Hip-Hop's Cash Kings 2008

Tak masalah ia kalah dari Kanye West dalam hal album. Tapi coba lihat, 50 Cent dinobatkan sebagai musisi hip hop yang mampu meraup dolar paling banyak versi Forbes. Ia bahkan memaksa Jay Z untuk turun tahta yang tahun lalu duduk di singgasana tertinggi itu dan menyerahkan mahkota kepadanya. Bravo, 50 Cent. Ini dia 14 Biggest Earners 2008

(sori males ngedit.. diambil dari forbes.com)

1. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
$150 million

50 Cent has come a long way from his early days dealing drugs in Queens, N.Y., and getting shot nine times. The reigning king of hip-hop wealth banked $100 million after taxes last summer when his stake in VitaminWater's parent, Glacéau, was bought by Coca-Cola as part of a $4.1 billion deal. His portfolio also includes the popular G-Unit clothing line and record label, plus films, videogames and a slew of platinum albums, including last year's Curtis.

2. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter
$82 million

Brooklyn, N.Y.-born Jay-Z had a monster year, releasing a second platinum comeback album, American Gangster, inspired by the movie of the same title. In April he signed a $150 million, 10-year recording, touring and merchandising deal with concert promoter Live Nation and days later married his longtime girlfriend Beyoncé Knowles on the roof of his New York City penthouse. Jay-Z also owns a stake in the New Jersey Nets and has advertising deals with Dell and Budweiser.

3. Sean "Diddy" Combs
$35 million

The "Dapper Don" of hip-hop continues his decade-long run of good fortune. He brings in cash from his clothing line Sean John, record label Bad Boy, premium vodka Ciroc and two reality-TV shows. His catalog of hits, both as a producer and a rapper, includes collaborations with the likes of Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G., as well as rap anthems such as "Mo Money Mo Problems" and "Been Around the World."

4. Kanye West
$30 million

The pink-polo-sporting rapper and producer released his third solo album, Graduation, last September. After handily outselling 50 Cent's Curtis in a head-to-head opening-week matchup, West's album went multiplatinum and won four Grammys. West has penned hits for Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Diddy, among others. Earlier this month, he headlined the music festival Lollapalooza in his native Chicago.

5. Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley
$22 million

The portly producer has churned out hundreds of tracks for hip-hop's brightest stars, including all four above him on this list. His most popular hits include Jay-Z's "Big Pimpin' " and Ludacris' "Roll Out." More recently, Timbaland has produced pop songs for Björk and Madonna. His second solo album, Shock Value, went platinum after its release in 2007. Timbaland is reportedly producing Jay-Z's next studio album.

6. Pharrell Williams $20 million

7. Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean $17 million
8. Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus $16 million
9. André "Dr. Dre" Young $15 million
10. Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges $14 million
11. Clifford "T.I." Harris & Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter $13 million (tie)
12. Lonnie "Common" Lynn Jr. & Aliaune "Akon" Thiam $12 million (tie)
13. Jermaine Dupri & Jonathan "Lil Jon" Smith $11 million (tie)
14. OutKast & Hakeem "Chamillionaire" Seriki & Jayceon "The Game" Taylor$ 10 million (tie)