Hip Hop MBA: Rick Ross Tells You Whether To Buy Or Lease A Car

You’ll never guess his recommendation.

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“Fifty on the chain, Twenty for the piece /
a grand for the b**ch, the whip is not a lease.”
-Rick Ross featured on Birdman’s “Know What I’m Doing”

In the second installment of Hip Hop MBA (first here), we will tackle the question that has haunted man since time immemorial: should you buy or lease a car?

At the most simplified level, the decision to buy or lease a car is heavily dependent on the trade-off between ownership and monthly payments.

Per Consumer Report:

On one hand, buying involves higher monthly costs, but you own something in the end. On the other, a lease has lower monthly payments, but you get into a cycle where you never stop paying for a vehicle.

Dig deeper, though, and there are a litany of other considerations.

In addition to “Do you want to ultimately own a car?” and “How much do you want to pay monthly?”, here are other relevant questions one should ask when deciding to buy or lease a car.

How much do you want to pay upfront?
What type of car do you want?
How important is flexibility?
Do you drive a lot?
Do you want to customize the car?

This handy table below outlines how buying or leasing looks across these aforementioned dimensions.

That is a lot to think about. And we haven’t even gotten into the weeds of how to calculate the total cost of a lease, including such considerations as “capitalized costs”, “residual value” and “money factor”.

To make a fully informed buy/lease decision, you would have to break out the old T-83 like our friends here at Khan Academy.

But, c’mon hermanos and hermanas!

As you ~~dis~~loyal readers all know, Hip Hop MBA has very little interest in dealing with math. Get these numbers out of here!

If we want to know whether to buy or lease a car, we will do what any self-respecting, money-conscious, prudent young professional would do – we will outsource our discretionary spending decisions to the hip-hop community.

To get the ball rolling, a search for “lease” on the music lyrics website Genius yields a bounty of priceless car-buying/leasing information.

Let’s see what these artists-cum-financial advisors recommend.

Younger Cats Aren’t Looking To Own…

If there is one thing you can be sure of in this world, you can be sure that at least once a month there will be a clickbaity article with the headline “[Gen Z / Millennials] Don’t Want To Own A [Home / Car / Socks]”.

The weakest post-recession recovery ever combined with the uncertainty of the Ride Share economy has made ownership of cars and homes difficult to achieve for Gen-Zers (those born after 1995).

Leasing and renting are more attractive options for this generation.

Despite being multi-millionaires – and having epic hair 1 – these two Gen-Z rappers (L’il Yachty and Jaden Smith) stay true to their cohort and recommend the leasing route.

Here is 21-year old L’il Yachty:

“B****es changing like seasons / I need like five for my LEASES.” (Wanna Be Us)

And 20-year old Jaden Smith:

“Just put a hydrogen whip on LEASE, yeah.” (Ghost)

Yeah!

…But Maybe You Can Lease And Buy…

As noted earlier in this post, there are many dimensions to consider before making a buy or lease decision. Circumstances change which means your preference along these variables can also change.

Take Jay-Z for example. There was a time when he did not come from means and looked to lease:

“Shopping sprees, pull out your visa quick / A n***a had very bad credit, you helped me LEASE that whip.” (Song Cry)

But, he has also expressed strong feelings the other way, which are probably more consistent with his current lifestyle.

“In tangible goods, platinum Rolex’d it / We DON’T LEASE, WE BUY THE WHOLE CAR as you should.” (Can I Live)

The late great Big Pun seemingly solves the buy/lease polarity with sound advice:

“Rent out a LEASE WITH AN OPTION TO BUY / Coppin a 5-0 Benz for when I’m not far up in the sky.” (Still Not A Player)

Again, circumstances change. And, like Big Pun highlights, it’s good to have options! You can start with a lease then transition into the purchase! Genius! RIP!

…Or F It, YOLO!

Then again, maybe options are just a distraction.

Some people have the word “lease” in their vocabulary just so they can say they will never do it.

One such person is The Weekend:

“All red ‘Lamb just to tease you, ah / None of these toys on LEASE too, ah” (Starboy)

Exhibit B is (shockingly!!!!!) Rick Ross:

“Fifty on the chain, Twenty for the piece / a grand for the b***h, THE WHIP IS NOT A LEASE” (Know What I’m Doing)

Perhaps the most logically sound argument in favor of buying over leasing is given by the legendary rap duo, Big Tymers (aka Baby and DJ Mannie Fresh).

They don’t actually say the words “buy” or “lease” in the excerpted lyrics, but I think we can all read in between the lines here.

“Leavin’ stickers on the Bentley to show the price.” (Get Your Roll On)

HAHAHAHAHHAHAH – No seriously. I repeat.

Leavin’. Stickers. On. The. Bentley. To. Show. The. Price.

I’m not an auto dealer professional but I know – for a fact – that there is no chance you are flaunting “stickers with the price” on a new car if you lease.

None.

No self-respecting dealership is letting you leave the lot with the price sticker on the car if you lease.

You HAVE to buy!

Please (please please please) watch below.