P. Diddy heads Hip-Hop earnings list

By Everything Underground

 

 

If clout and influence are determined solely by income, there's a new champion atop the Hip-Hop and rap list. Whether you call him Sean "Puffy" Combs or P. Diddy or just Diddy, he's been crowned the earnings king of the genre by "Forbes" magazine.

 

The 45-year-old Combs is, according to "Forbes," worth an estimated $735 million dollars. His income sources include a television network ("Revolt"), the clothing line Sean John, the alkaline water brand Aquahydrate and the Tequila Deleon.

 

Finishing second is last year's number one earner Dr. Dre at $700 million, though still doing quite well with the "Beats" line. Business mogul and recent streaming service founder (Tidal) Jay-Z is in the number three spot at $550 million.

 

The Top 5 are completed by 50 Cent at $155 million and Brian "Birdman" Williams at $150 million respectively. But this list reveals some very interesting, some might say disturbing trends in regard to the music.

 

None of the Top 5 currently have releases on the charts. Combs has never been primarily or predominantly a performer, though he has had past hits and also record label interests in both management and promotion. However he's now pretty much full time involved in other areas. Dr. Dre is rumored to be returning to the studio for a project or two, and is also currently involved as a producer with the forthcoming N.W.A. film.

 

Jay-Z's talking about releasing some new (or at least previously unissued) music on Tidal as a means of jumpstarting a service that some have criticized as failing, though it's also been available for only a few days. Prince's Baltimore concert was streamed over Tidal last weekend.

 

50 Cent's Starz TV show "Power" begins a second season soon. He's also been feuding off and on with the cast of "Empire" the past few weeks, though that seems more celebrity-generated fluff than a real beef. Williams also hasn't had anything on the charts for a while.