Thankfully for him, unlike the rest of us poor folks who have to pay up when the IRS comes calling, Nelly’s got his fans to help him out. Some wise people did the math on how many song streams would help get the rapper out of debt.
Since Spotify, one of the biggest streaming services around, gives artists between $0.006 and $0.0084 for each stream of a song, if fans streamed Nelly’s music somewhere between 287 million and 402 million times, he’d be make enough money to clear his debt.
Related: 50 Cent ‘Makes It Rain’ at Strip Club Despite Bankruptcy
That’s a LOT of streams, but some fans out there are really dedicated, even finding ways to continuously play his hit song “Hot in Herre” on a continuous loop in order to make him the most money possible.
pro tip: turn your phone to mute and put on “hot in herre” while you sleep tonight. 7 hours sleep = 110 plays #hotinherrestreamingparty
— jim jar-jarmusch (@bergmansbro) September 13, 2016
So how did Nelly get into this predicament in the first place? Obviously, he refused to pay his taxes, but why? It’s likely he was spending more than he was earning, which is often the problem for those used to the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Thankfully, his fans have good spirits over the whole situation. It helps that “Hot in Herre” is pretty catchy: