We've noticed a growing interest in rap music among the tech elite in the last couple of years.
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, MC Hammer, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and SV Angel partner Ron Conway famously remixed MC Hammer's "Too Legit To Quit"song in support of the tech-friendly, then San Francisco interim Mayor Ed Lee back in 2011.
Then there's Rap Genius, a site that annotates rap lyrics, literature, and poetry. In 2012, prominent Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz invested in $15 million in the site.
A growing number of artists have created their own startups, invested in tech companies, and sometimes both. They're working on startup staples like search, imaging, and wireless charging, as well as more esoteric projects like 3D concert apps and electronic cigarettes.
We ranked them by their Klout score, whch measures influence in social media.
Nas has an e-commerce startup that offers celebrity-endorsed goods.
Nas co-founded lifestyle brand 12Society along with basketball star Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, Michael Strahan, Nick Cannon, and Tim Lincecum last year.
For $39 per month, you'll receive a box full of anything ranging from headphones to clothing to accessories. Every item is hand-picked by 12Society's team of celebrity founders.
"I truly believe we are at an incredible inflection point in the consumer retail experience: Just how Amazon and eBay opened the railways to a new universe of available products, and Groupon allowed for the discovery of local activities to become accessible and affordable, new resources are changing the entire game once again,"Nas wrote in a guest post on TechCrunch last September.
Klout score: 82
Dr. Dre is making sure you experience the best quality sound while listening to music.
Dr. Dre is the mastermind behind those sleek, color headphones you've undoubtedly seen before. In August 2011, Dr. Dre sold a majority stake in Beats Electronics to HTC.
Klout score: 87
Note, Dr. Dre apparently doesn't tweet.
T-Pain is bringing auto-tune to the masses.
T-Pain has been involved in a couple of apps over the years. Last month, the rapper attended and supported the launch event for Gig It, a new Facebook game that lets people created virtual, 3D concerts.
There's also the I Am T-Pain app by Smule that lets you create songs using auto-tune.
Fun fact: He has a pretty cool tattoo of Facebook's "Like" symbol.
Klout score: 87
See the rest of the story at Business Insider