Billboard has released its highest-paid musicians of 2020. Last years rank: 9 spot in that category. ! And with those iconic words from the powerful 1993 anti-domestic violence statement U.N.I.T.Y., Queen Latifah cut through all the misogynistic noise. And he hasnt gone more than four years without releasing an album since 1993. 30 ($6.3 million) and Travis Scott at No. . 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. 5 on the Billboard 200, due to Big Puns expert wordplay, vivid storytelling and ability to craft catchy hooks. 8 His 2002 mixtape Guess Whos Back? Sales: $4.3M Streaming: $11.7M Publishing: $1.3M expunged any doubt about his MC credibility via his grit and lyrical precision. Its also no surprise that the dearth of live revenue led to a precipitous decline in the paychecks of musics top earners, who collectively took home $387 million in 2020, down from $969 million in 2019. Coles story is well-known: Hov signed him to Roc Nation as its first artist in 2009 after he garnered attention with Lights Please and dropped some blistering guest verses (Wales Beautiful Bliss, Kanye Wests Looking for Trouble). A 10% managers fee was deducted from artist and publishing recorded-music royalty pools. Recorded-music totals are the sum of an artists sales, streaming and publishing earnings for 2020. Is President, Paid in Full and Microphone Fiend. Rakims influence is felt in all corners of hip-hop: A$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. Guwop initially emerged alongside one-time adversary Jeezy with their 2005 collaboration So Icy, before things went south between them. 90s Detroit RappersBut this list will focus on solo rappers who Publishing: $436.3K Even when dueling alongside rap greats like Jay-Z (Swagger Like Us), Eminem (Touchdown) and Kanye West (Welcome to the World), T.I. 7 in both overall streams (4.8 billion) and streaming royalties ($7.3 million). 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. The forum calculated she made $13.6 million from flowing and $1 million at the crate office, with an aggregate revenue tallied to be $32.8 million. 8 in that category. Forbes ranking: #21. Streaming: $431K Sales: $874.7K (As in past rankings, DJs are included on Money Makers because they rarely report their live earnings, which constitute most of their income. 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. 2 6 The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Lil Baby rounds out the top 10 with $11.7 million. 14. Publishing: $166.3K Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. The Top 10 Richest Female Rappers of 2023. KISS managed to play 20 shows in 2020, generating $14.8 million in ticket sales and $5 million in take-home pay, the sole reason the road warriors made the Money Makers list this year (and last year, too). Featuring Lamars first solo No. Streaming: $5.1M 2 on the Billboard 200, and her biggest hit of the year was Lifes a Mess with Juice WRLD, which hit No. JAY-Z, Kanye West & Diddy Named Highest-Paid Rappers Of 2021 - With $800M Combined Earnings. talladega high school basketball. Ice-Ts harrowing 6 N the Mornin (1986) forever stamped the West Coast on the hip-hop map. 3 in track downloads with over 1 million. 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. From Taylor Swift To Dr. Dre: The 10 Top-Earning Musicians Of - Forbes So now, lets run throughBillboard/Vibes Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time and let the debate rage on. 1. Sales: $348K Sales: $1.1M He earned an additional $2.2 million from publishing and $253,000 from two concerts. 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. Last years rank: No. 20 of Instagram's Highest Paid Stars in 2023 - Influencer Marketing Hub Meanwhile, his enduring combination of lyrical prowess, classic albums and envelope-pushing evolution continue to support the widely held consensus that hes the best rapper of his generation. 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. In 2015, she earned $154 million and was named Forbes' highest-earning . The world of hip hop still found a way to get to the bag in a pandemic-plagued 2020.. Touring: $12.4M. Like many hip-hop artists, his sales royalties were minimal. World Tour (only two of which were reported to Boxscore), she still made a bundle in streaming and publishing income. His lyrical intensity and fearless aggression are battle-tested, as he sparred with the likes of 50 Cent and Beanie Sigel in the 2000s before single-handedly dismantling Dipset in a 2021 Verzuz battle. Sales: $89.3K AC/DC $10.1 million14. The Best Rappers with Lil in Their Names, Ranked. Prior to that in 2016, Mane scored his first Hot 100 No. He has topped the Billboard charts numerous times in over 20 countries. Streaming: $1.7M However, the Port Arthur native born Bernard James Freeman twangy flow ended up being far more influential than his initial underground career aspirations. Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Baby Make Billboard's 'Top Paid Jadakiss signature laugh and ah-hasqueal have signaled for decades that a lyrical masterclass was on the way. 8. BTS $8.9 million20. Run the Jewels, "Walking in the Snow". Publishing: $986K Top 15 Rap Artists of 2022 - MSN 15, $9.5M), DaBaby (No. 25 (7.37 million), Kanye West at No. Ever since signing to Roc Nation, Meek Mill has become more passion-driven and has ventured into business. 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. 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. As a result, Billboard estimates that the pop phenomenon took home 46% of her sales and streaming royalties (after deducting a 4 percentage-point producers cut) compared with the 33% that superstar artists typically earn when they dont own their masters. Tips laid-back, smooth-talkin flow came peppered with immortal lyrics in playful songs like Bonita Applebum. His body of work further established the creative link between hip-hop and jazz. The video rate is higher than generally used because MRC Data counts official video streams and subscriber-paid streams but not user-generated streams for the United States. Signaling a major renaissance in West Coast and gangsta rap, his critically acclaimed sophomore project reeled off several commercial hits: Swimming Pool (Drank), Backseat Freestyle, and Bitch, Dont Kill My Vibe. Next came 2015s jazz-influenced To Pimp a Butterfly, his first Billboard 200 No. This year's top 5 highest-paid musicians on a worldwide scale encompass a variety of genres that may stun you. The Weeknd $10.4 million12. 2 Billboard 200 concept album, III. 14 ($9.7 million), DaBaby at No. Bolstered by two mammoth deals with luxury giant LVMH and Jack Dorsey's Square, Jay-Z has lapped the competition to become the highest-paid rapper of 2021; and as per Rolling Stone, the 2nd highest-paid musician behind Bruce Springsteen and his US$590 million / AU$811.9 million music catalogue sale.. Hip-hop's first billionaire managed to rake in a grand total of US$470 million / AU$646.75 . 7 in that revenue category. Billboard Quiz. 6 spot in box-office revenue. Raphael Pour-Hashemi, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. The other two were Las Que No Iban a Salir and his first Billboard 200 No. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Changes, Biebers first album in more than four years, became his seventh Billboard 200 No. He has definitely earned his place as one of the world's highest-paid rappers, with annual earnings of $21 million in 2020. Last years rank: They made the cut because the band owns about half of its catalog the rest belongs to the late Allen B. Kleins label, ABKCO Music & Records and collects 60% of its streaming royalties and 40% of the royalties it receives for physical sales. Their lyrical skirmish ended in tragedy when Pac was shot and killed in a Las Vegas shooting in 96, rocking the entire music world. The band ranked third in physical sales selling 671,000 copies of its albums, 78% of which were vinyl reissues that are priced higher than CDs and thus pay higher royalties. And though he generated almost 3 billion more streams than Taylor Swift, he takes second place in streaming royalties because Swift owns her masters and is paid more per stream. To the Moral Majority, the Godfather of gangsta rap who set the table for West Coast MCs ranging from N.W.A and Snoop Dogg to The Game and the late Nipsey Hussle was a walking Parental Advisory sticker. Wielding words like swords, Wayne is one of the most masterful lyricists of our time, delivering mind-boggling verses for the last quarter century. 2020. 10. 9 on the Hot 100. Ed Sheeran is among the highest-paid rappers globally, with an estimated net worth of $200 million. Rapping since 1993, Black Thought continues to grow more polished as one of the genres greatest MCs. (Only living acts were included on this list.) Alongside Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White, ATCQ also part of the Native Tongues collective (Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Monie Love) claimed No. Touring: $313K. 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. I will not lose. Brooklyns Shawn Jay-Z Carters defiant-yet-confident declaration has proven true through his legendary career. Sales: $1.84M 1 on Billboards 2020 Money Makers list is one of the few unsurprising results of a ranking that holds many surprises. He ranked at No. 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. Scott moved up four places in the rankings in 2020, even though his take-home pay in 2019 was $15.5 million. 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.