What is Ras Kass's Net Worth?
Ras Kass is an American rapper who has a net worth of $500 thousand. released such solo albums as "Soul on Ice" (1996), "Rasassination" (1998), "Intellectual Property" (2016), and "I'm Not Clearing Shxt" (2020). He has also released albums as a member of the hip hop supergroup the HRSMN, including "The Horsemen Project" (2003) and "The Last Ride" (2021). Kass's other projects include collaborative albums with Doc Hollywood and Jamo Gang.
Early Life
Ras Kass, whose real name is John Austin II, was born on September 26, 1973 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Carson.
Career Beginnings
As a rapper, Kass took his stage name from the 19th-century Ethiopian emperor Yohannes IV, whose original name was Ras Kassa Mircha. He released his first single, "Won't Catch Me Runnin'" / "Remain Anonymous," in 1994. Also that year, Kass appeared on the soundtrack to the film "Street Fighter." In 1995, he was featured on Coolio's seminal album "Gangsta's Paradise," on the track "Get Up, Get Down."
Solo Albums and Mixtapes
In 1996, Kass released his debut studio album, "Soul on Ice." Named after the 1968 book of the same name by Black Panther member Eldridge Cleaver, the album spawned two charting singles: the title track and "Anything Goes." Kass's next studio album was "Rasassination," released in 1998. Supported by the single "Ghetto Fabulous," featuring Dr. Dre and Mack 10, the album became Kass's highest-charting, reaching number 63 on the Billboard 200 and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Although Kass soon got to recording his third album, a merger between Capitol Records and his label Priority Records caused his contract and material to be acquired by the former, with his material subsequently being heavily bootlegged. Kass continued having trouble with his label after that. Further issues arose when he was arrested for DUI in 2003; becoming a fugitive, he recorded the mixtapes "On the Run" and "Run Away Slave" before turning himself in to police.
(Photo by Jonathan Leibson/WireImage)
After serving 19 months in jail for his DUI charge, Kass released the mixtape "Institutionalized" in 2005. He followed that in 2006 with two mixtapes: "Revenge of the Spit" and "Eat or Die." In 2007, Kass was arrested and imprisoned again, this time for violating his parole. During his nearly two-year incarceration, he released the mixtape "Institutionalized Volume 2." Following his release in 2009, he put out the mixtape "Quarterly." The next year, Kass launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund his album "A.D.I.D.A.S."; the campaign was successful. In early 2013, he released the album "Barmaggedon," and in 2014 released a mixtape sequel. Also in 2014, Kass released the mixtape "ChristMess." Two years later, he released the album "Intellectual Property" and the mixtape "Refresher Course." Closing out the decade, Kass released the album "Soul on Ice 2," a sequel to his debut album. He followed that with "I'm Not Clearing Shxt" in 2020.
Collaborative Albums and EPs
In the late 1990s, Kass formed the hip hop supergroup the HRSMN with fellow rappers Canibus, Killah Priest, and Kurupt. The group's first album, "The Horseman Project," came out in 2003. After a decade-plus of inactivity, the HRSMN released an independent EP entitled "Historic" in 2014. The group's second studio album, "The Last Ride," was released in 2021.
Kass has collaborated on albums and EPs with various other artists over the years. With Doc Hollywood, he released the EPs "The Yellow Snow" (2011) and "Spit No Evil" (2012), and with Jamo Gang he released the 2020 album "Walking with Lions." Kass also collaborated on the 2014 album "Blasphemy" with Apollo Brown.
Personal Life
With R&B singer-songwriter Teedra Moses, Kass had twin sons in 1996 named Ras and Taj. The boys went on to co-found the hip hop group Coast Contra.
