For many years, the five names atop Forbes magazine’s Wealthiest Artists in Hip Hop list were familiar. Jay Z, Puff Daddy, 50 Cent, Birdman and Dr. Dre. The music and business portfolios of those five vets have long been too much for anyone to overcome, but that just changed. For the first time in his career, Drizzy Drake has cracked the top 5 of the renowned list, knocking 50 Cent into the latter half of the top 10, likely due to 50’s bankruptcy and legal issues, which have dominated the conversations surrounding the Queens emcee for the last year.
Drake didn’t waste any time getting into the business of Hip Hop, inking a deal with Sprite the year his debut album, Thank Me Later, released, and becoming the Toronto Raptors Global Ambassador a few years later. The Raptors gig didn’t necessarily mean a check for Drake, but it helped put him on a marketable platform that rap might not have necessarily conferred him.
In the years since, the deals have continued to roll in, including a hefty check from Apple Music, a Jordan deal, and a venture into adult beverages, Virginia Black Whiskey. On the music side of things, Drake is one of the most prolific artists in popular music, and is set to be the first rapper since Lil Wayne did it in 2008 to move 1 million first-week units with his recently released Views album. As of 2012, Drake is also a record exec, and has pioneered OVO Sound Records under the Warner Bros. umbrella, sprouting acts like PARTYNEXTDOOR, dvsn and Majid Jordan.
The full list goes as follows:
Sean “Diddy” Combs: $750 M (Ciroc, Revolt, Aquahydrate)
Andre “Dr. Dre” Young: $710 M (Sale of Beats By Dre, Straight Outta Compton)
Shawn “Jay Z” Carter: $610 M (Roc Nation, TIDAL)
Bryan “Birdman” Williams: $110 M (Cash Money Records)
Aubrey “Drake” Graham: $60 M (OVO Sound, Nike, Sprite, Apple)
