Forbes has announced its annual Hip Hop Cash Kings list. The leader of the pack is none other than Jay-Z, while additional Hip Hop stars to make the cut include Eminem, Diddy, Dr. Dre, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West and more.
Hov tops the chart with $37 million in income, thanks to “the benefits of a 10-year $150 million Live Nation deal, as well as stakes in the New Jersey Nets, the 40/40 Club” and more.
Sean “Diddy” Combs comes in second with $35 million. Surprisingly, music only accounts for 20 percent of his earnings, while the rest consists of investments in clothing lines like Sean John and Enyce.
Kanye West places third with $16 million. The relentless tourer released his last solo album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in November 2010, and most recently dropped his collaboration album with Jigga, Watch the Throne, yesterday.
Others to notch on the list include Lil Wayne at No. 4 ($15 million) in a tie with Birdman, Eminem at No. 6 ($14 million) in a tie with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Ludacris at No. 10 ($12 million), Wiz Khalifa at No. 11 ($11 million) in a tie with Drake, Nicki Minaj at No. 15 ($6.5 million) in a tie with Swizz Beatz, and more.
Head over to Forbes.com to see the full list.
RELATED: Jay-Z, Usher Highlight Forbes’s Highest Paid Musicians List
The greatest rapper to ever touch a mic and the only mainstream rapper, besides Em that has enough skill to outrap most of these underground dudes.
Damn Snoop is still making milions
Like that nigga hov said 1 million, 2 million, 3 million that nigga skate all the way too 37 million and more, where is game at on that list and all the other nigga who are hater, Bottom line nigga if it dont made dollars hater you’ll know the rest
homie, homie…U gettin way too caught up in an illusion. U rootin for Jay to get money when,
1. He dont give a fuck about u even as a fan
2. U need to worry bout u gettin money
U gettin mad on Game for hatin on jay, it’s all media my friend. It’s all publicity. You probly the same dude that was choosing sides between g-unit and black wallstreet back in the way, while both 50 and game was laughin behind the curtains.
You like most fans, listen to what’s the most popular and bob ur head to jay and yeezy while they talk about gettin money and doin shit that most people aint ever gna do. Cuz the niggas rappin bout real life shit like saigon, kendrick lamar, pharoahe monch, there’s a reason they aren’t platinum and they aren’t played on radio. U got a mind nigga use it.
@ItsTheTruth… thats some real shit thats why i fuck with Em he put up the numbers without havin to talk and flaunt about it
They don’t talk about it, because they don’t live it. ”Would you rather be underpaid or overrated?”
@the truth….Jay-z made 37mil and it is not a illusion my friend he made more than game….. And ain’t no one riding on jay-z dik the game started it and looks like a complete idiot trying to diss jay……When will you people learn about jay-z…. He doesn’t diss he just makes more money than your fav rapper….Good day hater….
Yo The Truth, you sound mad son, is game your fav rapper, that nigga be broke next week just like you, and oh yeah both you’ll nigga GAY and i dont get money, i have Money and day all night 360 nigga get it right
do they do this for other genres of music ?
Yes, Gaga made about 90$ million. In a year.
thanks man
You can see it on their site, they do it for all kinds of people. Business moguls, athletes, rappers, entertainers.
fuck all that shit when you had to sell your soul and bend over behind closed doors,at the end the jewey is going to take it all back
You sound incredibly intelligent. Keep up the good prejudice work.
you guys really trust forbes?do you know who owns forbes? read about it,forbes only puts on the list their favorite puppets jayz and combs are on top because they are their favorite .every name on that list every fucking name is a sell out that works for the elite
you sound dumb as fuck bro there on the list cause thats the money they make weather you like it or not I like blu,brother ali,evidence,lone catalysts, and many other underground cats but you make a jam and if it sells your a sellout there not making there money on albums its mostly concerts.
@090…that’s some real talk right there homie. Don’t let other people laugh at you because you’re saying what’s real. The elite control who to put and not to put on these Forbes list.
Damn 50 at #17 shit his days of gettin it like Jay & Diddy may just be over
WIZ WITH 11 MIL AHAHAHA
SHOW MONEY REALLY NO MONEY
Idk if you really know the business, but that is a really large amount of cash for an artist who only went gold on a debut…Dude was only getting 30k-50k for a show the past year.
11 Mil no money? Yeah, right. You probably make $30,000 per year, you broke faggot. This nigga raps and gets 11 mil in a year, more than your whole family will ever make.
ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED ? DID YOU JUST CALL 11 IN A YEAR “NO MONEY” ???
THIS NIGGA JUST GOT HOT LAST YEAR AND HE’S ALREADY MAKING 8 FIGURES.
WATHCH THE THRONE!ROC NATION/G.O.O.D MUSIC!
thats real talk shout out to hova and kaneezy you did it again yall genius my nigga
Ludacris how did you make 10 mill this year?
fast 5 thats how luda did it
Movies !!!
rick ross really put 50 in his place he gave 50 a taste of his on meds not only did he outsell him in record sales he made more cash than him and next year he will be way up on the list his label is starting to blow up with wale who i think is the best up coming rapper in the game is getting ready to drop his album along with meek and of course rosses solo album coming expect him to jump up hudge next year love or hate him he keeps winning!
how did ross put 50 in his place when 50 basically made 6 mill sitting on his ass last year….while ross dropped an album n doing shows here n there.
ross could be on top of this list for 5 years in a row and he still wouldnt have anywhere near 50 cents paper
Wiz made some serious money last year. $11m? Wow. That’s some real money for a young cat in this particular industry.
Birdman told BigBoy that he made $100m this year. Lmao. Fake it til you make it I guess.
THATS HOW MUCH BABY IS WORTH.. YEAH DUMBASS BABY AINT FAKING SHIT.. THAT NIGGA IS MORE PAID THEN 3/4 OF THE RAP GAME
only because he cheats his artists and doesnnt pay for beats or clearing samples
damn wheres my name? I be suckin all these gay rappers of, made millions, but they don’t recognize me???
I’ma start exposing niggaz that gay!
Cash Kings: Methodology
The Hip-Hop Cash Kings charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. The estimates include income from record sales, touring, digital downloads, films, merchandise sales, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures; management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings are calculated for the period from May 2010 to May 2011 and based on data from Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan, the Recording Industry Association of America, and individual record labels, as well as interviews with numerous lawyers, media buyers, managers and many of the artists themselves.
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eeel45elkd/cash-kings-methodology
Cash Kings: Methodology
The Hip-Hop Cash Kings charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. The estimates include income from record sales, touring, digital downloads, films, merchandise sales, endorsements, books and other entertainment ventures; management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings are calculated for the period from May 2010 to May 2011 and based on data from Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan, the Recording Industry Association of America, and individual record labels, as well as interviews with numerous lawyers, media buyers, managers and many of the artists themselves.
em still da gretest rapper eva jay-z 2nd den u kan brung pac and biggie in it after dem 2 fuck nebody who dnt agree
PAC>>> EM AND JAY Z COMBINED
Em>>>Pac and Nas combined !!
NAS is the greatest ever… not these clowns.
Don’t confuse your wishful thinking with reality. The only clown who can’t release an album without gimmicks is Nas.
Wow. If nas is so great why is he jumpin on Waynes Carter IV album plus kissing Odd Futures ass? He fell off a long time ago
More like Hip-Hop Wack Kings, nobody on that list has actual talent (Jay-Z and Eminem had talent until they fell the fuck off and turned pop). Other than that, they’re all pure mainstream garbage.
Still, I can see everyone being on that list except for Snoop Dogg and Ludacris. What the hell have their played out asses done lately? And where’s Lupe (the only mainstream rapper with talent)? I’m about to call my niggas in Al Qaeda and ask them to fly a plane into each and every one of these record label’s executive offices and reclaim Hip-Hop in the name of the Based God.
alicia keys did not marry a bomb. swiss still getting money
I AM SO HAPPY I MADE 6 MILL, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE STUPID KIDS WHO BELIEVE WHAT I SAY AND DONT KNOW SHIT ABOUT LIFE. THANK YOU.
How did weezy make that he was locked up and aint dropped a cd..
BECAUSE LIL WAYNE DROPPED I AM NOT A HUMAN BEING WHILE HE WAS INCARSARATED.. BEING THE ONLY RAPPER SINCE TUPAC TO DROP A #1 ALBUM WHILE IN PRISON. ONCE HE CAME OUT, HE WENT ON A MASSIVE I AM STILL MUSIC TOUR, THAT MADE HIM MORE MONEY THEN YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE.
No Tech N9ne? Net worth of 8 Mil…
FOR REAL OH SHIT HIS INDEPENDENT AND DOING THEM NUMBERS
THIS IS NOT A LIST OF NET WORTH YOU DUMB MOTHER FUCKER. THIS LIST IS HOW MUCH YOU MADE IN ONE YEAR. NOT HOW MUCH YOU ARE WORTH.. STUPID
queer rappers.
v nasty will be on this next year
I cant believe this lol 50 sat on his ass tweeting last year while ross was touring & dropped that MMG & Teflon don album yet they both made 6mil
Well sir, if you CAN’T read. 50 cent was in a couple of movies. 50 also recieves income from G-Unit clothing. Plus he owns all his masters
he doesnt own all his masters Em n Dre own them, only rapper to own all his masters is LL COOL J…
Amber Rose is NOT dumb…
but her girlfriend wiz is
THIS IS PURE SHIT BE REAL WHO RUNS HIP HOP DEM YMCMB PEOPLE!! HOW BIRDMAN AND WAYNE COULD EVER TIE…WELL DUMB PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE IT
Because Young Money is garbage.
Nas is better than every rapper on this list.
THIS LIST IS NOT ABOUT WHO’S THE BEST RAPPER DUMBFUCK, IF BEING THE BEST LYRICIST MEANT SHIT WHEN IT CAME TO PROFIT THEN WE CAN TALK.
I never said it was about the best rapper did I? The fact that Nas is better than every rapper here lyrically just proves hip-hop is dead. People like you are too worried about money that you don’t even have and ignore skill. Kill ya self fool.
that like saying”cows have better milk then every rapper on this list”.thanks for the irrelevant info dummy.
No, Nas isn’t better lyrically than anybody else on this list, you dumb fuck. You force yourself to believe this, because you think ”Oh these guys is getting that money, but Nas is much lesser known and earns much less, so he HAS to be better.” That is pure bullshit. While clearly ignoring the fact that Nas tried to sell out on several ocassions. Jay is far more talented, it takes much more skill to do what Jay compared to what Nas is doing. Shit, even Nas poetry ain’t all that. Joe Budden, Lupe Fiasco, Vakill, Shad and Killah Priest are just a few rappers who surpassed him by far on that.
You disqualified yourself by bringing up a point that Nas clearly lacks: Skills. There are MUCH better rappers than him, his emotions make him, not the rapping itself.
@LOL Please refrain from kissing Nas’ ass when he isn’t involved in the topic.
@Anonymous#2 The only redeeming thing about SOME of Jay-z’s post “Reasonable Doubt” albums are the beats, his lyrics are some of the shittiest monotonous battle rapping ever done by a supposedly credible MC. The rest of your aforementioned artists are subjective, but please stop pretending Jay is a credible rapper.
@Anonymous#3 “You disqualified yourself by bringing up a point that 2pac clearly lacks: Skills. There are MUCH better rappers than him, his emotions make him, not the rapping itself”, fixed.
rolfz at someone mentionin Joe Budden thats comedy NAS is TOP 20 arguable TOP 10 Budden isnt TOP 50
Nas>>>EVERYONE MENTIONED IN HERE
yall need to be uppin your rap knowledge sayin Em or Jay can fuck with Nas they cant, Canibus can, Black Thought can, Vinnie Paz and K-Rino can, Elzhi can non of the bums yall named can
once again Forbes ignores the FACT WILL SMITH personifies HIP HOP and IS HIP HOP along with being HIP HOPS highest earner EVERY YEAR jus to dick ride cornballs like Puffy n Jigga
all good Jay n P KNOW they cant fuck with big WILL, they work their asses off desperately hustlin to make 35 mill a year he jus agrees to make 2 films and earns over 50 Mill each year WITHOUT HIS SIDE BUSINESSES
FRESH PRINCE IS HIPS HOP MOST SUCCESSFUL MEMBER OF ALL TIME!!!
Yeah bro, but he didn’t really snap like that last year…this year he’ll be on the list, but you right he is never listed in Hip Hop, but thats because he’s the highest paid actor in Hollywood
When was the last time will smith made any music. He makes movies, and he’ll be on the actors list. This ish ain’t that serious, calm the eff down…
@General is it called “HIP HOP” cash kings or “RAP” EXACTLY, HIP HOP is a culture NOT a genre of music so if your calling it “HIP HOP CASH KINGS” you must include all of HIP HOP, and that mos def includes WILL SMITH
also Baby hasnt put out any albums so why is he constantly on it? yea try tellin me it aint jus about dick ride Jay
@anon WILL banked over 50 Mill in the last 12 months from his standard fee of 20 mill a movie for MIB3 and somethin else plus his production work for Karate Kid, his plays like FELA and his other endoresements, dudes consistantly earning 50 mill a year without tryin
fucking sad day in music when wiz khalifa can make 11 million dollars writing bubble gum raps for little girls to sing a long too,
i guess thats where da cash is, little white girls
co-sign…wiz blows
LISTEN HIS MIXTAPES YOU DUMB FUCKS…..WHAT YOU THINK EMINEM DOES MAKES POP CHICK MUSIC…SAME THING
oh yeah the wiz mixtapes are really amazing pieces of work, truly an artist
fuck outta here every song is about weed, his dodge challenger or kanyes bitch
fuck off with that eminem ‘pop chick music’ motherfucker he a legend wiz is riding the weed wagon lol but the wheels bout to fall off
Comparing Em to Wiz is like comparing…well…Em to Wiz. Khalifas wack
he better enjoy while hes hot because he aint gonna be hot for much longer, weed songs gonna be played out real soon
15 MILLION SITTING IN CELL, YOU TELL ME WHAT NIGGA YOU KNOW CAN GO TO 24 HOUR LOCKDOWN COME OUT AND SEE 15 MIL.
you do know he had two albums come out last year right? they were released when he was in jail…and he toured for about 4 months bro
First time posting right here, Nicki Minaj the FIRST female rapper to ever make Forbes Cash Kings.
U MAD ? FAGGOT ASS BLOGGERS AINT BOUT SHIT KEEP CRYING ABOUT SHIT YOU CANT CHANGE BITCH NIGGAS LMAO.
I’m not mad but Nicki is still garbage. Doesn’t matter how much money she make.
$WonDough$ gotta milk this cash cow that I am hearing about
i dont know what you dont mentioned Pitbull but it’s nice to see my boy making the forbes list..I’m so proud…
Maybe it’s because Pitbull fucking sucks, and nobody respects him as a rapper? You might as well call Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus hip hop too.
Feel free pump this comment into an English to Spanish translator if you have trouble comprehending.
Moron.
Pitbull is wack as a rapper but he makes good club joints
Wiz getting that big money now.
wiz gettin that $ell out money yeahhhhhh
LMAO. I hope you’re not trying to tell that you would refuse this kind of money.
Damn, it’s been a lil kid’s rap year with Wayne, Nicki and Wiz getting all this hype for 12 year old kid’s records. Guess what? Hov still ahead of you cats! HOVA the God. Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t! lol
Jay n Puff seein paperr mid 30mill a year is serious
wiz getting big paper.. he better make more while his time lasts
Hov is the king when it’s about getting money
go suck his dick too
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eminem is by far better then all these people on the list hes a far better lyricist as well and has a more of a spark to hip hop then everyone else. hes the fuel to the fire in hip hop come on not even jay-z can do that
Trust em aint better than no one but a white boy, and he only gets this much props cause he is a white rapper, aint no nigga in any hood bumping no em shit out there windows but white boys, and mainstream america pushed the shit out this cracker, z100 in ny never played rap until em came out,em dont have to put out a record but he still get nominated on the major award shows, seriously he can rap but the nicest , nah>>>>>>
THIS FUNNY – Remember when people was saying WIZ should accept drake offer to go on tour with him, when he didnt people was dissing him. Now that he is tied with DRAKE FOR 11 MIL, IS PEOPLE STILL LAUGHING AT HIM AND DISSIN.
Eminem doesn’t tour as much as many rappers and his outside business interests are limited, but music alone was enough to blast him back into the upper reaches