Forbes Releases List of Hip-Hop's Top Earning Acts of 2017

Forbes loves doing the Hip-Hop lists of top paid/earning acts and entrepreneurs. They are back again with their 2017 edition of the top 20 people who made the most money over the past one year.

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

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It’s no surprise that Diddy tops the list once again with estimated earnings of a whopping $130 million, attributed to success with Ciroc vodka, DeLeon tequila and Aquahydrate water as well as revenue earned from the Bad Boy Reunion Tour earlier this year and selling a chunk of his Sean John clothing line for an estimated $70 million.

Drake comes in at number 2 with $94 million, thanks to his enormous music sales, revenue earned from the Boy Meets World Tour and other deals with brands like Apple, Sprite and Nike. Jay-Z ranks third with earnings of $42 million due to various ventures like Roc Nation and Sprint. His earnings will go even higher once his $200 million deal with Live Nation fully materializes.

There are some newcomers on the list this year as well, including Chance the Rapper (No. 5 with $33 million) who is yet to release an official studio album, and Lil Yachty (No. 20 with $11 million). One notable name missing from the list is 50 Cent but he should make a splash once his earnings from Power are accounted for.

Hip-Hop’s Top Earning Acts of 2017:

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 ($14 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)
18. Rick Ross ($11.5 million)
20. Lil Yachty ($11 Million)

Here’s the methodology that Forbes adopts to rank the people: “To make our list, we add up pretax income from touring, record sales, streaming, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other business ventures. Fees for managers, agents and lawyers are not deducted. Earnings are calculated from June 2016 to June 2017 and based on data from Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar, Songkick, Bandsintown and the RIAA, as well as interviews with inside sources and a handful of the artists themselves.”