Eoin Hennessy | Music Editor
Last week Forbes published its annual hip hop rich list. The list charts the total earnings of artists within the rap world even if their money did not come from musical merit. It came as no surprise then that three of the top five artists in the list haven’t made a single song over the past year. Even when looking at the broader list of the top twenty, one can see that very few of the artists actually made money when it came to musical ability. So has hip hop turned into a worldwide stock market where actual talent has been over shadowed by how many endorsement deals one can acquire? The resounding answer seems to be yes. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any real hip hop musicians out there. There’s plenty, it just seems as if they’ll never get the recognition they deserve without first appearing in an ad or making t-shirts with their own image on it. While the hip hop market has never been busier than now, this is because it is easier than ever to get a start in the genre.
In 1993, legendary rap group the Wu-Tang Clan released a song entitled “C.R.E.A.M.”, also known as “Cash Rules Everything Around Me”. Little did the world know just how much this slogan meant to the Wu Tang Clan as they pioneered the way for Hip hop entrepreneurship. They put their logo on everything from clothing, to shoes, to skateboards, to bikes. They managed to transform their rap clique into a fully-fledged business that made a lot more money than album sales ever did. And this was even in the 90s, when people actually bought music! It was this move by the Wu Tang Clan that sparked off the link between hip hop and big business deals. Indeed, it’s why the Forbes’ rich list contains so few actually functioning hip hop artists. Despite this, things have come a long way since 1993 and rap artists have found new ways to market their image beyond just clothing and skateboards. On closer inspection of the list we can see how these artist-turned-industry-moguls made their money, and how it seems as if the concept of C.R.E.A.M will never leave the rap game.
Number one on this year’s list is the infamous Sean “Diddy” Combs. Having gained fame in the 90s with hits such as “It’s All About The Bejamins” and “Been Around The World”, Combs now has an estimated net worth of $580 million.
Although Combs hasn’t released a single since 2011, he managed to rack up a staggering $50 million over the past 12 months alone. So where did Combs come up with all of this money? The answer is alcohol. Diddy’s deal with Diageo’s Ciroc Vodka has made him millions over the past few years and entitles him to eight-figure annual payouts and a nine-figure windfall from the brand if it is ever sold. Aside from Vodka, Diddy also makes his cash through his own Sean John clothing line, Bad Boy record label and Blue Flame agency. It was clear that Diddy was determined to win top spot on this year’s list as he came second place to Jay-Z in 2010 and then commented on it in a Rick Ross song saying “Fuck the Forbes’ list, let’s tell the truth, I ate more”. Diddy has also claimed that the Forbes’ list means nothing to him, as they can never account for the money he has made selling drugs. Although, let’s be real here. There’s no way in hell Diddy is still selling drugs. That fact was even hard to believe in ’96, so why would we believe it now? Diddy has even commented to Forbes on their most recent list saying, “You started learning how to count right, I see”. One hopes his next venture will be to provide some competition for Arthur’s Day, with everyone drinking Ciroc and passed out by 12pm. It shall be known as D-Day, or Diddy-Day.
Next up on the list, and in close second position, is Jay-Z. Despite having released an album in 2013, Jay-Z didn’t quite earn his keep the honest Hip hop way. First off, the majority of the $46 million Shawn Carter made over the past 12 months was also through alcohol, such as Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Ussé cognac. His Roc Nation Label and extravagant live shows have also made him a fair amount of pocket. Aside from all of this, Carter’s album went platinum in July with Samsung buying 1 million copies of Magna Carta Holy Grail for $5 million. While his music is not quite what it was, one must give credit to Jay-Z for being able to make clever business ventures while also maintaining a career in Hip-Hop. The man who once credited himself with being the meanest drug dealer in town is now worth an estimated $475 million. One must also keep in mind that Jay-Z is married to Beyoncé who has a net worth of $300 million, making them one of the richest independent couples in the world. Despite their child having a stupid name, one sure does envy the little bugger.
Our next hip hop business mogul is one of the more bizarre ones. The reason I say this is because this man has been on the hip hop rich list for the past five years, yet has not released any solo material since 1999. I am of course talking about Dr. Dre. Although he stood at the mighty number one spot last year, Dre has been bumped back two places as most of his money was made through selling 51% of Beats By Dr. Dre to HTC. However, it’s still the headphone business that is keeping good old Andre Young afloat. Although Dre made most of his money through headphones and speakers this year, he has never strayed too far from the Hip-Hop game. A portion of the $40 million Dre made was through producing and featuring on music by Kendrick Lamar. Lamar himself has benefitted from being mentored by Dre as he is now ranked 14 on the Forbes’ list, having earned a clean $9 million over the past 12 months. Despite Dre still being slightly linked to the hip hop community through Kendrick Lamar, it has still been far too long since he released any solo material. In 2001, Dr. Dre announced that he was to release a new album entitled Detox. Here we are twelve years later and Detox is still in the making. It’s the Chinese Democracy of the rap world, and one feels that Dre’s attitude has changed so much over these last few years that the album won’t be credible at all.
Our first woman on the list is Onika Tanya Maraj, also known as Nicki Minaj. The Trinidad and Tobago star earned a whopping $29 million over the past 12 months. That’s more than Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar combined! Forbes’ also states that she is the only woman to have been featured on the Hip hop rich list since its inception in 2007. This year Minaj nearly doubled last 2012’s income figure of $15.5 million dollars. She achieved this through a slew of endorsements with Mac, OPI and Pepsi – not to mention her involvement with the TV Show American Idol. Love her or hate her, Minaj sure does know how to make money. Like most of the other people on the list, Minaj made a fair amount of dough through alcohol as well. She owns a stake in Myx Fusions Moscato, a sweet wine now making its way into her music videos and rap verses. “I’ve never been afraid to walk into the boy’s club,” Minaj told Forbes. “Ever. Ever, ever, ever”. One can definitely see Minaj’s empire expanding while she continues to make millions off the music she makes. Not only is Minaj the only woman in the top five but she’s also the youngest, standing a good 13 years younger than our leader Diddy. To put it in her own words, “It’s time for a female Jay, a female Puffy”.
Last but not least on the list is label owner, Birdman. Living up to name of his record company, Cash Money Millionaires, Birdman earned $21 million over the past year. This is a good $8 million less than Minaj who happens to be part of Birman’s label. Bryan Williams, as he is also known, made his money through records by artists such as Drake, Lil’ Wayne and many others. Although he’s been releasing solo material for several years now, it never really gets that much attention. One feels that Birdman is definitely more of an entrepreneur than a musician. Ironically though, there is a noticeable absence of endorsement deals and merchandise, so his money was almost solely made within the hip hop industry. Despite this, Birdman did triy to form an oil and gas exploration company in 2010 called Bronald Oil and Gass, LLC. An investigative report from Bloomberg revealed that official regulators in charge of oil and gas permits had never heard of Birdman’s company. So one is lead to believe there was dodgy business going on. No matter how Birdman makes his money, he seems to be doing a good job of it anyway.
Thus, we have learned that in order to make it in the hip hop world, you don’t have to do anything to do with hip hop at all. In fact, the main message that can be taken from this piece is that there seems to be more money in the alcohol business than the rap game. But who knows, maybe in years to come we’ll see hip hop artists make it to the rich list based on musical merit alone. Or we could see the exact opposite. Hip hop might turn into a genre comprised of ad jingles and vodka bottles. Only time will tell.
