<i>Forbes</i> Somehow Talks Hip-Hop Money Without Making A Single Reference To “Bling”

jharv | August 16, 2007 12:30 pm
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Bastion of old, rich white dudes Forbes magazine seems to have finally discovered that hip-hoppers be makin’ a lot of money, with a report (and a Top 10 list) on the genre’s “cash kings.” If you’re over 50, graduated from a top business school, have a net worth of $10 million or more, and are palid as a plucked chicken’s belly, you may also be surprised to learn that many successful rappers have also branched into enterprises not related to music. Which have also been successful!

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. 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. “I’m creating a foundation that will be around for a long time, because fame can come and go or get lost in the lifestyle and the splurging,” he told Forbes last year. “I never got into it for the music. I got into it for the business.”

Wowzers! Well, at least these guys have found the last publication on earth to be impressed by the whole “not a businessman, I’m a business, man” philosophy. Also, I can’t be the only one to have immediately thought of The Critic‘s “Malcom F” parody when I read this article.

Hip-Hop Cash Kings [Forbes via Nah Right]