Streaming royalty rates applied were 22% for new hit artists; 33% for superstar artists, 46% for heritage artists and 74% for artists that own their master recordings. Lil Baby rounds out the top 10 with $11.7 million. Im drivin Caddy, you fixin a Ford, Joseph Simmons boasted on Run-DMCs 1984 breakthrough Rock Box. While DMC was the majestic voice and the late DJ Jam Master Jay the heartbeat of the epochal 80s rap trio, Run was the undisputed star. Sign Up to track. Publishing: $1.4M So now, lets run throughBillboard/Vibes Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time and let the debate rage on. He had a point, and OutKast certainly played a key role in that. Kendrick Lamar. 17 ($9.1 million), Future at No. 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. Bring the crowd and Im loud in living color/ It is Weezy Fkin Baby, got these rappers in my stomach, Lil Wayne opens his 2005 deep cut, Best Rapper Alive, foreshadowing the years to come. BTS $8.9 million20. Ed Sheeren. Now a rap elder statesman, Bun keeps a keen eye on next-gen talent, offering key co-signs to such contemporary stars as Drake and Kodak Black. 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. While Kims movie idol looks and provocative fashion sense commanded eyes, her gruff delivery and punchy rhymes brought fear and respect from rival MCs, as evidenced by her searing features on Bad Boy classics like The LOXs Money, Power & Respect and Diddys Its All About the Benjamins.. Sales: $5.3M Like other hip-hop artists, he lags in sales royalties, taking home $161,000. In fact, Reggie Noble led off Eminems list of the greatest MCs within the latters pump-up perennial Till I Collapse. With EPMDs Erick Sermon as a mentor, Redman (aka Funk Doc) exceeded expectations in 1992 when his debut studio project Whut? 1. Publishing: $1.53M The shows grossed close to $25.8 million, giving the band almost $8.8 million in take-home pay. Billboard has released its highest-paid musicians of 2020. His prolific output resulted in almost 3.7 billion U.S. audio streams, the 10th-largest in the category, and 4.7 billion combined streams, which netted him $6.8 million in royalties and secured him the No. 1 4 in the top streaming royalties category. Publishing: $1.8M Touring: $2.5M. Changes, Biebers first album in more than four years, became his seventh Billboard 200 No. This year, artists should be able to stack some cheddar now that music festivals and tours are opening back up from coast to coast. 1 Billboard 200 albums and three RIAA-certified Diamond singles (Lose Yourself, Love the Way You Lie and Not Afraid), his unprecedented commercial success makes for one of the most noteworthy rags-to-riches tales in popular music. Iggy . Em also certifiably spits a mile a minute, breaking Guinness World Records like fastest rap in a hit single with Godzilla, where he rapped 225 words in a 30-second segment. Queen, which owns its masters, ranked second in sales royalties with $5.3 million thanks, in part, to the 2020 rerelease of its $500-plus limited-edition colored vinyl Studio Collection box set of the bands 15 studio albums. 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. 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. talladega high school basketball. 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. The $5.7 million that she and her brother, FINNEAS, took home from their publishing royalties was tops in the category. 1 on the Billboard 200 and finished 2020 as the No. Sales: $5.2M Then came The Message (1982), hip-hops seismic GOAT recording, elevated by the rapper born Melvin Glover and his vivid ghetto portrait. 1 live touring revenue generator for 2020, that amounts to $17 million in take-home pay, which puts Dion at the top of the concert earnings ranking and accounted for over 98% of her overall 2020 income. Touring: $0. Singers Quiz. Three 2020 releases Map of the Soul: 7, Map of the Soul: 7 The Journey and Be helped BTS sell almost 1.5 million CDs. Her fans fascination with her music videos helped her rack up nearly 671 million video streams putting her at No. He wasnt necessarily the best lyricist, nor did he possess the craziest flow. Published by on 30 junio, 2022 But like King James, he relished the pressure, releasing his seismic debut album Illmatic in 1994 a quintessential hip-hop opus that transcended the genre and became the Holy Bible for every budding lyricist. Gallery: The Highest-Paid Entertainers Of 2022. Theres Safe from his 2002 album The Fix. Fat Booty) to the inner-spiritual fight for Black liberation (UMI Says). 5 It would be the first of twelve chart-topping albums for Wayne, including his iconic Tha Carter series, boasting a plethora of platinum plaques in the process. Starting with 1993s riotous Party and Bullshit, the Brooklyn, New York kingpin later signed with Diddys Bad Boy Records. Prior to that in 2016, Mane scored his first Hot 100 No. Ed Sheeran is among the highest-paid rappers globally, with an estimated net worth of $200 million. Touring: $0. georgia forensic audit pulitzer; pelonis box fan manual. 7 in that revenue category. 8 in that category with 612 million streams, which contributed to a total of almost 2.7 billion combined streams, the equivalent of $3.74 million in streaming royalties. Last years rank: No. Signing to Death Row upon his 1995 prison release formed hip-hops strongest triumvirate, with him, Dr. Dre, and a burgeoning Snoop Dogg leading the way. Now the 17-time Grammy winner (Mr. Morale was just newly crowned as best rap album) and Emmy winner for last years Super Bowl halftime show is focusing his entrepreneurial sights on pgLang, his film, TV and music collective that has already scored success with next-gen rapper Baby Keem. His 2002 mixtape Guess Whos Back? Despite his legal problems, YoungBoy Never Broke Again managed to collect bank thanks to streaming. Recorded-music totals are the sum of an artists sales, streaming and publishing earnings for 2020. Publishing: $1.5M The list breaks down to 22 contemporary artists and 18 heritage artists. In previous years, it has made up 75% to 80% of the top 40 Money Makers income. Even though other genres of music had a head start, rap is a powerful force. The Compton native has become one of musics most influential artists thanks to his vivid, thought-provoking and sometimes controversial lyrics, fearless genre experimentation, and agile-yet-masterful flow. The world of hip hop still found a way to get to the bag in a pandemic-plagued 2020.. Can you pick the top 11-20 highest paid rappers Of 2019 (Top 11-20)? Publishing: $1.5M 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. 35 ($5.82 million). Drake $14.2 million7. His most potent project came when he released his double-disc album All Eyez On Me the next year. Last years rank: Run reinvented himself as a reality star in the 2005 MTV series Runs House. And he did all of it as one of the Souths first real rap stars, showcasing lyrical complexity and emotional depth in a region that was once wholly dismissed while also making classic cuts with legends from both coasts, like Jay-Z, Nas and 2Pac. 11 junio, 2020. Jay Z the best rapper . He also squeezed in seven live shows in early 2020, which amounted to a $91,500 paycheck for those performances. Ever since signing to Roc Nation, Meek Mill has become more passion-driven and has ventured into business. LL spent his entire career at Def Jam, becoming their jack-of-all-trades a hitmaker for the ladies and a multi platform trailblazer for artists to cross over into such other fields as TV and philanthropy. 1 with $23.8 million, Post Malone moves up to No. Reviving gangsta rap in the process, Get Rich also nabbed a stunning nine-times platinum RIAA certification. The act made another $1.33 million from the 785.6 million combined streams it amassed, which is typical for a group whose fans have been slow to adopt streaming. 2 Billboard 200 concept album, III. 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. The band also remains strong in physical album sales: It sold 412,000 copies last year, 272,000 of them on vinyl. Streaming: $823.4K 1 albums and 10 top 10 Hot 100 hits to his name. Publishing: $986K 100 Greatest Music Video Artists of All Time. Albums like AmeriKKKas Most Wanted and Death Certificate still stand as some of raps most provocative works and when he wasnt sharpening his pro-Black commentary against the systemic racism crippling the community, he was equally adept at balancing tongue-in-cheek insights with feel-good storytelling, as on his timeless 1993 hit It Was a Good Day.. The LOX frontman fostered his hip-hop breakout with a co-sign from The Notorious B.I.G., then stomped his way to prominence with his Timberlands and hard-nosed raps. 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. Click to reveal With a collection of brilliant solo albums and one of the most unmistakable styles in hip-hop history, Ghostface Killah is arguably the most accomplished rapper within the Wu-Tang Clan, which already has its own stake on any GOAT rap group list. The list includes Drake, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, JAY-Z, and more. Publishing: $194.5K Touring: $4.2M. Latifahs subsequent jump into Hollywood proved to be just as impressive, earning accolades for her television work (Living Single) and an Oscar nod (the 2002 musicalChicago), and making her oneof the first MCs with the star power to prove how deeply a rapper could become embedded in American pop culture, even outside of the world of hip-hop. Last years rank: He can turn the mundane into something sweet (Foldin Clothes) or act out in rebellion (Fire Squad). She ranks even higher on the Global Money Makers list because of her strong global performance, particularly in streaming. LL Cool J signed with Def Jam Records as its first artist in 1984 and released I Need a Beat from his studio debut, Radio, produced entirely by Rick Rubin. Sales: $66.4K 7 with $35 . In 2015, she earned $154 million and was named Forbes' highest-earning . Raised in Fayetteville, N.C., hes Southern to the core but also reps Queens asa St. Johns graduate. Touring: $1M. After finding God, Rev. Buoyed by his first Billboard 200 No. Lyrics Quiz. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google, Visit Billboard Pro for music business news, Phil Collins, Genesis Catalogs Sell to Concord, Dick Odette, Former Musicland Music Purchasing Head, Dies at 77. 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. Under his now-retired moniker Mos Def, Brooklyn native Bey broke into the underground scene on Rawkus Records influential 1997 compilationSoundbombingwith a charismatic presence that recalled the early 80s chief rocker days of Busy Bee Starski. regained his swagger with his 2003 breakthrough album Trap Muzik. The Weeknd $10.4 million12. In 2020, Forbes reported that the English singer-songwriter received $64 million from his singing activities. Cole Type Beat on procrastination (broke). He also went platinum with all five of his 2010s albums the last three (2014 Forest Hills Drive, 4 Your Eyez Only and KOD) with no features, of course. After signing with Dr. Dres Interscope imprint Aftermath Entertainment a year later, Lamar hit the ground running with second studio album good kid, m.A.A.d City becoming an instant creative and cultural force. Touring: $0. Ross has notched 58 Billboard Hot 100 entries spanning three decades, but his legacy doesnt end there: His Maybach Music Group laid the tarmac for Meek Mill and Wale to take off and become titans in the 2010s. 1 in February 2020, a year in which he also landed five songs in the top 10 of the Hot 100, including his duet with Ariana Grande, Stuck With U, which debuted at No.1. Hailing from South Jamaica, Queens by way of Trinidad and Tobago, Nicki Minaj earned her crown as the modern-day Queen of Rap with her fierce, braggadocious spirit. As is well known, GOAT and similar best-of lists always draw their share of criticism and praise from industry pundits and the public alike. 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. I will not lose. Brooklyns Shawn Jay-Z Carters defiant-yet-confident declaration has proven true through his legendary career. Sheeran landed on the Hot 100 twice in February 2020. Who you calling a bch? 1 Hot 100 hit, Rockstar, made him a streaming star, with combined streams of almost 3.9 billion over 710 million of them video streams which put him at No. Last years rank: The group also shot videos for each of the 10 tracks on the addiction-themed album, which contributed to total streaming revenue of $1.3 million. Q-Tip, co-founder of the alternative hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest, has been on point for over 30 years. Sales: $557K 1 alongside Twista and Jamie Foxx on Slow Jamz. Then came a torrent of beloved albums (Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy). Between his Geto Boys tenure in the late 80s and his illustrious solo career stretching through the 2010s, Scarface laid bare the pitfalls of street life by presenting a stoic, pragmatic approach to hustling that differed from the flashy images glamorized by other artists. Despite teasing a July release for a new album named after his mother, Donda, West dropped just one song in 2020, Nah Nah Nah, which was tied to his unsuccessful presidential run, and a remix that featured DaBaby and 2 Chainz. When touring is in full bloom, heritage rockers, country artists and jam bands dominate Money Makers because of their concert grosses. While her 2.37 billion in combined streams is the main reason she made the cut, she also ranked at No. Touring accounted for the $9.6 million more he made then, but the hip-hop artists April 2020 virtual Fortnite concert, Astronomical, which drew 12.3 million concurrent players, boosted his streams by as much as 160% from the day the show was announced (April 20), thanks, in part, to the post-show release of a new single with Kid Cudi, The Scotts. The day after the event, digital downloads of his catalog blew up 1,488% from 2,000 to 34,000. 38 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. 2 Money Maker thanks to a world tour, but without any live dates in 2020, her rank was achieved by strong streaming numbers largely due to her fourth-quarter release, positions. Before Ice Cube, born OShea Jackson, became a Hollywood heavyweight and basketball league owner, he wrote brilliant and incisive verses for his N.W.A groupmates (Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Arabian Prince, DJ Yella and MC Ren) and himself on Straight Outta Compton, the groups classic 1988 debut. 40 Richest Rappers of All Time. A year later, the first universally hailed God MC demystified the allure of the Big Apple (New York, New York) and distilled the crisis of the cocaine epidemic (White Lines [Dont Dont Do It]) before crashing pop radio with his 1984 appearance on Chaka Khans Grammy-winning, No. His touring take came from two concerts. Billboard estimated each artists songwriters share of the recorded music included in these calculations, and publishing royalties were calculated as co-publishing deals, giving the writer 75% of those royalties.