Numbers don’t lie.
And while Kanye stunted on “Drink Champs,” proclaiming he made more money than Jay-Z (remember the conversation about the group text message), the stats say that he still is little bro to Hov.
According to Variety, the list was curated by former Forbes editor Zack O’Malley Greenberg and posted on Tuesday, Mar. 1.
The Roc Nation founder has bested every other rap act as the highest-earning Hip-Hop act of 2021 … including Yeezy.
Jigga, whose real name is Shawn Carter, topped the list by bringing in a whopping $470 million. In 2021, he made some meteoric deals including selling portions of his Tidal streaming service and Armand de Brignac champagne.
Kanye came in at #2. Last year, he made $250 million for the year. Despite his epic clothing deal with Gap, the creation of the STEM gadget, Sunday Service, and the release of DONDA, his income came mostly from his Yeezy footwear empire.
The list is actually incredibly shocking. It features only one female, Doja Cat (arguably not a rapper) who falls in at earning $25 million in one year.
Names like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Saweetie, and Megan thee Stallion, women who seem to be making moves and deals, did not crack this top ten list.
It is bugged to see the independent Tech N9ne rounding out the Top 10. The artist brought in, using digital sales and a catalog sale deal alone, $25 million also.
Noticeably absent from the list was Dr. Dre, who spent the year divorcing his ex-wife and disputing over a prenuptial agreement.
Diddy, who has been on this list since the 90s, remains active landing in the #3 spot with an earning of $75 million.
And Drake, with so many are counting his bread based on his lavish lifestyle and the millions of dollars he seems to be throwing into battle rap, hits that #4 spot, by earning $50 million.
Others that made the list are Wiz Khalifa ($45M), Travis Scott ($38M), DJ Khaled ($35M), Eminem ($28M), J. Cole ($27 M), and Birdman ($25M).