Rappers are quick to document their sexual conquests in their lyrics. It should not come as any surprise that many of them also document their sexual conquests on camera. Titans of hip hop like Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Tupac have all fell victim to the (threatened or actual) publication of their private sex tapes. As have many others. Even in the case of rumored sex tapes, the sheer possibility that a tape exists often obscures the fact that it likely does not.
Check out 10 of hip hop's most epic sex tape scandals after the jump.
In 2009, a 50 Cent-Rick Ross beef led to 50's alleged acquisition of the sex tape featuring Ross' baby mama Lastonia Leviston and her ex-boyfriend Maurice Murray. 50 blurred out Murray's face, but not Leviston's, and narrated the tape from start to finish using his "Pimpin Curly" alter ego. Finally, he posted the tape to YouTube.
Leviston sued 50 for $20 million in damages and ended up winning upward of $5 million, which 50 is still paying off.
Dorrough
In 2010, a cell phone containing footage of one of Dorrough's sexual escapades was stolen from the "Ice Cream Palnt Job " rapper.
“There have been reports circulating about a ‘sex tape’ involving myself, and I want to set the record straight,” he said in a statement to the Dallas Observer. “Unfortunately, the footage does exist, and some of the footage was on my cell phone, which I’ve recently lost. I am only concerned with making sure my family and people close to me aren’t hurt by this, and I want to focus on making music for my fans.”
Dorrough owned up to it. Props to him.
Kanye West
In 2012, a 20-minute sex tape featuring Kanye West having sex with a 18-year-old Kim Kardashian lookalike was allegedly stolen from his house. Then, reports of another nearly identical tape emerged. Kanye's laywers threatened legal action against anyone who leaked the tape, and to this day no Kanye West sex tape has yet been made public.
West documented his sex tape problems on TLOP standout "Real Friends": "I had a cousin that stole my laptop that I was fuckin' bitches on/ Paid that nigga 250 thousand just to get it from him."
Soon after Rob Kardashian proposed to Blac Chyna, a sex tape starring Chyna and Tyga was reportedly “sent to media outlets and porn companies.” Chyna’s attorney announced her intention to "go after anyone who releases the tape ... with a vengeance.”
Tyga again
One week after Kylie Jenner and Tyga broke off their 20-month relationship last week, reports surfaced alleging that a sex tape starring Tyga Jenner was posted to Tyga's official website Tygasworld.com for approximately 30 minutes before being taken down. One Twitter user indicated that they had downloaded the illicit video before it was taken down.
In 2014, porn production company Vivid Entertainment claimed that they were in possession of a Iggy Azalea sex tape. Azalea initially denied the existence of such a tape but later admitted that it was real, but filmed while she was a minor without her consent. Her camp threatened to sue Vivid if they released the tape.
Then, Azalea's ex-boyfriend Hefe Wine claimed that he got Iggy to sign a lengthy contract back in 2009 giving him the exclusive rights to "manufacture, sell, distribute and advertise 'any' recording embodying visual images." The contract was apparently signed in reference to songs and music videos, but Wine believes he can also safely release the sex tape, and that Iggy has no legal rights to block it. What's more, the contracts states that Wine has the "legal right to create, host and maintain a website to market Iggy's works," and thus he could create his own website dedicated to the tape.
Azalea swiftly sued Wine for theft and forgery. They later reached an undisclosed settlement.
Yung Berg
In 2010, footage of Yung Berg and his ex-girlfriend Jenna Shea getting extremely frisky hit the internet. Supposedly, the footage is a part of a full-length sex tape floating somewhere in the mist of the deep web.
Jenna Shea was with Young Jeezy at the time the footage hit the web. She is best known as a high-profile escort who consorts with professional basketball players, football players, and rappers.
Eve
In 2005, a video depicting Eve and her ex-boyfriend Stevie J having sex in 1999 found its way onto the internet. Both parties denied leaking the tape. (“I don’t want my beefcake all in the street," Stevie J said.) Eve was so upset with the ordeal that she got the FBI involved.
“I respect my mother and my family and that’s not something I am OK with,” Eve told MTV’s RapFix Live in 2012. “And it hurt my heart that anyone who was in my circle — whether it be him [Stevie] or anybody else — it hurt my heart that that went out there. That wasn’t my thing.”
Lil Wayne
In 2015, footage depicting Wayne in nothing but socks being serviced by two women was shopped around to different porn/media publishing companies. A Weezy rep claimed that if the tape indeed existed, Wayne was not aware that he was being filmed, and a cease and desist letter was soon sent to Hollywood Street Kings blog, who had posted some clips from the tape.
His ex-girlfriend Karrine Steffans (aka Superhead) treated herself to a screening of the tape and delivered a Roger Ebert-esque review via Twitter.
Tupac
In 2011, footage surfaced of a man bearing an uncanny semblance to Tupac receiving oral sex from a woman at a 1991 house party. The tape was sold soon thereafter and Tupac's estate threatened to pursue legal action against anyone who leaked the tape.
Tupac's former manager had this to say: “He taped a lot. He taped intimate moments that maybe were for himself that he never thought would be public.”