Rappers often talk about the importance of brotherhood and sisterhood in their lyrics. Sometimes it’s not literal, but on the flip side, there are plenty of rappers you didn’t know were related.
Young Thug often collaborates with Lil Baby, Lil Uzi Vert, Gunna and Lil Durk and frequently refers to them as his brothers, but Thugger is not related to any of them in real life.
“I’m ready to die by Lil Baby, Durk and Uzi, Gunna. I’m ready to die by these people. You know what I’m saying?” Thugger explained to Zane Lowe on his Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily show back in April of 2021. “I always turn them [as] family. We don’t look at them like rappers. We all look at each other like brothers and sisters. Bro, we really argue every day, bro.”
But real-life siblings and relatives do exist in rap. Some of them have made a huge impact in the genre. West Coast G-funk pioneers Dr. Dre and Warren G are actual stepbrothers. By looking at them, you may not realize that they are related.
Another pair is Slim Jxmmi and Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd. Their energetic personalities are so intuitive, and there’s a reason why—Slim and Swae are actually brothers.
Then, there’s Kendrick Lamar, who has everyone repeating his “top of the morning” line from “Family Ties,” his collaborative track with Baby Keem. What you may not know is that K-Dot and Keem are cousins. And there are plenty more relatives that are putting it down for hip-hop. So check out XXL’s list below of rappers that you probably didn’t realize were related.—Trent Fitzgerald
