Forbes just released their Top 20 Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts 2019 and the first artist on the list may surprise a lot of people. It is Kanye West who comes in at $150 million. His once best friend Jay Z slides in at second with $81 million. This is after Jay officially became hip-hop’s first billionaire this summer.
The rest of the top five in order features Drake at $75 million, Diddy at $70 million, and Travis Scott at $58 million. Scott beat out other heavyweights such as Eminem, Migos, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and DJ Khaled. The final spot at No. 20 was given to Pitbull who came in at $18 million.
West getting the top spit in 2019 makes it his first time being atop of the Forbes’ Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Acts list. Despite coming in behind Ye and Hov, Drake has been the most streamed artist out of any genre in 2019. Forbes noted that the top 20 acts on this list have combined for $860 million, which is up 33% from the $648 million in 2018.
20. Pitbull ($18 million)
19. Wiz Khalifa ($18.5 million)
18. Nas ($19 million)
17. Future ($19.5 million)
16. Birdman ($20 million)
15. Meek Mill ($21 million)
14. Swizz Beatz ($23 million)
13. Cardi B ($28 million)
12. Nicki Minaj ($29 million)
11. J. Cole ($31 million)
10. Childish Gambino ($35 million)
9. Migos ($36 million)
8. Kendrick Lamar ($38.5 million)
7. DJ Khaled ($40 million)
6. Eminem ($50 million)
5. Travis Scott ($58 million)
4. Diddy ($70 million)
3. Drake ($75 million)
2. Jay-Z ($81 million)
1. Kanye West ($150 million)
