years, definitely gonna be like one of the hottest labels in the game."
3 Polo G Charges $85k - $150k Per Verse
Illinois rapper Polo G has been having his momentum in the last few years. Ever since he was featured among the XXL Magazine Freshmen back in 2020, his career seems to take off.
During his earlier days, he used to only charge $200 for a feature, but now, his price tag skyrocketed to a whopping $150k as he reveals during his episode of GQ: Actually Me. Hard work sure does pay off!
2 Snoop Dogg Charges Over $250k Per Verse Of A Feature
Snoop Dogg has been in the rap game for decades, but surprisingly, his price tag now isn't as expensive. During an episode of the Full Send Podcast in April 2022, the West Coast LBC rapper said that the price starts at $250k for 16 bars, but it doesn't include music video appearance.
“You’ll get about 16 bars," he said, in exact words, adding, “And when it’s time to do the video, I need to get another $250,000 up out of you. And you only got an hour so get to filming.”
1 2 Chainz Charges Over $100k Per Verse
Another rap vet, 2 Chainz's feature costs upwards of six figures. He revealed this in 2013 during an interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra that his East Coast flair costs "a hunnid grand," at least. That was a long time ago, though.
"Now let me stop, man, ’cause I know there's people out here listenin', man," he said. "Look, I'm enjoyin' life, OK. You would be doin' the same thing. Don't look down upon me ’cause you like, 'Who's gonna pay that full verse?' Your favorite rapper paid it. Don't even worry about it."