The time has rolled around again for Forbes to rank the highest-paid figures in hip-hop, and for this year’s highest-paid hip-hop artists list, Diddy continues his streak at the top.
Diddy tops the list with $130 million, and although he hasn’t released any new music in the past year, he did launch his Bad Boy Records reunion tour in 2016 — as well as selling a portion of his Sean Jean clothing company, which earned the mogul an estimated $70 million. “I’ve always understood that if I give the customers my best and service them differently, whether music, clothing or vodka, I’ll get a return on my hard work,” Combs told Forbes. He also notched the No. 1 slot on Forbes’ wealthiest hip-hop artists of 2017 list earlier this year.
Drake enters right behind Diddy at the No. 2 spot, earning $94 million thanks to his Boy Meets World Tour, music releases (Views, More Life) and partnerships with technology behemoths Apple and Sprint and shoewear brand Nike. JAY Z follows on the list with $42 million earned.
The crop of hip-hop’s wealthiest also includes DJ Khaled, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Wayne. Chance the Rapper slides in at No. 5 with $33 million, despite releasing his game-changing mixtape Coloring Book for free. Nicki Minaj represents the only female artist in the exclusive group, and Lil Yachty closes out the list as the youngest hip-hop artist with $11.5 million.
Check out the list of the top 20 highest-paid artists below. View the full list here.
1. Diddy – $130 million
2. Drake – $94 million
3. JAY Z – $42 million
4. Dr. Dre – $34.5 million
5. Chance the Rapper – $33 million
6. Kendrick Lamar – $30 million
7. Wiz Khalifa – $28 million
8. Pitbull – $27 million
9. DJ Khaled – $24 million
10. Future – $23 million
11. Kanye West – $22 million
12. Birdman – $20 million
13. J. Cole – $19 million
14. Swizz Beatz – $17 million
15. Snoop Dogg – $16.5 million
16. Nicki Minaj – $16 million
17. Lil Wayne – $15.5 million
18. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – $11.5 million (tie)
19. Rick Ross – $11.5 million (tie)
20. Lil Yachty – $11 million
Billboard.com
