Rapper Feature Prices, Including Drake, Travis Scott, Lil Durk & More - Music Industry How To (2024)

Want to get a rapper on your next track but aren’t sure how much it costs? Or just curious about how much rappers charge for a hot 16? Well, in this article we’ll show you some rapper feature prices so you’ve a better idea of how much it’ll set you back.

We start by looking at a broad range of prices, followed by some factors that influence what a rapper charges, and finally, give a number of real artist’s fees, such as Drake, Lil Durk, and Eminem.

But at a glance, here are some rapper feature prices:

We show more examples below and break down why getting a guest verse or chorus can be so expensive.

How Much Does An Average Rapper's Feature Cost?

Rappers charge wildly different amounts for their features. Rappers used to keep their feature prices a secret. But with social media becoming ever more popular over the last two decades, rappers started releasing their feature prices.

Up-and-coming artists with no name recognition can charge as little as $2,000 per verse. Most unknown rappers charge less than other rappers to boost their popularity and name recognition.

Famous rappers can charge significantly more for their work. Most famous artists charge a minimum of $100,000 for a feature. Some rappers even charge as much as one million dollars for a verse!

Features often run high because they've become the ideal way for artists to collaborate and make money as a team. But how do we know how much famous rappers charge for a feature?

Many rappers tell us their feature price in their music. Others released their feature cost on their social media or websites. And some artists even talk about their feature costs in interviews with magazines, newspapers, or other outlets.

What Influences a Feature's Price?

While some rappers just charge a random number for a feature, there’s often a method to the madness. Here are some things which influence a rapper’s price.

Name Recognition

Name recognition is an essential aspect of a feature price. If a rapper gets a feature with an artist who has significantly more name recognition, it will drive more listeners to the song. And conversely, because they garner more listeners, they can charge more for their features.

Name recognition is different from popularity. Instead, name recognition looks at the totality of an artist's work. For example, Eminem has much larger name recognition than artists like Lil Pump, even if Eminem has been around for a much longer time and has waning popularity.

Relevance

Relevance is similar to name recognition. Instead of focusing on which artists have been successful in their careers, relevance is concerned with an artist's popularity right now. If an artist is extremely popular when the feature releases, they'll drive more listeners to the song.

As rappers become more relevant, they can charge more for their features. Rappers with little to no relevance can't charge much for their features because they won't draw in more listeners. Instead, smaller artists can feature in songs to boost their relevance.

Musical Contribution

Musical contributions can mean various different things, and they all impact the price of a feature. First, the feature's length impacts the price. A feature that only includes a few lines won't fetch nearly as much as a feature that takes up a significant portion of the song.

A rapper's lyrical skill will also translate into bigger bucks. Rappers like Eminem, Drake, and Jay-Z can command high rates because of their proven track record of awesome lyrics. Even if some of these artists prefer to do free features with rappers that impress them, they could ask for piles of cash if they wish.

Finally, a musical contribution can also mean how much effort they put into the feature. Did they help produce or write the lyrics? Did they write the music or develop the beat? Any of these factors can impact how much a rapper charges for their feature.

Rappers need a lot of time to develop beats, write music and lyrics, or produce songs. And because they spend so much extra time on that aspect of the feature, they'll often charge more.

Now, let’s get into some real examples of rapper feature prices.

Drake Feature Price

See Also

Drake Shares That He Was Once Paid $100 For A Show, Tells Aspiring Artists To 'Keep Going'Rolling Loud Announces Lineup for Rolling Loud Thailand, Headlined by Travis Scott, Cardi B, and Chris Brown - The Hype MagazineWizkid Reveals How Much He Was Paid To Perform At 'Rolling Loud' Festival In Toronto | SEERolling Loud Miami And Coachella Paid These Musicians An Absolute Fortune To Headline Their Festival

Drake is the best-known rapper from the Six, which is the most common nickname for his hometown of Toronto. And being from the Six, Drake probably charges six figures for a feature, right?

Well, he actually charges a bit more than that! There are rumors that Drake charges upwards of one million dollars for a feature. Drake hasn't come out to confirm or deny these rumors, which indicates they may have some validity.

Although one million dollars sounds high, you must remember all the ears Drake brings to all his songs. On Spotify alone, Drake is the all-time most-streamed artist with 53 billion streams. Bad Bunny is in second with 49 billion.

Songs that Drake features on become wildly popular. For example, he collaborated with another Toronto artist, PARTYNEXTDOOR. Four of PARTYNEXTDOOR's most famous songs feature Drake, and each has more than 125 million streams.

Travis Scott Feature Price

Travis Scott knows how much his name is worth. He started rapping in Texas in the mid-2000s, releasing his first album on MySpace. Ever since his initial rise, his name recognition and popularity have grown to massive proportions.

But how much does he charge for a feature? Travis charges upwards of $250,000 for a verse, but that's on the low end. Travis has reportedly charged more than $500,000 for a spot on a song in the past. That's no chump change!

Travis is also less inclined to do features than other artists. You don't see many songs with Travis listed as a featured artist. That's because he only does features with people he knows, respects, and thinks make good music.

So, the best way to get a Travis feature isn't to ask him. Instead, the best way is to get his attention through music. Once Travis hears music he can jam to, he's much more receptive to feature offers.

Lil Durk Feature Price

Source

Lil Durk became one of the most popular young rappers in the rap scene when he began his career in 2011. From 2013 onwards, Lil Durk became one of the most sought-after features because of his unique voice and cadence that added the perfect touch to any song.

Lil Durk has a different pricing scheme than most artists. Lil Durk explained his system on the Full Send Podcast. In it, he said that he charges $350,000 for a verse. But there's a caveat—that's the price if he doesn't know the other artist.

Lil Durk even said he would provide receipts if the podcast hosts didn't believe him. All you need to do to get a Lil Durk verse is contact his agents. They'll set the whole thing up. Just be ready to pay a pretty hefty price tag!

But if you can impress Durk with your music or you're a friend of Durk's, he'll do the features for free. He said he wants his verses to bless good music. If you only want his lyrics to spice up some mediocre music, Durk makes you pay.

Kanye West Feature Price

Kanye West has been a stalwart artist and producer for the last two decades. Ever since the iconic release of “Through the Wire,” Kanye's popularity and musical talents have only grown. And with that much popularity, you'd expect him to charge a lot for features, right?

In fact, Kanye doesn't charge for his features. He only does features on songs with artists that impress him or with artists that can boost his own image. That's why you normally see Kanye working with up-and-coming rappers or rappers signed to his label.

But Kanye still charges a lot for other things. Kanye supposedly charges $8 million as his performance fee. He even replied to a content creator who mistakenly listed his performance fee as only one million dollars to give the correct amount.

Eminem Feature Price

Eminem is one of the most sought-after rap artists in the world. Unlike many other artists from the late 90s and early 2000s, Eminem retained his fame. Even today, Eminem is one of the best artists to see live.

Eminem has featured on some of the best rap songs of all time, including “renegade” with Jay-Z and “Smack That” with Akon. With all that fame, Eminem charges a high price for his features.

Some people have reported that Eminem charges as much as $3 million for a feature. Some people think Eminem charges too much for features, but you certainly get what you pay for. Eminem's features are some of the most recognizable verses in all of rap's history.

But Eminem also does some features for free. If you've impressed him with your lyrical skills or musical talents, there's a chance he'll accept doing a free feature. But you really need to impress the Rap God to get away with not paying the feature fee!

J Cole Feature Price

See Also

Kanye West Exits Rolling Loud Miami; Kid Cudi Set To Headline

J Cole has some of the smoothest rhythms in the game, which is what makes his features so sought after. But J Cole doesn't feature on too many songs He usually reserves his features for verses in songs by his rap label, Dreamville.

If you're not a part of Dreamville, expect to pay a hefty price. Instead of charging per verse, J Cole charges per word. In his feature on Young Thug's track “The London,” J Cole says that he charges $2,000 per word!

On “The London,” his verse is 210 words, which adds up to $420,000. And that's a small verse from Cole. He usually stays between 200 to 350 words, which could add up to a potential $750,000 per verse.

Although that's not the normal way rappers calculate their feature price, what can we expect from an unconventional artist like J Cole? Unlike many artists that embrace the fame that comes along with rapping, J Cole prefers to stay in his own lane and focus on himself.

Jay-Z Feature Price

Jay-Z is probably the best-known rapper of all time. Maybe you know him for his hit albums like “The Blueprint” and “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1,” or maybe you know him as the world's richest rapper with a net worth of over one billion dollars.

No matter how you know him, Jay-Z has the name and recognition to command a large sum for his features. Which makes it surprising that Jay-Z doesn't charge anything for a feature.

Jay-Z released the information on an episode of Kevin Hart's talk show, “Hart to Heart.” He said that he doesn't need any more money. Instead, he wants to build relationships with younger artists so they stay on the right path and continue pursuing music.

Jay-Z also mentioned that he gets a lot of requests for features, but he turns down most. He turns down most requests because Jay-Z is a busy man with a family. That's why he only featured on one song in 2022—Pusha T's “Neck and Wrist.”

Kendrick Lamar Feature Price

Kendrick Lamar is probably the most famous rapper alive. He's headlined shows as big as the Super Bowl and Coachella. But because of his fame, he doesn't have too much time to give out features. That's why he hasn't done very many features since 2014.

But in 2014, Lamar gave a solid answer for how much he charges for a feature. On average, Lamar charges $250,000 for a verse, but he's even charged more than $400,000 on occasion. That's a high price tag, but well worth it for the name recognition that comes with Kendrick.

In 2017, Kendrick appeared in Rich the Kid's song “New Freezer.” The song would go on to become Rich's second-most-streamed song of all time! That goes to show how adding a strong feature from the likes of Kendrick can elevate your music to the next level.

Kendrick hasn't done too many features since then. If his popularity serves as a benchmark, we can safely assume the price has gone up—maybe significantly!

Nicki Minaj Feature Price

Nicki Minaj carved out a niche when she arrived on the rap scene in 2004. Quickly teaming up with Lil Wayne and his label, Young Money records, Minaj has gone on to have one of the most successful careers of any rapper—male or female!

And with all that popularity, Nicki can command a sound price for her features. One of her collaborators dropped the details on how much she charges. According to Davido, Nicki charges other artists as much as $500,000 for a verse!

Her features are well worth the price. Doja cat Featured Nicki in a verse for her song “Say So (Remix).” The song would go on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, it was the first time two female artists were on top—ever!

Nicki has featured on some of the most famous songs of the 2010s, including Kanye West's “Monster,” DJ Khaled's “All I Do Is Win (Remix), and Post Malone's “Ball For Me.” Although these songs were produced by other famous artists, Nicki's name helped them gain popularity!

Future Feature Price

Future got his start rapping in Atlanta. After he met Drake and the two became friends, Future started featuring on a lot of Drake songs. His unique sound and excellent production abilities made him a favorite among other rappers and fans.

In 2020, Future sold his music catalog to his label for a reported $10 million. With that kind of money, it's no surprise Future asks for a petty penny for a feature. Future reportedly asks for as much as $250,000 for a feature!

Megan Thee Stallion revealed the information in an interview with the radio station Power 106 Los Angeles. She said that she paid that sum for Future's feature on her track “Pressurelicious.” Luckily for her, the song would go on to become extremely popular on Youtube and Spotify!

How Do Features Benefit Artists? Should You Buy A Feature?

Features benefit artists in multiple ways, but the three most important are boosting their relevance, attracting new audiences, and earning revenues.

When a rapper features on a track, they can boost their relevance if the original artist has a larger following than them. Rappers like Eminem and Jay-Z prefer working with smaller artists that impress them. That way, more famous artists can help younger rappers get their foot in the door. But not all rappers are small and in need of a boost.

Even famous rappers need to expand to new audiences, and that's why larger rappers continue to do features. Huge artists want to reach as many ears as possible. That can mean doing features with artists outside of their genre.

For example, Kanye and Rihanna featured on a song with Paul McCartney, while Kid Cudi featured on a song with the pop duo MGMT. Features are an efficient way for famous artists to expand their audience and attract as many new listeners as possible.

Rappers also benefit from features in an obvious way—earning cash. Rappers can either make money upfront by charging for their features or entering into a revenue-sharing agreement with the original artist.

Most revenue sharing occurs when both artists have writing credits. Writing credits give artists copyright to their creations, so they can share in the song's success. Famous songs with revenue-sharing include Kanye's “Monster” and Dr. Dre's “Nuthin' But a G Thang.”

Rapper Feature Prices, Final Thoughts

When it comes to rapper feature prices, there are a lot of aspects that go into the price. Rappers consider how much their name recognition and relevance will get them while also thinking about how much work they'll put into the song.

That's why rappers can charge so much for their features. Rappers like Drake and Kendrick Lamar know their features are well worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars other artists are willing to pay!