Jay-Z Tops Forbes’ Top 20 Hip-Hop Earners List For 2011

This week Jay-Z and Kanye West unveiled their long-awaited collaboration, Watch the Throne which received generally positive reviews from music critics. The album’s timing and title couldn’t have been more appropriate—the Empire State of Mind rapper is hip-hop’s top earner with $37 million in the past 12 months, claiming his fourth Cash Kings crown in five years; his partner-in-rhyme ranked third.
The top 20 list, earned within the last year:

1. Jay- Z $37 Million

2. Diddy $35 Million

3. Kanye West $16 Million

4. Lil’ Wayne $15 Million

5. Bryan “Birdman” Williams $15 Million

6. Eminem $14 Million

7. Dr. Dre $14 Million

8. Snoop Dogg $14 Million

9. Akon $13 Million

10. Ludacris $12 Million

11. Wiz Khalifa $11 Million

12. Drake $11 Million

13. Pharrell Williams $10 Million

14. Timbaland $7 Million

15. Swizz Beatz $6.5 Million

16. Nicki Minaj $6.5 Million

17. Rick Ross $6 Million

18. 50 Cent $6 Million

19. Pitbull $6 Million

20. T- Pain $5 Million / B.O.B. $5 Million

Source: Forbes Magazine