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?


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

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