Jay Z & Diddy Top Forbes’ 2018 Highest-Paid Hip-Hop List

Salute to the OGs.

Hip-hop is no longer a secondary class of music. A genre that once subsisted on society’s margins, mainly as protest music in defiance of suppressing systematic limitations, hip-hop is now the industry’s most popular category, as it consistently rakes it the most streams and rewards its purveyors kindly. This trend has only increased, and shows no signs of stagnation.

Every year, Forbes issues their list of hip-hop’s highest-paid individuals, which always features staggering, enviable numbers. The 2018 list is no different. From the DIY pioneer, Russ, who earned $15MM in 2018, to Dr. Dre and Nas tying at $35MM, hip-hop is fertile, it’s soil lucrative. And while more modern acts–like Migos, Future, and Drake–command an impressive market share of this list, it’s the “old heads” who are the highest earners.

Jay Z and Diddy lead the way at $76.5MM and $64MM, respectively; Nas just cracked the list for the first time since his debut album dropped 25-years back–he tied Dr. Dre, with $35MM, as previously stated.

While these top players aren’t businessmen (they’re businesses, man), they’ve certainly accrued a level of wealth reserved for the top 0.1% of earners. Yes, hip-hop has come a long way since its genesis, and only is going up from here.

Take a look at the complete list below:

Jay Z: $76.5MM
Diddy: $64MM
Kendrick Lamar: $58MM
Drake: $47MM
J. Cole: $35.5MM
Nas: $35MM
Dr. Dre: $35MM
Pitbull: $32MM
Future: $30MM
Kanye West: $27.5MM
DJ Khaled: $27MM
Migos: $24.5MM
Eminem: $23MM
Chance the Rapper: $21.5MM
Travis Scott: $21MM
Birdman: $20MM
Lil Uzi Vert: $19.5MM
Lil Wayne: $19MM
Logic: $17MM
Meek Mill: $15MM
Russ: $15MM
Swizz Beatz: $15MM