REBLOG! Forbes: Hip-Hop’s Cash Kings

FORBES: After attending the NBA Draft in June, Jay-Z threw a party at his 40/40 Club in midtown Manhattan, carousing into the wee hours of the morning with the likes of LeBron James and Spike Lee. Not bad for a guy who took a 57% pay cut this year.The Brooklyn-born rapper pulled in an estimated $35 million over the past 12 months, topping our annual list of Hip-Hop Cash Kings. It’s far from the $82 million he made last year, but more than enough to reclaim the crown from 2008′s monarch, 50 Cent. The Queens native drops to fourth place with $20 million, down from $150 million a year ago.

Both rappers had a hard time living up to prior yearly totals fattened by one-time mega-deals. For 50, it was a $100 million windfall from the sale of his stake in VitaminWater parent Glacéau to Coca-Cola ( KO – news – people ); for Jay-Z, a front-loaded $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation ( LYV – news – people ).

“The timing of Jay’s deal couldn’t have been more perfect,” says singer-songwriter-producer Akon, fourth on this year’s list. “Those numbers aren’t going to be flying around anymore.” ::::

Last year, the top 20 Hip-Hop Cash Kings made $500 million; this year they made $300 million, a 40% drop. 50 Cent’s VitaminWater stake was responsible for one-fifth of the total take last year. Its absence accounts for half of hip-hop’s year-over-year decline. Similarly, concert promoters have stopped pursing big “360″ deals like the one signed by Jay-Z and LiveNation last year. “Those deals are pretty much done for now,” says Chris White, an entertainment analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Read the full Forbes article

via Zack O'Malley Greenberg