In the words of the omniscient Wu-Tang Clan, “Cash Rules Everything Around Me, CREAM / Get the money / Dollar dollar bill y’all”.

These wise words from The Wu have largely defined the financial mindset of hip hop artists over the years, often to their detriment. As a result, this pocket of society has become notorious for the superfluous expenditure of benjamins, especially on real estate (see: MTV Cribs) and cars, along with an ever growing connection to tax evasion.

So, when a hip hop artist releases a book that concerns the actual saving of money – as opposed to blowing it on hookers and molly – it comes as a breath of fresh air.

Enter: Slim Thug, who released How to Survive a Recession two weeks ago, on the 21^st of July.

The Houston emcee recently spoke about his inspiration and shed some light on the reason behind releasing a book about financial shrewdness.

‘Some people are riding around in a Benz, but die and don’t even have enough money to be buried,” he told a morning radio show in Houston, ‘that may sound like a harsh statement to many, but it is true for so many more. You need to feel like you are committing a crime once you go in your cash’.

In a separate interview, he was asked to share a little from his book about common mistakes people make when coming into a significant amount of money, ‘they forget that they have to pay taxes and what the cheque says isn’t really what they have. I myself am even guilty of rapping about spending money in careless ways.’

Many of the songs that have been released recently, depict hip hop artists boasting about their extravagant wealth, and spending their money on frivolous pursuits. However, with one of their own taking a step sideways and writing about how to avoid careless spending, are we set to see a change in the way hip hop artists see their money?

Probably not.