11 Rappers Born Outside the U.S.

Some of hip-hop's most prominent acts were born outside of U.S. territory and a lot of their fans have no idea. Rappers that currently rule the U.S. charts  and others that have done so in the past were born in countries half way across the world. Nicki Minaj, J. Cole and Slick Rick are all rappers that fall into this category and a lot more rappers can also claim dual citizenship..

Nicki Minaj was born in Trinidad, J. Cole first lived on a military base in Germany and Slick Rick is a native of the U.K. In most cases like this rappers moved to the U.S. at very young ages and others like Slick Rick have struggled to gain U.S. citizenship through the majority of their career. The Ruler has actually faced deportation quite a few times following his 1991 attempted murder and weapons charges conviction for shooting his cousin. After a 23-year battle in April of 2016, Slick Rick was finally granted citizenship. “This has been a long time coming for me, and I am relieved to finally put this long chapter behind me," Slick Rick said of the recent victory. "I want to thank everyone – my family, friends and fans – who have supported me and stuck by me over these 23 years. I am truly blessed – and stay tuned, I will have more to announce soon.”

Doug E. Fresh, ScHoolboy Q and Iggy Azalea all also have other places they call home. Check out XXL's gallery of rappers born outside the U.S. above.