These days it is not enough just to be a master of your craft in the world of music, with many recording artists following the lead of such figures as Sean Diddy Combs and Jay-Z, to build business empires using their fame as a foundation to develop even greater financial success for themselves.

While neither P-Diddy nor the man best known for being Beyoncé’s husband has made much in the way of worthwhile music since their business ventures took off, there are many artists who appear to make the synergy work for them.

One area many famous singers and songwriters are branching into is online gaming, with games studios keen to harness the social media traction that only a rap or rock star can garner.

Here are just some of the musicians who have either invested in, appeared in, or even made a song for, online video games of past the past and present.

Rapping alone no longer pays the bills, so many artists are turning down different avenues to make ends meet.

50 Cent

Never a man to shy away from finding a way to make a quick dollar, 50 Cent has long been one of the trailblazers when it comes to being involved in the video game industry.

Not only has he appeared on the soundtracks of smash hit games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Need for Speed: Underground, but he has even had two games built in his very own image.

Both 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand and 50 Cent: Bulletproof garnered mixed reviews from critics and gamers, but if you were a diehard fan of the rapper both games were necessary purchases.

Not content with stopping there, 50 Cent also harnessed his love for other types of online games, developing his very own 50 Cent’s Blackjack app. The app failed to ever really take off, but no doubt the rapper still dabbles in the game. The main drawback of standalone blackjack apps is that they only can deliver one variety of table game, whereas better-known online casino sites and apps will also offer the likes of roulette or craps, in addition to the different variations of online blackjack.

Video game soundtracks are in many ways the new modern-day mixtape

Snoop Dogg

It was always inevitable that one of the smoothest men in rap would find his way onto video game airwaves, but few gamers were quite ready for the hilarity that would ensue when he decided to provide in-game voice commands and effects for Call of Duty Ghosts. After all, nothing can beat hearing the D-O-double-G give you props after you complete a tricky mission.

His COD appearance aside, Snoop has been a mainstay on the video game scene, with his face making in appearances in everything from NHL 20 and Madden NFL 20 to True Crime: Streets Of LA.

Like 50 Cent, he even launched his very own game entitled Way Of The Dogg, where the Dogg himself taught you to fight using the power of rap. It was a strange concept, but one that fans lapped up all the same. Who would not want Snoop as their sensei?

Drake

When he isn’t winning awards and breaking chart records, Drake likes nothing more than to settle into a couple of hours of an online battle royale.

He made a particularly huge stir online when he joined the most famous streamer in the world, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, for a game of the wildly popular Fortnite. The whole thing was broadcast live on streaming platform Twitch and had millions tuning in to watch the rapper’s skirmishing skills.

Not only does Drake enjoy playing games online but he even credits them in some part for him being able to conjure-up beats and lyrics. He made direct mention of this when he told reporters that he came up with the idea for the song Nice For What while in the midst of a heated game of NBA 2K.

It just goes to show, gaming is helping a whole host of rappers to make the right moves in life, whether it is on or off stage.