Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings List (2011)

It is that time of the year again for Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings List, and you know the regulars...Jay-Z, P.Diddy, Kanye West...50 Cent is somewhere at the bottom this time around.

(aka Shawn Carter) leads all comers once again with $37 million in earnings since last August. A majority of the dough is proceeds from his Blueprint 3 tour. Nipping at his heels, however, is fellow mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who raked in a neat $35 million from his Bad Boy record label, his Sean John clothing line and his lucrative Ciroc vodka deal. West may have landed at No. 3, but he's a ways down there at "only" $16 million. The rest of the top 10 had similar years, revenue-wise, with Cash Money honcho Bryan "Birdman" Williams tying Lil Wayne for the next two spots with $15 million, showing that tha Carter isn't doing too bad, either. (E! Online)

Eminem, Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre are holding fast with $14 million; Akon scraped together $13 million and Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges earned most of his $12 million from his Tag body spray and Trojan endorsements, as well as scene-stealing roles in Fast Five, No Strings Attached and the upcoming New Year's Eve. (E! Online)

This year's list features plenty of newcomers. Besides the aforementioned Wiz Khalifa, there's Nicki Minaj, who debuts at No. 15 with $6.5 million--making her the first female rapper ever to grace the list. Another, Atlanta-based rapper-singer-songwriter B.o.B, squeaked on with $5 million. Sandwiched between Minaj and B.o.B is an additional newbie, Pitbull, who released two albums, performed 50-plus shows and inked a seven-figure endorsement deal with Kodak. (Forbes)

Drake $11 mil, Pharrell Williams $10 mil, Timbaland $7 mil, Swizz Beatz $6.5 mil, Nicki Minaj $6.5 mil, Rick Ross $6 mil, 50 Cent $6 mil, Pitbull $6 mil, T-Pain $5 mil, B.o.B. $5 mil (Cash Kings 2011)

Very interesting list. I think the name i am very happy to see on this list is pitbull. That dude has been really hardworking the last couple of years. I like how he created his own lane, and kept doing his thing until the world recognized him. And one other thing i noticed is that Baby is at number 4 with $15 million made; i am not buying that. How can the C.E.O of Cash Money records make that little. Cash Money has Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj. And Baby has complained in the past that he doesn't know how the people at Forbes work out their list, and that he definitely makes more than they quote for him each year.