Before They Were Famous: Your Favourite Musicians First Jobs
Did you know that Kanye West worked at GAP? Or that Pharrell got fired for stealing chicken nuggets whilst working at McDonalds? They all started somewhere...
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1. Beyoncé swept hair at her mum's hair salon.
Before Beyoncé dedicated all of her time into music and trying to become a star, she earned her pocket money sweeping floors at her mum Tina Knowles' hair salon in her hometown of Texas. Picture: iam.beyonce.com
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2. 50 Cent's first job explains why he's so into his boxing these days.
50 Cent impressively competed in the Junior Olympics as an amateur boxer in the mid-80's. He once said of the job transition; "I was competitive in the ring and hip-hop is competitive too... I think rappers condition themselves like boxers, so they all kind of feel like they're the champ." Picture: Getty
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3. Tupac worked as a ballet dancer, yes – a BALLET DANCER!
Tupac was a man of many talents, and one of them was ballet dancing! The 'Changes' rapper attended Baltimore School For The Arts, where he studied dance and acting. He biggest role as a ballet dancer was as Mouse King in 'The Nutcracker.'
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4. Calvin Harris stacked shelves in Marks And Spencer.
Before he made the big time, back in 2007, Scottish producer/DJ Calvin Harris could be found stacking shelves in M&S! The hard-worker would write and produce tracks in his home studio in-between his shifts at the department store. Picture: Getty
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5. Pharrell flipped burgers at McDonalds… And got fired!
The star admitted being fired from three separate restaurants, on applying to the fourth the others called to say: "Don't hire him... He burns the burgers and steals the nuggets". Good going Pharrell! Picture: Getty
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6. Notorious B.I.G was delivering parcels before he was delivering rhymes
Biggie was driving vans on motorways before cars in music videos. The rapper worked as a delivery man for UPS, as you might have known from his 'Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)' when he says; "Don't be mad, UPS is hiring," giving a pretty big advert for his old job. Picture: Rex
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7. Drake was an actor, most famously on Canadian show 'Degrassi.'
Before becoming a rap star Drake was most famous for playing wheelchair bound Jimmy Brooks in Degrassi. Bagging the role at age 15, Drake appeared in 138 episodes between 2001-2009.
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8. Kelis was working as a bartender... Serving Milkshakes no doubt.
Before she hooked up with Pharrell and made hit song 'Milkshake,' Kelis spent the late 90's bar tending to help pay her way through performing arts school.
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9. Kanye West worked in 'Customer Services' at GAP.
It's hard to believe that the ranting-Kanye West we know and love was once responsible for GAP's customer service, but it's true! 'Ye raps about his first job on song 'Spaceship,' where he says: "Let's go back, back to the Gap, Look at my check, wasn't no scratch…"
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10. Tinie Tempah was a double-glazing salesman.
Back in the day when Tinie was trying to breakout in the industry, the London-born rapper took a job selling double-glazing to raise the funds for his very first music video himself. The hard work paid off big time in the end!
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11. You might have seen B.o.B making up your sandwich at Subway.
Everyone starts somewhere, and for B.o.B that place was at popular sandwich chain Subway. Before he was making beats he was making foot longs for hungry customers!
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12. Eminem worked as almost everything to make ends meet.
He's one of the world's best rappers but before Dr Dre gave him his big break a young Eminem made ends meet in Detroit through working as a cook, a dishwasher, in a machinery factory (as depicted in 8 Mile) and loads of other bits and bobs.
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13. Nicki Minaj was a waitress at Red Lobster.
Back in the day, when she was struggling to find fame, Nicki Minaj worked as a waitress in The Bronx, New York restaurant Red Lobster to make ends meet. She was eventually fired for being rude to the customers.
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14. Snoop Dogg worked at a grocery shop in California.
Snoop use to pack bags at a Los Angeles supermarket chain called 'Lucky,' which is no longer open. Nowdays he's starring in adverts for Money Supermarket.
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15. Rick Ross would have had your back when he was working as a Prison Guard.
Rick Ross famously spent 18 months working as a prison guard before he made the big bucks working with the likes of Jay Z as a rapper. After months of denying it, Da Boss admitted the job in a 2009 issue of XXL, saying; "I've accomplished enough, and I've made enough money for me to be good. … Yes, it was me in those pictures. But I'mma tell you this. Me taking that job, I was doing my job. You understand what I mean?" Not really, but whatever you say Rozay.
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16. Kid Cudi was folding jumpers at American Apparel and other retailers.
Most rappers need to make ends meet when they're trying to make it big. Kid Cudi had no problem getting jobs in a number of clothes shops, including American Apparel, Abercrombie and Fitch and Dean & Deluca.
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17. J. Cole had the difficult job of collecting peoples bills.
Poor J Cole has admitted in the past that he didn't like his job as a bill collector as he use to hear sad stories about how people couldn’t pay their bills and often didn't have the heart to even ask them for the money they owed. As well as that, Cole also had a job selling ads in a newspaper. He claims he never sold one, but his friend let him take credit for some of his sales.
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18. P Diddy was mopping up the toilets before his was raking in the dollar bills.
Up until late P Diddy was the richest man in hip-hop, still number two on the list, Diddy didn't always have dollar in his back pocket. Before he made it a young Sean Combs worked in a restaurant, where his job included mopping up the toilets.
