Hip Hop Cash Kings 2008 Forbes Ranks The Earners

Unlike traditional music genres like pop, rock and country, whose artists generally make the bulk of their money selling albums and touring, hip-hop has spawned an impressive cadre of musicians-cum-entrepreneurs who have parlayed their fame into lucrative entertainment empires.

On last years list Jay-Z was king of the hill but this year Mr.Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has taken the top spot sending Mr.Carter down one natch. Mr. Jackson earned a outstanding $150 million over the past 12 months, almost twice what Mr. Carter made.

Mr.Carter didn't do to bad himself,  in the past 12 months, he released a platinum album, signed a 10-year, $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation and married longtime girlfriend Beyoncé Knowles. Jay-Z earned $82 million in the past 12 months.

In third place for the second year in a row is Sean "Diddy" Combs. Mr.Combs earned $35 million from his various revenue streams, including his clothing line Sean John, record label Bad Boy, premium vodka Ciroc and two reality-TV shows.

Kanye West clocks in at No. 4 with $30 million. Super producer Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley closes out the top 5 with $22 million.

The world's best dress man Pharrell Williams comes at #6 with $20 million in earnings.

Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, #7, owns a stake in trendy toy company Kidrobot and is in talks with Telmex to produce cellphone content, had earnings of $17 million.

Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, #8, whose ninth album, Ego Trippin', came out in March made $16 million.

Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, #9, banked $15 million even though he hasn't had a hit in years--he still gets rich on royalties from two decades of hits. Tupac himself pulled in a handsome sum this year--about $15 million--even though he's been dead for over 10 years.

Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, rounded out the top ten with $14 million in earnings.

The full list is as follows:

• Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, $150 million
• Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, $82 million
• Sean "Diddy" Combs, $35 million
• Kanye West, $30 million
• Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, $22 million
• Pharrell Williams, $20 million
• Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, $17 million
• Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, $16 million
• André "Dr. Dre" Young, $15 million
• Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, $14 million
• Clifford "T.I." Harris, $13 million
• Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter, $13 million
• Marshall "Eminem" Mathers, $12 million
• Lonnie "Common" Lynn Jr., $12 million
• Aliaune "Akon" Thiam, $12 million
• Jermaine Dupri, $11 million
• Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith, $11 million
• OutKast, $10 million
• Hakeem "Chamillionaire" Seriki, $10 million
• Jayceon "The Game" Taylor, $10 million
• Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith, $11 million

Source: Forbes.com