“All in all, the top 20 acts in hip-hop banked a combined $860 million, up 33 percent from $648 million last year,” Forbes writes. “The bar for entry is $18 million, the highest it’s ever been. Our numbers represent pretax income from June 2018 to June 2019 before deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers. Figures are based on data from Nielsen Music, Pollstar, Bandsintown and interviews with experts, handlers and some of the stars themselves.”
The world’s 20 top-earning hip-hop stars, according to Forbes:
20. Pitbull ($18 million)
19. Wiz Khalifa ($18.5 million)
18. Nas ($19 million)
17. Future ($19.5 million)
16. Birdman ($20 million)
15. Meek Mill ($21 million)
14. Swizz Beatz ($23 million)
13. Cardi B ($28 million)
12. Nicki Minaj ($29 million)
11. J. Cole ($31 million)
10. Childish Gambino ($35 million)
9. Migos ($36 million)
8. Kendrick Lamar ($38.5 million)
7. DJ Khaled ($40 million)
6. Eminem ($50 million)
5. Travis Scott ($58 million)
4. Diddy ($70 million)
3. Drake ($75 million)
2. Jay-Z ($81 million)
1. Kanye West ($150 million)
