Hip Hop Cash Kings 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.

While endorsement deals with top-shelf brands used to be the exclusive domain of pop's biggest acts--Michael Jackson and Madonna, among them--hip-hop artists now routinely land such gigs. This year Chamillionaire ($11 million) inked a deal with Energizer; The Game ($11 million) peddles Skechers sneakers. And in an irrefutable sign of just how corporate hip-hop has become: Last October Anheuser Busch named Jay-Z "co-brand director" for Budweiser Select.

Income estimates are based solely on 2006 income. In March, Jay-Z sold his Rocawear apparel label to Iconix  for $204 million. Forbes estimates he pocketed about a quarter of that, after taxes and other payable commitments. And in May, Coca Cola announced it would buy Glaceau, maker of VitaminWater, for $4.2 billion in cash. Once the deal is consummated, 50 Cent, who agreed to endorse the brand in 2004 in exchange for a small stake, should walk away with some $100 million.

Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, released his 11th studio album, "Kingdom Come," which sold around 2 million copies. Jay-Z, 37, is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets and has endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, who nabbed the No. 2 spot on the list, presides over G-Unit, a diverse portfolio of businesses that includes apparel, ringtones, video games and even a line of fiction. All told, "Fiddy" as he is known to fans, made an estimated $32 million last year.

Sean "Diddy" Combs, No 3 on the list, owns Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group. Combs made an estimated $28 million last year but reps for Diddy insist that figure is much higher.

Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, No. 4 with estimated earnings of $21 million, runs Mosley Music Group, the Interscope-backed label responsible for some of last year's biggest albums, including Nelly Furtado's Loose and Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds. In 2006, Timbaland produced or performed on seven chart-topping singles.

Rounding out the top five is Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, No. 5 with earnings of $20 million, Dre's classics (including his landmark solo debut, The Chronic) still sell briskly, some 250,000 units last year alone.