Look, these problems will occur over and over again. No matter what.
When you take a person out of the 'hood and tell them to sign a contract for a "million dollars," they don't have the business acumen or general knowledge to appreciate what that actually means.
I don't blame the artist, it is the artist's management that is to blame.
Also, when the artist gets in a room with the record company, they don't know that the record company is actually willing to negotiate and plays hardball at first. A lot of artists are simply happy a record company will sign them, that they don't elect to play hardball. Their management just wants a steady stream of income, so the management will be happy to agree to a contract-- or negotiate weakly.
There are so many societal expectations of rappers and musicians to look a certain way that they have to "front" and essentially bankrupt themselves to keep up appearances.
Of the billionaires I met in my life, they both had similar characteristics-- they wore down-to earth clothing, like a Polo shirt and jeans or just a regular work shirt and slacks. None of this bling/Rolex garbage.
They were very focused, analytical and questioned EVERYTHING.
That's the problem, people don't QUESTION ENOUGH. They don't question terms on a contract, or why they have to look a certain way.
QUESTION EVERYTHING in financial or business matters because you will AVOID BEING TAKEN.
They also don't care about offending people when asking a question -- why? Because it's business, not personal.
It's the people who make $50,000/yr and live beyond their means who act like big shots-- or anyone with a big line of credit. They front with the Ferraris.
One billionaire I met actually lived at POVERTY LEVEL when he was building his company. He put all his money INTO HIS COMPANY not into stupid chains and some dubs.
Think about that.
Obviously, a lot of you will never meet a billionaire, but please download or check out this book and don't be stupid with your money:
The Millionaire Next Door
Amazon.com: The Millionaire Next Door (9780671015206): Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko: Books
Also, if you hate your career-- my friend who switched to a different career kept talking about this book:
The Start Up of You
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307888908/
If you don't understand office politics and how to succeed in a dog-eat-dog world, get this book:
48 Laws of Power
Amazon.com: The 48 Laws of Power (9780140280197): Robert Greene: Books
If you are horrible at time management:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (only read the time management/prioritization part-- the rest of it doesn't gel with the 48 Laws of Power":
Amazon.com: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (9780743269513): Stephen R. Covey: Books
If you can't afford any of that because you can't spend a little over $100 in Kindle books to make your life better, then you don't really care.
Take the next step, read the books and then you won't be stupid when it comes to managing your music career and your life. Follow the instructions and you will achieve things you've never achieved before.
Finally, have common sense. Use your street smarts.