There are many famous rappers who are related by blood.
Rappers often refer to friends as if they were family. Most of the time, this is symbolic. But as you’ll see in this article, some of the biggest names in the game do indeed have real family connections.
Over the decades since the birth of hip-hop, we’ve seen numerous rappers collaborate with brothers, sisters, and cousins. In other cases, some rappers who are family don’t collaborate – each pursuing their music separately.
Let’s jump in and learn about some of the many rappers who are related to each other.
Kendrick Lamar and Baby Keem
Relationship: cousins
Kendrick Lamar is one of the most respected and influential rappers in the world today. That has no doubt helped Baby Keem rise to success in recent years. Kendrick has featured on two Baby Keem tracks, including ‘family ties’ and ‘range brothers.’
Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg
Relationship: cousins
Some of the best known related rappers are Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg. Back in the 90s, the cousins even formed a group together with Warren G, known as 213. They collaborated on tracks including ‘Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Can’t Have None),’ ‘Lay Low,’ and ‘Boss Life.’
Dr. Dre And Warren G
Relationship: step-brothers
Legendary hip-hop producer Dr. Dre and G-funk pioneer Warren G are step-brothers. The pair became related when Dre’s mother married Warren’s father when the two were teenagers. Generally, Warren G has been careful not to live in Dre’s shadow, and for that reason signed to Def Jam Recordings instead of Dre’s own Death Row Records.
Chance The Rapper And Taylor Bennett
Relationship: brothers
Taylor Bennett is the younger brother of Chancelor Johnathan Bennett – better known as Chance The Rapper. Taylor Bennett largely pursued his career without any reference to Chance, seeing him become an underground success. Once Taylor had proven he could stand on his own two feet, the pair eventually collaborated on tracks including ‘Broad Shoulders,’ ‘Grown Up Fairy Tales,’ and ‘NO ONE OUTSIDE.’
No Malice and Pusha T
Relationship: brothers
Formed of Gene ‘No Malice’ Thornton and Terrence ‘Pusha T’ Thornton, Clipse are one of the most iconic hip-hop duos of all time. Their name is famous, but generally only their real fans are aware that the pair are in fact brothers.
Akala and Ms Dynamite
Relationship: brother and sister
Grime rapper Akala and Ms Dynamite are two of the biggest names in UK rap from the early 00s. In her relatively short career, Ms Dynamite picked up a plethora of awards. Today, Akala is best known as an author and activist. The pair were born to a Jamaican father, and a Scottish mother, who separated before Akala was born.
Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn
Relationship: brothers
Demond Price, better known as Conway The Machine, is the brother of fellow rapper Alvin Lamar Worthy, better known as Westside Gunn. The brothers are also cousins with Benny The Butcher. All three have collaborated on many tracks together. Conway and Westside co-founded the label Griselda records along with Mach-Hommy.
Lil Keed and Lil Gotit
Relationship: brothers
Two of the youngest rappers on this list, Lil Keed and Lil Gotit are brothers. Lil Keed died tragically, age 24, from eosinophilia. Lil Gotit’s career is continuing to flourish, buoyed by high-profile collabs with the likes of Gunna, Lil Baby, and Young Thug.
Young Dolph and Juice WRLD
Relationship: second cousins
Two rappers who died tragically before their time, Young Dolph and emo rapper Juice WRLD, were second cousins. Young Dolph was also the cousin of Key Glock. Key Glock was signed to Young Dolph’s label, Paper Route Empire, and has been described as Young Dolph’s protegé. Key Glock has gone on to continued success.
RZA, GZA, and Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Relationship: cousins
Wu-Tang Clan are perhaps the most iconic hip-hop collective of all time. Three of the group’s members were cousins – RZA, who was known as the collective’s leader, GZA, who was known as the “spiritual” head of the group, and the innovative and unique rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
Takeoff and Quavo
Relationship: nephew and uncle
Considering Migos’ chemistry, it’s no surprise that two of the three in the group are related – Quavo is Takeoff’s uncle, making Takeoff Quavo’s nephew. It’s a common misconception that Quavo and Offset are cousins – they grew up together, but are not related by blood. Takeoff was tragically shot and killed in Houston, Texas in 2022.
Q-Tip and Consequence
Relationship: cousins
After initially rising to success as the founder of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip is one of the most-respected rapper-producers of all time. Q-Tip brought his cousin Consequence on to appear on five tracks on Tribe’s 1996 Beats, Rhymes and Life chart-topping album, kick-starting his rap career.
Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee
Relationship: brothers
Swae Lee has featured on a couple of the biggest tracks of recent times, including Travis Scott’s ‘Sicko Mode’ (2018) and Post Malone’s hit ‘Sunflower’ (2018). He has collaborated frequently with his brother Slim Jxmmi, most notably as part of their project Rae Sremmurd.
Papoose and Pi’erre Bourne
Relationship: cousins
Pi’erre Bourne is one of the most influential trap producers of the moment, best known for his collaborations with the likes of Playboi Carti, 6ix9ine, and 21 Savage. He is also the cousin of rapper Papoose. Incidentally, Papoose is married to legendary female rapper Remy Ma, expanding the family network even further.
Common Misconceptions: rappers who are NOT related
With so many rappers referring to other non-related rappers as brothers and cousins, fans sometimes get the wrong end of the stick, leading to misinformation. Here are a few examples of rappers who people think are related, but actually are not related.
Playboi Carti and UnoTheActivist.
It is a common misconception that Playboi Carti and UnoTheActivist are cousins. In an interview, UnoTheActivist confirmed his relationship with Playboi Carti saying,
“You got to tell the world this. We are not real cousins, we’re just family friends… [We] knew each other since we were babies, almost. Our families went to school together, and we went to school together, but we’re not related. We were friends and could’ve been brothers, for real, but different paths led us to different ways.”
Offset and Quavo
A number of media outlets have reported that Offset and Quavo are cousins, but this is incorrect. In a feature by Variety about Offset, following the death of Takeover, the publication confirmed that Quavo and Offset are not cousins:
“While Quavo was Takeoff’s uncle, the two were just three years apart in age, and although Offset is often referred to as Quavo’s cousin, they are actually not biologically related.”
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