“Don’t worry if I write rhymes, I write checks,” Diddy once rapped. He always knows how to get it right.
Forbes compiled the list for the highest earning hip hop acts of 2015, taking into account revenue earned within the calendar year. These days, it is always the moguls who top the list, not those who just rap and do very little on the side.
Diddy earned $60m for the calendar year, $4m more than Jay-Z who came in second. The top five is rounded out by Drake in 3rd, Dr Dre coming in 4th, and Pharell Williams in 5th with $32m.
Eminem is 6th, earning $31m, whilst 50 Cent failed to make the top 20, mired in bankruptcy as he is.
Here is the Hip Hop Cash Kings List for 2015.
- Diddy $60 million
- Jay Z: $56 million
- Drake: $39.5 million
- Dr. Dre: $33 million
- Pharrell: $32 million
- Eminem: $31 million
- Kanye West: $22 million
- Wiz Khalifa: $21.5 million
- Nicki Minaj: $21 million
- Birdman: $18 million
- Pitbull: $17 million
- Lil Wayne: $15 million
- Kendrick Lamar: $12 million
- J. Cole: $11 million
- Snoop Dogg: $10 million
- Rick Ross: $9 million
- Tech N9ne: $8.5 million
- Ludacris: $8 million
- T.I.: $6 million