The Wealthiest L.A. Rappers

[The_Ripper]

Interview With The Guy Who Ranks Rich Rappers For Forbes

Zack O'Malley Greenburg is the Forbes writer who puts together the magazine's annual "Cash Kings" list, which estimates the earnings of the wealthiest rappers of the past year and ranks the top 20.

Their newest version came out yesterday; Jay-Z topped the list with $37 million, and L.A. is represented by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, who tied Eminem at number six with an estimated $14 million. We spoke with O'Malley Greenburg, author of an excellent recent book on Jay-Z's balance sheet, about how Dre and Snoop made their money, and why former inhabitants like Ice Cube, Game, and will.i.am are no longer on the list.

How did Dre make his cash this year? Is it mostly Eminem money?
Some, but he gets a lot of money with from his Beats by Dr. Dre venture with Jimmy Iovine. In fact, I'm not sure if it's an official mandate at or an informal one, but there's a mandate at Interscope that every artist -- in every genre -- has to have a Beats product in their video, unless the video is set in the past.

Also, in addition to Beats by Dr. Dre, there are other artists who have their own lines, like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and Diddy, and Dre makes money off of all of them. As I understand, Dre and Iovine are equal partners in the venture, and I believe that counts for half of Dre's annual income.

D.O.C. says he got mostly stiffed for his work on albums like Straight Outta Compton and The Chronic. How much does Dre get from his classic works?
That's all lumped in there. About half of his money comes from Beats by Dr. Dre, and the other half comes from music. He's not touring, so I'm projecting he gets half of that other $7 million from royalties, and half from new productions.

How did Snoop make his money this year?
Snoop actually tours quite a lot. He did 89 shows during our scoring period, from May 2010 to May 2011. He's not as big a draw as a Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne or Eminem, but he certainly does well for himself, and when you do that many dates you get a lot of money. Touring and merch is roughly half [of his $14 million], and he had a new album, but he also has a lot of endorsements. He has MetroPCS and Pepsi Max, and a bunch more. He's done one for Chrysler, a couple years ago he did something for a German telecom company where he busts out of the TV and starts singing in German. He makes roughly half of his total take from touring, and of the remaining money he makes as much on endorsements as on recorded music.

In previous years L.A. rappers Ice Cube, will.i.am and Game were on the list. What happened to them?
Game didn't earn as much this year. Concerning will.i.am, at one point we counted him separately from the Black Eyed Peas, but we don't do that anymore. Black Eyed Peas actually made more than anyone on the Cash Kings list -- $61 in the past year -- but we don't consider them hip hop. As for Ice Cube, after 2007 we determined that he was more of an actor; putting him on the list at this point would be like putting Will Smith on it.

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2011/08/dr_dre_and_snoop_tie_for_sixth.php

[LooN3y]

my homeboy, delievered a pizza at cubes, i heard its not that ballin.



lol xzibit dropped off his son my pad before cuz my lil bro was koo with his son. niggas was rollin in a phantom

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

when was Game ever on the list?

[papa-smurf]

Smh @ them not listing ice cube because they consider him a actor when he just dropped a album.ice cube is makeing aot of money.believe that.

[socal]

As for Ice Cube, after 2007 we determined that he was more of an actor; putting him on the list at this point would be like putting Will Smith on it.

I dont understand this at least Ice Cube dropped an Album Dre hasn't dropped shit in over 10 years... SMH

Dre gets to much attention.. just like Pac said

Still down for that Death Row sound, searchin for paydays
No longer Dre Day, arrive erci
Blown and forgotten, rotten for plottin Child's Play
Check your sexuality, as fruity as Alize
Quick to jump ship, punk trick, what a dumb move
Cross Death Row, now who you gon' run to?
Lookin for suckers cause you similar
Pretendin to be hard, oh my God, check your temperature
Screamin Compton, but you can't return, you ain't heard
Brothers pissed cause you switched and escaped to the burbs

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

As for Ice Cube, after 2007 we determined that he was more of an actor; putting him on the list at this point would be like putting Will Smith on it.

I dont understand this at least Ice Cube dropped an Album Dre hasn't dropped shit in over 10 years... SMH

Dre gets to much attention.. just like Pac said

Still down for that Death Row sound, searchin for paydays
No longer Dre Day, arrive erci
Blown and forgotten, rotten for plottin Child's Play
Check your sexuality, as fruity as Alize
Quick to jump ship, punk trick, what a dumb move
Cross Death Row, now who you gon' run to?
Lookin for suckers cause you similar
Pretendin to be hard, oh my God, check your temperature
Screamin Compton, but you can't return, you ain't heard
Brothers pissed cause you switched and escaped to the burbs

I think its because he makes most of his money in movies, not through music. Just like Will Smith.

[socal]

my point being Dr. Dre hasn't made an album in years why's he included.. but ice cube had an album drop this year.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

because Dre makes his money through music. Actually I disagree with Dre being called a rapper in general because he's mainly a producer and has never written any of his own rhymes.

[Cross Em Out]

because Dre makes his money through music. Actually I disagree with Dre being called a rapper in general because he's mainly a producer and has never written any of his own rhymes.

the list had Puffy and Swizz Beatz on it too, it wasnt just centered around "rappers" but just entertainers in hip hop as a whole

[Hood Crawler]

Smart group here. Amazing how much money is in music and commercials.

[The_Ripper]

LMAO @ this : As for Ice Cube, after 2007 we determined that he was more of an actor; putting him on the list at this point would be like putting Will Smith on it.

will smith is 10 times richer than cube, to say the least

[Dre-Day]

but there's a mandate at Interscope that every artist -- in every genre -- has to have a Beats product in their video, unless the video is set in the past.

wow thats lame

[Jimmy H.]

my point being Dr. Dre hasn't made an album in years why's he included.. but ice cube had an album drop this year.

Yes, but I think what they're getting at is the majority of Cube's annual income comes from film and TV deals. He stopped promoting that WSC album back in 2003 because he had "Torque" coming out, which means he knows where his bread is buttered. Dre, on the other hand, makes nearly all his money from music.

[GangstaBoogy]

Ok so game's not on the list cuz he didn't make as much money - fair.

But wtf?! Will.I.am not there because he's not considered hiphop and cube not there because he's more of an actor? Gayass reasons.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

If Will Smith were included he would own the list every year