Congratulations to the hip hop industry for according to the forbes Cash Kings List 2012 it has managed to generate “$415 million last year, the most since 2008’s $515 million”
Impressively hip hop mogul Dr Dre is the overall No 1 musician of 2012 advancing past the most famous group of pop stars, rock icons, rap moguls and country crooners in addition to being number 1 on the list of the top 20 hiphop artist According to Forbes: “With a whopping $110 million in pretax earnings, thanks largely to his headphone line. He leads a pack of many of musicians whom bank the bulk of their bucks outside the recording studio. Totals are calculated from May 2011 through May 2012.”Dre also continues to generate revenue from album sales, production and the occasional concerts. Moreover the deal that transpired with hisBeats By Dre head phones was phenomenal And then there’s that headphone line, reports say he “collected $100 million pretax when handset maker HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in the company last year, at the beginning of our scoring period (earlier this year, he and his partners bought back half of what they sold).
Coming in at No 2 is Sean”Diddy” Combs with $45 million apparently he continues to earn a variety of profits in non musical deals mostly from his Ciroc Vodka.
Mr Carter is No 3 pulling in $38 million, the proceeds were from his music, tours, and business deals with Duracell, Budweiser and others. For more, check out Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Of
Kanye “Yezzy” West is No 4 earning $35 million from his callabo with Jay Z on the Watch The Throne album and tour,the shoe he designed for Nike, and his women’s clothing line.
Lil Wayne is No 5, he earned $27 million from his latest album, Tha Carter IV(which sold a million copies in its first week)his clothing line “Trukfit” and a partnership with Pepsi’s Mountain Dew.
Aubrey “Drake” Graham came in at No. 6 generating about $20,5 million, his album sold over 600,000 copies in the first week which made his the Club Paradise tour lucrative in addition to his Kodak and Sprite deals.
Coming in at No. 7 generating S20 million is” Birdman”, he is the co-founder and chief of Cash Money Records, he also had other ventures including clothing and vodka.
Miss Nicki Minaj appears to be the only female on this list coming in at No. 8, shouts to her for holding it down for the ladies. Nicki earned $15.5 million from her album, tours, and Pepsi endorsement.
No. 9 Is “Eminem” still on the charts just from his extensive back catalog and a few tour dates every now and then, earning a cool $15 million
No 10, is Ludacris, he also earned $12 million mainly in profits from his non-musical ventures include Conjure cognac, headphone line Soul, voice overs for Radio Shack and roles in movies such as Fast Fiveand New Year’s Eve. For more, read “Ludacris Dreams: A Rap Mogul Diversifies.”
Pitt Bull ” Mr International” is No11, ,he earned $9.5 million on album sales, touring, and his Kodak and Dr Pepper endorsements.
Wiz Khalifa and Rick Ross tied at No. 12, $9 million,
Snoop Lion is No.14, earned $8.5 million,
Rapper 50 Cent comes in at No. 15, Though the onetime top Cash King has fallen from his VitaminWater-fueled peak, he still collects profits from his music, G-Unit clothes and video games, SMS headphones and energy shot Street King.
Young Jeezy, Pharelle, and Swizz beats tie at No. 16, earned $7 million,
Mac Miller No.19 earned $6.5 million,
Emcee Tech N9ne, Super Producer Timberland, and singer Akon, tied at No.20 earning $6 million..
Wale barely missed the Cash Kings list (for more, read “Inside Wale’s Best Year Yet“), as did Roc Nation rapper J. Cole, they both pulled in close to $5 million on the year. Kid Cudi, Tyga and Lupe Fiasco also had big years, but not enough to crack the top 20.
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