Drink Champs’ N.O.R.E. on Why He Refused to Pay Rihanna $15k and It Cost Him Millions 

Rapper-turned-podcaster N.O.R.E. has shared a candid story about one of the biggest missteps of his career. It all boiled down to the emcee being cheap, and that miscalculation may have cost him millions. N.O.R.E. (Photo via Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/therealnoreaga/?hl=en) What Being Cheap Cost Him During a recent episode of his hit “Drink Champs” show, which featured 8 Ball & MJG, the hip-hop veteran revealed huge music misstep he made in his career. The Queens native once passed on an opportunity to feature a young Rihanna on the remix of his 2004 Reggaeton hit, “Oye Mi Canto,” being stingy with his budget. At the time, Rihanna was a rising artist introduced to him by Ty Ty, Jay-Z’s best friend, but the cost of her feature proved to be a sticking point. “A friend of mine name is Ty Ty. He sends me bottles of Yamazaki whiskey all the time,” N.O.R.E. explained. “But he brought me this girl, one time. And he said to me, ‘I want her to do the remix to ‘Boricua… Morena’ [the chorus of the Billboard slammer].’ I was like, ‘No problem.’” The “Superthug” emcee went on to say, “Then he goes, ‘But she wants 15 grand.’ I had...