However, Andre Youngslegacy as a lead rapper on three separate era-defining albums 1988s Straight Outta Compton with N.W.A. Other Hip Hop figures include Future at 22 with $8.2 million Roddy Ricch at 24 with $7.4 million, Rod Wave at 25 with $7.4 million, and Kanye West at 30 at $6.6 million. Although the group hasnt put out a studio album since 2016s Hardwired To Self-Destruct, the August 2020 release of the live set S&M2 and digitally remastered versions of its 10-album catalog helped boost it to No. Last years rank: Around that time, Wayne joined The Hot Boys with fellow rappers Juvenile, B.G., and Turk and they topped Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 1999 with Guerilla Warfare. Billboards Top New Artist of 2020 released his debut album, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial in December 2019, when it debuted at No. However, the Port Arthur native born Bernard James Freeman twangy flow ended up being far more influential than his initial underground career aspirations. 3 in 2020 digital album sales (295,000 copies) and No. Touring: $0. Here's their take on the top 20 biggest money makers of 2020, with a YoungBoy surprise at number 9. He struck special chemistry with Wu compatriot Raekwon when the two adopted prominent roles on each others classic 90s debuts, Ironman and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, respectively. 1 albums well into the 2010s. In 2020, Forbes ranked Kohli 66th in their list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world for that year, with estimated earnings of $26 million. In 2020, Elliott ranked No. 3 (although its deluxe status means that it wont be counted as a separate entry on Billboards charts.) He came close to ranking in the top 10 for sales royalties with 435,000 physical albums scanned that year 266,000 of them vinyl albums. 2020 At 11:17 pm. The list breaks down to 22 contemporary artists and 18 heritage artists. A defining byproduct of raps blog era, J. Cole made a name for himself with celebrated mixtapes like 2007s The Come Up, 2009s The Warm Up and 2010s Friday Night Lights. The Fab Four, which informed sources say receive royalties at the exceptionally high rate of 50%, make their debut on the Money Makers list after an impressive 2020. Thanks to his penchant for making gripping music videos such as the one for Darkness, which dealt with the mass shooting at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas he racked up 887.3 million on-demand video streams, good enough for a fourth-place finish in that category and No. Another strong year in streams, fueled by the rappers first Billboard 200 No. Sales: $2.1M Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. He wasnt necessarily the best lyricist, nor did he possess the craziest flow. 14. The multi-talented artist may write, rap, produce, act and more but his wealth comes mainly from his clothing line and stakes in companies like Croc Vodka, Revolt TV and Aquahydrate. Touring: $12.4M. Doubling as one of gangsta raps foundational platforms, the album featured the controversial anthems Fuck Tha Police and Gangsta Gangsta, and was certified triple-platinum despite minimal radio or MTV promotion. Fleetwood Macs place on this list is partly due to the viral Ocean Spray TikTok video set to Dreams (and its several homages) that sent the 1977 No. KRS-One is also battle-tested: 1987s The Bridge Is Over, recorded in response to MC Shans The Bridge, is one of the most respected (and referenced) diss tracks of all time. Streaming: $2.2M A year with minimal touring resulted in top-streaming acts, many of them hip-hop artists, replacing the rock and country acts that fill arena and stadiums on Billboard's annual ranking. But with his peerless technical skills, larger-than-life personality and turn-of-the-century run of classic albums, Slim Shady has rightfully earned his spot in the upper echelon of GOAT rappers lists. From his Slavery is a choice remarks in 2018 to his more recent reliance on antisemitic tropes (which began during a troubling global rise in hate crimes against Jewish people), Yes fall from grace, amid ongoing reported mental health issues, has sadly been as monumental as his artistic output. 6 on last years list. Q-Tip, co-founder of the alternative hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, has been on point for over 30 years. The albums smash single, The Box, spent 11 consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100, and Ricchs feature on DaBabys No. 17 ($9.1 million), Future at No. Touring: $0. Although heritage country and rock acts remain far behind hip-hop and pop when it comes to streaming plays, their numbers are beginning to swell, and AC/DC is an example: The band amassed almost 1.5 billion overall plays. Publishing: $2.2M In 1991, Large Professor tossed him an alley-oop on Main Sources posse cut Live at the Barbeque, and Escobar delivered a rim-rocker of a performance. Five No. Publishing: $1.3M A pioneer in crafting the fast-flowing, double-time rap style, he attracted the ladies with his convincing, authoritative machismo and head-turning fashion sense. (Billboard counts her siblings share as part of the artists revenue base.) 1, and the second reached No. Sales: $348K In a year with little touring, hip-hop/R&B acts dominated streaming sales and accounted for nearly a third of the 40 artists on the list, including four in the top 10Drake, Post Malone, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and Lil Baby. Even Swift, that rare artist with strong sales, streaming and touring numbers, saw her take-home pay drop from $99.6 million in 2018 the last time she was on the list to $23.8 million. His streaming numbers are exceptionally strong given his genre: When the deluxe version of his 2019 album, What You See Is What You Get, was released in October 2020, it generated 102.26 million in a single week, breaking Combs own record for the largest streaming week for a country album, set when the original release came out. Sales: $160.6K Touring: $0. Snoop Dogg. Fans couldnt get enough of the weed-smoking, carefree duos debauchery, which culminated in the 2001 cult classic feature film, How High, starring the pair and named after one of their enduring 90s hits. He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honor in India, in 2018. Publishing: $1.6M They did even better internationally and topped the 2020 Global Money Makers ranking. Featuring Lamars first solo No. On Public Enemys 1987 Rebel Without a Pause, the seminal groups mighty orator backed by raps archetypal hype man in Flavor Flav made it clear that hip-hop would never be the same. We're always a bit suspicious of Forbes highest-paid musician lists, as there seem to be some shenanigans involved with their accounting. The band also remains strong in physical album sales: It sold 412,000 copies last year, 272,000 of them on vinyl. On-demand streaming royalties were calculated using blended audio and video rates of $0.0053 and $0.0038 per stream, respectively. 1 and No. Out of 40 artists, Taylor Swift returned to the number-one spot on the 2020 list, earning $23.8 . As the No. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many delayed their albums and did not get the chance to tour, but thanks in large part . In a typical touring year, The Lumineers would probably not have made the Money Makers top 40. 2 on the Billboard 200 in April and land eight tracks on the Hot 100. 5 most-played act of 2020 the band also generated nearly $4.9 million in income from its recorded masters, which is almost 30% of the bands overall earnings. According to Billboard's report, published on Monday (July 19), rappers Post Malone, Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke AgainandLil Baby are among the publication'sTop Paid Musicians of 2020. georgia forensic audit pulitzer; pelonis box fan manual. While her 2.37 billion in combined streams is the main reason she made the cut, she also ranked at No. 10 in 2020 physical album sales with 402,000 copies scanned, helped by the deluxe box set rerelease of its concert film and album, Delicate Sound of Thunder. For the first time in the history of Money Makers, concert revenue did not determine the No. Touring: $253K. Ice-Ts harrowing 6 N the Mornin (1986) forever stamped the West Coast on the hip-hop map. 1 on the Billboard 200. So it took a lot of deliberation and deep discussion to reason our way to what we believe is a well-thought-out, authentic list that reflects hip-hops foundational pioneers, evolutionary trailblazers and contemporary mainstays. Those concerts grossed $12.6 million, which yielded $4.3 million in take-home pay, and earned them the No. James is the 6th richest female rapper in the world. Ghost continued the winning streak well into the 21st century, firstwith his 2000 sophomore opus Supreme Clientele and on through 2006s brilliant Fishscale and 2013s comic book on wax, Twelve Reasons to Die. Last years rank: No. Three of them Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Lil Baby placed in the top 10. 2020. Beyonce Knowles-Carters husband has succeeded in every era, spitting regal-scented rhymes that speak to the struggle, and to the opulence that follows an intensely self-made greatness. Last year . Coles story is well-known: Hov signed him to Roc Nation as its first artist in 2009 after he garnered attention with Lights Please and dropped some blistering guest verses (Wales Beautiful Bliss, Kanye Wests Looking for Trouble). Guwop initially emerged alongside one-time adversary Jeezy with their 2005 collaboration So Icy, before things went south between them. 11 junio, 2020. Through vivid street tales and bombastic production, Tip became one of traps forefathers, alongside fellow heralded ATL stars such as Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Sales: $14.4K Sales: $557K A report from Billboard has revealed the highest-paid musicians and artists of 2020, and many of Hip-Hop's favorites are topping the list.. Amid a year with very little touring due to the pandemic, some of the biggest names in the music industry still managed to come out on top of Billboard's 2020 Money Makers list bringing in millions and millions of dollars. Other key performance drivers for the beerbongs & bentleys artist include his No. Publishing: $1.8M 10 in streaming royalties. More than 20 years after making his debut on the Wus Enter the 36 Chambers, hes not done: a standout verse on Conway the Machines 2020 single Lemon found him just as sharp as ever. His performance made him the sixth-place finisher in the streaming royalties category, with a $7.6 million payday a big difference from the $89,300 he made in sales royalties, the sixth-lowest total on this list. 1 Publishing: $1.6M Touring: $0. 22, $8.2M), Roddy Ricch (No. 10. Yet on the 1998 collaborative milestoneMos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, Bey proved to be so much more a revelation further amplified on the unmoored race mans gold-certified 1999 solo debutBlack on Both Sides. BILLIE EILISH. 95.216.46.57 Publishing: $2M Billboard Quiz. As a result, the 1.24 billion combined streams the act generated in 2020 and the 254,000 albums it sold slightly more than half of which were higher price-point vinyl copies accounted for the lions share of its income. The Weeknd made $10.4 million USD while Travis Scott reportedly raked in $5.82 million USD. Last years rank: Based in Philadelphia, he gained recognition after releasing his debut single, "Money .more. 1 album, My Turn, which landed 12 songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2020, vaulted him to No. The timeless Ms. Lauryn Hill straddles the line between Motown soul, boom bap, R&B, jazz and rap defying convention and introducing a new standard for genre-bending rappers. Few lyricists possess the dexterity to pull off a brilliant allegory about the history of hip-hop on I Used to Love H.E.R. while also firing off a savage takedown of a fearsome Ice Cube on The Bch In Yoo, and then later becoming a Grammy-nominated hitmaker on The Light. And in 2017, Common became the first rapper to get the first 3/4 of the way to an EGOT by winning an Emmy (Letter to the Free, from 13th), Grammy (Love of My Life with Erykah Badu) and Oscar (Glory with John Legend, from Selma). Before rap became a cultural and commercial powerhouse, Kurtis Blow provided early proof of the genres future capabilities. Streaming: $6.6M see charts legends Last years rank: It was one of five songs she landed on the chart that year: Three were collaborations, with Marshmello (Be Kind), Machine Gun Kelly (Forget Me Too) and Kelsea Ballerini (The Other Girl), while the fourth was her country-flavored solo track, You Should Be Sad, which peaked at No. 8 With one of the deepest catalogs in hip-hop history including 18 top 10s on Billboards Top Rap Albums chart Forty Water personifies the hustle of forging a successful independent career. In the late 2010s, West (legally known as Ye) became one of the most divisive artists in the world due to his political views and goading (occasionally outright antagonistic) social comments. 1 Hot 100 hit to the top 10 of the Streaming Songs chart in October 2020. 22 ($8.2 million), Roddy Ricch at No. Even when dueling alongside rap greats like Jay-Z (Swagger Like Us), Eminem (Touchdown) and Kanye West (Welcome to the World), T.I. The Stones, who were 2019s top Money Maker with $65 million in take-home pay 92% of it from touring placed in the bottom 25% of this ranking without playing a single show in 2020 and releasing just two new tracks, Living in a Ghost Town and Scarlet, a Goats Head Soup-era recording with Jimmy Page on guitar. And in a notable accomplishment for a rock band, Queen generated 1.2 billion on-demand audio streams in 2020, a feat that other legacy acts on this list including Pink Floyd, the Eagles, Metallica and AC/DC have yet to do. Like Roddy Ricchs, Waves video streams were particularly robust 793.5 million, the fifth-highest in the category. Last years rank: No. Dre e ha ottenuto il primo successo due anni pi tardi con il singolo My Name Is. 1s: In da Club and 21 Questions with Nate Dogg. Last years rank: For artists like Taylor Swift and The Rolling Stones who own only a portion of their recorded masters catalog, a blended royalty rate was used. Prior to that in 2016, Mane scored his first Hot 100 No. And if you ask him, its also a testament to the power of hip-hop. Following Taylor Swift, who ranks No. Sales: $485K 9 1 at the end of that year and kept on selling and streaming through 2020, as well as delivering two 2020 Hot 100 hits, Watermelon Sugar, which topped the chart in August, and Adore You, which hit No. Taylor Swift $23.8 million2. Sales: $218K Last years rank: No. He has recently used Instagram to make paid partnership posts promoting Wrogn styles for Myntra. Streaming: $1.3M Performance & security by Cloudflare. The majority of Sheeren's earnings this year were from touring. With unapologetically controversial and macabre (yet frequently hilarious) bars and unparalleled rhyme schemes and syncopation, hes relished playing the role of raps supervillain. 7 in overall sales royalties with $3.7 million. A subscription per-stream rate of $0.0021 blended to reflect the different statutory rates for ad-supported and subscription streams was applied to programmed streams; per-play estimated rates of 74 cents and $46 were applied to Music Choice and SiriusXM plays, respectively. 1. With his impenetrable streak of commercial success hes currently the Hot 100s all-time hits leader, with nearly 300 entries to his credit he refuses to give his opposition a breather, consistently releasing projects every calendar year, including generation-defining sets like 2011s Take Care and 2013s Nothing Was The Same. During his 30+-year career, the global best-selling producer, often cited as hip-hops GOAT behind the boards, boasts a treasure trove of lyricists who have written for him, from Ice Cube, the D.O.C. The other two were Las Que No Iban a Salir and his first Billboard 200 No. Sales: $10M Before Melle Mels game-changing run with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, rap was still constrained by its yes, yes yall! park jam origins. The following royalty rates were used: The album and track sales rate is 22% of retail revenue. Publishing: $1.6M Pandemic-induced isolation led to Bad Bunnys most successful year yet, yielding three albums, including the best-selling Latin album in the United States and Spotifys most globally streamed album of 2020, YHLQMDLG. The Stones, who were 2019's top Money Maker with $65 million in take-home pay 92% of it from touring placed in the bottom 25% of this ranking without playing a single show in 2020 and . Even after his death, Pacs legacy pushed forward with seven posthumous albums (including three Billboard 200-toppers), induction into the Rock Hall of Fame, and even a spot in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry (for Dear Mama) and despite his short life and career, Pacs legacy continues to resonate today as much as any rapper CL. According to Billboard's report, published on Monday (July 19), rappers Post Malone, Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Lil Baby are among the publication's Top Paid Musicians of 2020. Last years rank: His streaming figures accounted for $9.1 million, thanks to his chart-topping album My Turn, for which 12 songs simultaneously charted on the Billboard Hot 100. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. He set a new benchmark for erasing musical boundaries and ignoring popular trends, influencing a host of generation-next talents like Pharrell Williams, Kanye West and Tyler, the Creator. As the legendary rap duo UGK, Bun B and the late Pimp C kept the spotlight on Texas while taking the baton from the Scarface-led triad Geto Boys. Rounding out the top 10 is Lil Baby with $11.7 million. Billie Eilish $14.7 million6. Styles 2019 album, Fine Line, peaked at No. 1 debut of Get Rich or Die Tryin in 2003. Shawn Carter leads the rap pack with a career-best total of $470 million. Streaming: $7.3M Who you calling a bch? In early 2023, Billboard/Vibe is ranking the Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time as part of our salute to this year's golden anniversary of hip-hop. Luke Combs $9.2 million17. Last years rank: The prosecution argues Lil Boosie paid Michael "Marlo Mike" Louding $2,800 to kill a his rival Terry Boyd. To this day, the album remains an undisputed classic, and he continued evolving and staying relevant, scoring No. Alongside mentor Dr. Dre, the lanky Long Beach rapper introduced his ultra-cool demeanor and laid-back flow as the guest on the formers 1992 debut solo single Deep Cover. The Chronic, Dres multi-Platinum-certified G-Funk classic (influenced by Parliament-Funkadelics psychedelic sound) arrived later that same year, led by one of the pairs signature anthems, Nuthin But a G Thang. The project was the springboard that rocketed Snoop and G-Funk to the top of the Billboard 200 with his 1993 Death Row Records solo debut, Doggystyle. 2021-2022 earnings: $73 million. Then came The Message (1982), hip-hops seismic GOAT recording, elevated by the rapper born Melvin Glover and his vivid ghetto portrait. Starting with 1993s riotous Party and Bullshit, the Brooklyn, New York kingpin later signed with Diddys Bad Boy Records. Rod Wave is among the many hip-hop artists who dominated last year and earned a spot on Billboard'sranking of the highest-paid musicians of 2020, including Travis Scott, DaBaby, Kanye West, Roddy Ricch, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, and Lil Uzi Vert. It took a minute, but Common (then Common Sense) finally garnered national praise after launching one of the most celebrated three-album runs in rap history: 1994sResurrection, 1997sOne Day Itll All Make Sense and 2000sLike Water for Chocolate. They live in mansions, drive fast cars, buy expensive clothes and treat themselves welland they sure do enjoy it. To describe Chuck D as arapperwould be as brazen an understatement as labeling Jimi Hendrix aguitarist. 11 ($10.4M), while Eminem holds down the No. A random call from Jay-Z in 1999 ended up shattering regional exposure barriers when Jays braggadocious Big Pimpin earned UGK its first top 40 Hot 100 hit. They also placed No .7 in publishing royalties ($2.4 million) because the original members wrote all of their songs. Touring: $4.2M. the year's most popular r&b/hip-hop songs, ranked by streaming activity from digital music sources tracked by luminate, radio airplay audience impressions as provided by luminate and sales data as . Touring: $0. 15, $9.5M), DaBaby (No. Sales: $5.2M According to the latest recent figures, Kanye West is the world's highest-paid hip-hop musician, earning an estimated $150 million in the year leading up to June 2019. Additionally, the OVO Sound leader earned $635,000 in sales. Forbes ranking: #21. He has topped the Billboard charts numerous times in over 20 countries. Shes undeniably blazed the trail for the next generation of female MCs, while at the same time, building a legacy whose impact is hardly limited to the hip-hop world: Nicki is one of only a dozen artists to have more than 100 Billboard Hot 100 entries, and earned the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 2022 for her provocative music videos. and his solo-headlined studio albums The Chronic and 2001 cant be denied. Ed Sheeran - $200 Million. Touring: $0. It's impossible to overstate the influence of rap on popular culture. The first became his 10th consecutive Billboard 200 No. Drizzy Drake Rogers forecasted his superstar climb when he was Wheelchair Jimmy on the popular 00s teenage show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Not surprisingly, they ranked much higher on the Global Money Makers list. Raised in Fayetteville, N.C., hes Southern to the core but also reps Queens asa St. Johns graduate. Publishing: $2.4M Last years rank: As of March 2023, Cheryl James net worth is approximately 14 million. This year, the group almost doubled that number. He also rolled deep with the Juice Crew, Marley Marls Queens-based squad whose members included MC Shan, Biz Markie, Kool G Rap and Roxanne Shante. Publishing: $1.2M Down to earth and humble, Cole possesses a passion that pulsates throughout his raps and beats. Last years rank: No. A remix of the albums lead single Im Not a Player, it flipped a Brenda Russell sample into a salsa-adjacent jam and cemented the Big Punisher as a commercial force. & Rakim, producing classic albums like 1987s Paid in Full and 1988s Follow the Leader with eternal singles like Eric B. Touring: $2.7M. Top Rap Artists Ranking is based on an artist's chart performance on the Hot Rap Songs, Top Rap Albums and Boxscore touring revenue. Streaming: $3.9M The evolution continued with the R&B, psychedelic soul, and pop-infused DAMN. (The genre dates back to 1973, when DJ Kool Herc first set up his two turntables to rock a Bronx party.) A 10% managers fee was deducted from artist and publishing recorded-music royalty pools. A recent Billboard revealed that such big-name rappers who saw the most cash in 2021 are Post Malone, Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again & Lil Baby.They're at the top in the least of the top paid musicians of 2020. talladega high school basketball. The bubbly and perky Katy Perry (or Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson) has remained a staple in the music industry since 2001. Is President, Paid in Full and Microphone Fiend. Rakims influence is felt in all corners of hip-hop: A$AP Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, is named after him, DMX and Eminem are self-proclaimed fans, and rappers as big as 50 Cent (via The Games Hate It or Love It) and Lil Wayne (on Lloyds Girls Around the World) have paid in-song homage to his distinctive flow. He can turn the mundane into something sweet (Foldin Clothes) or act out in rebellion (Fire Squad). You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Theres Mind Playing Tricks on Me, his 1991 classic hit as a member of Houstons Geto Boys, or Im Dead, from his debut album that same year, Mr. Scarface Is Back. Streaming: $3.3M Money Makers was compiled with 2020 U.S.-only MRC Data and Billboard Boxscore statistics. Radio likes Combs as well: He racked up the third-most programmed web radio plays (804.4 million) and finished seventh in terrestrial radio airplay with almost 1.5 million spins. We're always a bit suspicious of Forbes highest-paid musician lists, as there seem to be some shenanigans involved with their accounting. While 2020 proved to be a huge setback for most artists' revenue, a new Billboard article says a number of rappers are among the highest-paid musicians of the year.