The Forbes Five: Hip-Hop's Wealthiest Artists 2014 list is out and its the usual suspects.

Diddy, Jay, Dre, 50 and Baby.

Diddy and Jay, I get. Them dudes are hustlers to the core in the biggest hustle town in the world.

Dre and 50 I have always figured they got lucky with their outside of music hustles and/or paired with great businessman.

It wa Jimmy Iovine who crafted the Dre Beats deal that made them both filthy and almost drove beats bankrupt. Was it Steve Stoute or Chris Lighty that did the Vitamin Water deals? Either way I see both these cats one lucky endorsement deal from NOT being on this list.

Finally Baby. I hear him talk, I see the tattoos, and I just have a heard time believing dude is a business mastermind. Only folks on this list whose fortune seems largely made from selling music and I can't help but wonder if Cash Money lucked on remaining relevant by snagging Drake off of a mixtape. Without a Drake I am thinking Baby wouldn't surpass a Masta P or a James Prince.

Does my anti-Baby bias make me a regionalist, elitist or racist?


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

Or maybe baby's a genius
And you just don't know

that has to count for something

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

he did a deal with universal that gave cash money something like 80 percent royalties, more than half of it's publishing and ownership of its masters. my numbers might be slightly off, but that kind of deal was unheard of for what was pretty much a local label.

yeah I remember that deal....kind of amazing when you think about it.

recently say that Baby is one of the most intelligent & genuinely nice dudes that he knows. So... *shrug*

There has got to be some truth to it, I am just admitting I have a hard time believing it.

Also Russell Simmons is another cat who just seems MAD lucky to me from being in the right place at the right time (but I know that's a more controversial opinion).


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

this doesn't cheapen their hard work or intelligence, but a lot of things need to come together to self generate wealth.

>There has got to be some truth to it, I am just admitting I
>have a hard time believing it.
>
>Also Russell Simmons is another cat who just seems MAD lucky
>to me from being in the right place at the right time (but I
>know that's a more controversial opinion).
>


craziest shit i've ever seen typed on the internet

I'm not a big fan of Russ...but read his Autobiography....that ninja worked.

"The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good & how he treats people who can't fight back"-Abigail Van Buren

I'm Certified

>Does my anti-Baby bias make me a regionalist, elitist or
>racist?

but I feel the same. its just hard to SEE him like that.

means money is coming

Just that some ppl are more adept at certain things

I actually don't believe it can measured to the degree people try (like is there really a difference between a person with a 120 and a 122 IQ?), you can definitely see some people get things quicker than others or see meaningful relationships between seemingly disparate things.

I know a few cats who are way less educated than me but I can tell that they are working with more raw intellect.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

or when a person like, say, Oprah strokes a person's ego about how much of a "smart businessman they are".
The rest of us really must be some dumb-dumbs.

humble.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

It's true

He's not as smart as he thinks he is but he's smart

>He's not as smart as he thinks he is but he's smart

I think this is my main point.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

And took advantage of unique opportunities

I actually saw down and had a convo to see how he ended up where he did with no degree

I think certain ppl see certain things differently
Can break shit down

But stupid is an extreme word
it's more about mentality than ability imo

But some ppl have a mental headstart

so the whole idea of intelligence is a myth?
do you mean this in a nature/nurture kind of way?

i'd certainly put him over jay z who is basically caking off of live nation deals and has jimmy iovine style guidance with the sports agent stuff
baby basically has no talent and until recently..... mostly only had 1 star on his roster yet he comes out of every deal showing he had all the leverage some how
baby and to an extent floyd mayweather (if he pays his taxes) have basically destroyed the gaudy nigga trope

not seeing it, not him not doing it.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

low and behold.

I guess it was true because they didn't ALL keep it up, but baby still stunting so it counts for something

Jay, Dre, and 50 were/are talent. They struck while the iron was hot and were able to build off that, and that's worth plenty, but...

Diddy was/is a talent raper for lack of (me wanting to come up with) a better term. He brings in cats who already have something to offer and sucks the well dry, then drops them. I don't begrudge him, thats his hustle, but...

But Baby? He took a dude who was just a neighborhood kid (and by kid I mean child), and turned him into the most popular rapper in the world for an extended period of time. Plus he (seemingly) doesn't have to shit on his artists to get his riches.

the whole first wave of CM artists were/are b*tching about money owed to them

over royalties and then comes crawling back for another placement.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

cept like GN said....he got a lil puff like wit the handling of thehotboys

baby is talent as well. he did the same as jay and 50, only with lackluster results.

all of diddy's artist self-destructed. ludicrous to claim he sucked da band dry. but it could be argued that baby does that.

wayne turned himself into the most popular rapper. if baby had done that he could do it again or at least do it for himself.

and he shits on artists harder than anyone: the fact that drake has to break his cake down 4 times is insane, then there's manipulating wayne to stay with cash money when he was in limbo and had gone to the roc

>Diddy was/is a talent raper for lack of (me wanting to come up
>with) a better term. He brings in cats who already have
>something to offer and sucks the well dry, then drops them. I
>don't begrudge him, thats his hustle, but...

How you luv that?

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2010/02/18/cash-moneys-oil-business-questioned-by-bloomberg/

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

mentions it...

oh and the oil drill tattoo on his head.

And unlike other dudes that have had artists of their own go off and do their own imprints, often in unceremonious and heated fashion, he has sat back and been okay with getting a piece of a piece of what Wayne or whoever are doing. Retirement is a long game.

it seems like their whole roster is Young Money at this point.

(I get that they're all technically signed to Cash Money, I'm just curious who ISN'T on Young Money as well).

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

honestly, the smartest thing Baby ever did (other than founding the label) was not letting Wayne get away when he started his ascent.

dude has to have a decent amount of business acumen bc the deal he got w/ Universal was incredible at the at the time. and at the very least, dude knew/knows to bring in talented artists and leverage their talent to the fullest (commercially, at least).

He told him he wanted to sign weepy then got sent a cease and desist

that the only reason he stayed instead of going to ROC was Baby giving him the Young Money label

also outside of music Baby owns oil rigs, diamond mines, all types of shit. he's a savvy and heavy investor.

======================================
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tade/

Remember everyone thought he was such a great businessman until shit fell apart?

I guess I was expecting that from most of these rap moguls. I guess at some point you make so much money it really is hard to go broke.




**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

that was both of their downfalls. they had good business acumen and hustle(and in Suge's case every criminal business practice in existence) but they didn't realize their product was what got them there.

I think Dame thought Jay wouldn't stab in him in the back.

Dame was burning too many bridges. People like to think that if they stuck together Dame would be with Jay at the top but it's more likely that Jay would be with Dame at the *bottom.


*relative to where he was. Dame is doing okay but still.

We all know Dame played his part in the bullshit.

because i don't see how jay-z is that much of a better businessman than 50 cent aside from the fact that he reminds us he's a businessman on record.

baby is not getting those type of product or co-branding deals because he is not as marketable as those new york dudes. but it's not like any of them are building a business from scratch outside of a label. the fact that baby still has shit together all these years has to speak to some type of business acumen. luck will get your foot in the door but i suspect it takes more than that to sustain success.

He has tried to repeat that success and it hasn't really worked for him. That's why I say one lucky deal.

Jay seems to have had a run of successful forays into business: Roca Wear, 40/40, Live Nation Deal, His run at Def Jam, Sports Agent, Barclays...

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

or do u just go off what he tells us on his records?


im thinking the latter





____________

Dallas Heatvricks BACK 2 BACK CHAMPS!!

business news sources that I read daily.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

hes the cool black face they put out front to make em look hip

ain't knocking him

but it doesn't take much business acumen for that


____________

Dallas Heatvricks BACK 2 BACK CHAMPS!!

>hes the cool black face they put out front to make em look
>hip
>
>ain't knocking him
>
>but it doesn't take much business acumen for that

what he brings to the table is his celebrity and his cool cosign.
you don't need to be great at business to do that.

sms audio: star wars headphones ahead of the new movies

i'm convinced most of you know nothing about business and are just talking out your ass

rocawear
reebok
livenation
rocsports
budweiser/made in america
samsung

and these are just the deals he made that set precedence

When it comes to business

That live nation deal alone has opened up a lot of doors for him.

>i'm convinced most of you know nothing about business and are
>just talking out your ass
as a 15 yr serial entrepreneur who has a post graduate degree in marketing and business strategy, i think i know a thing or two about business so chill with that tone.

i was going to get into the specifics but realized that type of analysis might be lost on you. i am not knocking jay-z but he does the type of deals that most big entertainers have access to. meaning companies want to associate with him because he's a popular musician (a black mascot as sev called it above) . there's nothing wrong with that but it does not take a special "business acumen" that Fiddy has not shown in the past with:
energy drink
g-unit label
g-unit clothing
movie production company

which part of my post are you opposed to exactly?
50 might no longer be as successful as jay-z but they are the same type of "business man".

bottom line is these type of deals might impress fan boys like you but in the world of business, it's just glorified celebrity endorsement deals. the minute his music star stops shining, less of these deals will be brought to the table. and this is the real reason why he keeps on dropping albums instead of retiring like he wanted to.

p.s. why did you leave off his barclays/brooklyn nets deal? lol



>rocawear
>reebok
>livenation
>rocsports
>budweiser/made in america
>samsung
>
>and these are just the deals he made that set precedence

Wayne
Drake
Nicki

...as was said b4, YM basically IS CM....and he always seemed like the kind of dude to start smart ventures behind the scenes....

Being momentarily hot doesn't really make the case.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

Heck Lil' Wayne has falling off considerably since the height of his fame.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

What are you talking about?

You been posting real dumb lately man. I'ma need you to stop.

i'm out.
_____________________
"WHOLESALE REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS!!"
@etfp

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

you cant sell weight and NOT be business savvy

A huge piece of the rap money puzzle is knowing how to broker deals, understand how contracts work etc.. right?
So after that, what is in question? His ability to spot talent? His ability to put a good promotional team together?
_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

Still goin at it.

2. You all are forgetting about Slim.

>Still goin at it.
>
>2. You all are forgetting about Slim.
>

shitty deal. Dude is like a Black Frankenstein, that negro look like he has goons in HELL.
http://www.bmi.com/images/musicworld/cache/slimandbaby-676x383.jpg
_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

a cell with.

Always thought he was a scary looking fucker

>a cell with.
>
>Always thought he was a scary looking fucker

Dude looks like he's halfway dead. What I look like trying to give him any type of orders?
_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

>Dude looks like he's halfway dead. What I look like trying to
>give him any type of orders?
>

face tatts and all.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.14979/title.dino-delvaille-recalls-inking-cash-money-records-30-million-distribution-deal

I mean the most important line isn't Baby pulling a gun but "Delvaille added that an established sales record and a roster of up and coming acts led to Cash Money getting such a lucrative deal."


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

have some brains and hardwork and ambition

no fucking way its all "luck"
or rather its the "luck" that comes from grinding and hustling and busting your fucking ass for a long, long time

I know I'm getting off topic but that shit was years ago, is he still getting money from that? Everybody else on that list has active projects, a roster of signed artists, current endorsement deals. The fuck has 50 Cent been doing?

all he had to do was not piss that money away

Jay-Z brags about 300M Live Nation deals but that 150M has to pay for tours and music production.

Yo they wrote 50 cent a straight check for 200M when they sold the company. that's straight cash money (as my pops says).

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

>Jay-Z brags about 300M Live Nation deals but that 150M has to
>pay for tours and music production.
>
>Yo they wrote 50 cent a straight check for 200M when they sold
>the company. that's straight cash money (as my pops says).
>
>**********
>"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then
>they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
>
>http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

In the media, initial reports put 50 Cent’s cashout at $400 million, calculated by dividing the purchase amount by 50 Cent’s reputed 10 percent share. But in reality, 50 Cent’s take was much less. Another stakeholder needed to be paid off first – the diversified Indian conglomerate Tata had invested $677 million for 30 percent of Glaceau in 2006, and got $1.2 billion when Coca-Cola bought them out. When all the other costs had been deducted, 50 Cent was thought to have walked away with a figure somewhere between $60 million and $100 million, putting his net worth at nearly a half billion dollars.

Full Story: Washington Post (From “The Big Payback” by Dan Charnas)



Read more: http://realtalkny.uproxx.com/2010/12/topic/topic/news/a-closer-look-at-50-cents-vitamin-water-deal-he-did-not-get-400-million/#ixzz2zBNCSQ11

ever for any rapper. I am trying to think of any other none athletic endorsement deals that are bigger and drawing a blank.

Remember the baby universal deals everyone is talking about here was "only" worth 30 million. Puffy sold bad boy for like 30M. Rocafella sold for a mere 10M. Berry Gordy sold Motown for like 60M (though not adjusted for inflation).

Music alone doesn't give artist fuck you money (though I think Russell Simmons sold Def Jam for like 100M).

Dre and 50 each made 100s of millions of dollars on deals that turned out to be way bigger than the endorsee thought they they would be.

That's enough money to keep them on this list for YEARS even if they spending crazy dough.

That's why I am saying Dre and 50 are lucky. Because they each had one big deal that put them in the stratosphere while Diddy and Jay have a string of successful deals that are the source of their cake.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

This Forbes article says "may make more than $100MM"
http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/25/diddy-diageo-vodka-face-markets-cx_ll_1025autofacescanmarkets02.html


Also, I did not know 50 got $300MM from Vitamin Water. I always assumed that it was 1/10 of that.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2011/03/16/why-diddy-will-be-hip-hops-first-billionaire/

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it
Some of it is luck and more of it is skill
Doesn't he have some land with oil on it too?

>



_________________________________________

Lately I've had the strangest feeling.... that you were GOOOONNNNEEEE

i've purchased things baby is selling pretty regularly since i was in high school in the late 90s.

>i've purchased things baby is selling pretty regularly since
>i was in high school in the late 90s.

http://lugz.com/footwear-tags/birdman-collection/

Fuck, lol.

>i've purchased things baby is selling pretty regularly since
>i was in high school in the late 90s.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeuVwn78MTc

Big Meech is a bizman too

when they talking Buffett gates etc


They getting them birdman numbers from the same Wendy day xxl interviews and Wayne endorsement press releases we reading





Point being, 1-they should have their breakdown on where they think the figures are coming from. Fwiw baby is on like a 15 yr run of having multiple artists in top 10 radio. That beats the other 4 guys



And 2- they really got no idea if j Prince owns 200 car dealerships, if eminem owns part of lions or anything else if it doesn't make it on their radar #grainofsalt

All guesstimates and probably wildly off.

Also wealth in general is hard to calculate. You can say someone is worth 500 Million because they have a 10% stake in a %B business, but if they can't sell that stake or that valuation is subject to volatility what does it all mean. Its not the same as having cash money in the bank.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackpeopleonlocalnews

50's first 2 records sold a LOT. Add that to the fact that he's smart as fuck about
keeping money and that the fact that he keeps busy with little ventures here
and there.
Stuff like the Vitamin Water, of course... then the 50 Law book, the headphones,
currently has a workout DVD out, lol. He's also released hella music lately, and
under every vevo/youtube link, there's an itunes link. He stays doing something
to get money. He's definitely a hustler.

independent of dre and em have drastically gone to shit if you don't include that 50 water deal

compared to the others...he definitely benefited from luck more than some of the others

No clue the money involved.. but this is as big a deal as the Vitamin Water sale imo

http://i.imgur.com/i5lQ8QV.jpg

he has a distribution deal with lucasfilm for star wars headphones ahead of the new batch of movies.

do you understand what kinda bread that is?

plus if that includes the disney characters?

shiiiit.

This dude got an international patent for his brand before he ever even toured
the world, so his apparel and shit couldn't get bootlegged like alotta artists
before him, including Wu tang. He made all his money, because he's a smart
hustler who plans and thinks ahead of the game more than your average hustler.

i dont bleieve 50, Jay, diddy really DID shoot & kill folks. i get 50 was a dopeman but thats a far cry from a killer

baby however? SLIM for DAMN sure, that motherfucker looks like the grim reaper in a hoodie


does it really matter?

whether he did when he came in or not is one thing but he definitely does now. his empire has continued to grow and evolve...his success speaks for itself...hell, all of theirs does.

smh

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

so your point

he's one of them...when u come from the dope game the record game is eerily similar

Absolute hicks and bammas can find a way to make a dollar. You don't have to be a nebbish or a boho ( or whatever y'all worship) to be smart in business.

I'm sure Leah Dunham is an absolute tycoon with her brilliant self

Some of you should stay where you live and not comment on anything outside of it

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

http://blackpeopleonlocalnews.tumblr.com/

a gifted businessman.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"One of the most important things in life is what Judge Learned Hand described as 'that ever-gnawing inner doubt as to whether you're r

Read up on him and you'll understand.


my avy: Deep in your heart, you know he's right: http://coreyrichardsonneedsajob.com/
my hustle: http://SupaSoulSounds.com

*RIP: John T. "220v" Richardson, Blessing Benson, and Dilla*

bank account to yours.

obviously he is doing something right.

I used to clown Master P and all them country dudes until I realized they had the game mastered already. Most NY rappers were crying about A&R's and being broke after selling a million units while these country niggas were making bank off of selling 50K units and touring.

http://instagram.com/p/zIrQzmr-aB/?modal=true

for those who can't click, some dude in Rich Gang is high as gas and states Birdman fucked him in the ass and he sucked Birdman's dick for his record deal.

my bad, i'm not up on these young dudes.

apparently his name is Starship God or something like that. obviously i'm not here to vouch for it's validity, i just saw it on IG and wondered if it had been mentioned here.