Publishing: $194.5K List of East Coast hip-hop artists (rappers and rap group) The Notorious B. However, after the murder of the groups DJ Scott La Rock, he shifted to socially conscious rap aimed at empowering Black people and resolving the ills plaguing inner-city communities. 1 albums (the most amongst solo acts), and over 140 million records sold. Last years rank: He remains the overall most-streamed act with almost 8 billion streams, accounting for $11.7 million, only second to Taylor Swift in streaming royalties. 1s with Mo Money Mo Problems and Hypnotize. Big completed two classic solo albums, 1994s Ready to Die and 1997s double-disc Life After Death the latter spending four weeks at No. KRS-One evolved from being The Blastmaster to The Teacha a testament to his own lyrical and personal development. Abel Tesfayes alter ego may have been snubbed by the Grammys, but he fared exceptionally well when it came to royalties. Featuring Lamars first solo No. Streaming: $3.3M Diddy or Puff Daddy: Sean Combs, once the world's richest rapper, has an incredible net worth of $820 million, according to Forbes. Sales: $1.84M The groups streaming performance was in line with other Latin heritage acts: Aventura generated 731.8 million in combined streams, which translated to just shy of $1 million in streaming royalties. Three of them Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Lil Baby placed in the top 10. Shawn Carter leads the rap pack with a career-best total of $470 million. Impeach the president, pulling out my RAY-GUN/ Zap the next one, I could be your shogun, he exploded over the Bomb Squads revolutionary, deconstructed production. His award-winning 2002 biographical film 8 Mile even depicted the Detroit-bred MCs real-life struggle to be accepted as a white rapper in hip-hop, a genre created and dominated by Black people. Thats a distinguished and also contentious honor when it comes to ranking who or what is the ultimate best, whether youre talking films, TV shows, restaurants or any other subject. Is President, Paid in Full and Microphone Fiend. Rakims influence is felt in all corners of hip-hop: A$AP Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, is named after him, DMX and Eminem are self-proclaimed fans, and rappers as big as 50 Cent (via The Games Hate It or Love It) and Lil Wayne (on Lloyds Girls Around the World) have paid in-song homage to his distinctive flow. NBA YoungBoy is the third highest paid rapper in 2020 behind Drake and Post Malone who was the highest earner. Raphael Pour-Hashemi, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Lil Uzi Vert. Under his now-retired moniker Mos Def, Brooklyn native Bey broke into the underground scene on Rawkus Records influential 1997 compilationSoundbombingwith a charismatic presence that recalled the early 80s chief rocker days of Busy Bee Starski. Recorded-music totals are the sum of an artists sales, streaming and publishing earnings for 2020. As the legendary rap duo UGK, Bun B and the late Pimp C kept the spotlight on Texas while taking the baton from the Scarface-led triad Geto Boys. At 19 years old, Billie Eilish is indestructible. 30 Snoop Lion. Additionally, he earned $126,000 in sales and $129,000 in touring before the pandemic. Touring: $1M. Publishing: $1.6M Last years rank: Despite these monster numbers, the band finished fifth in the sales royalties category with $4.3 million because the members do not own their masters. Other acts in the top 30 include Lil Uzi Vert (No. DaBaby $9.1 million18. 10. Shes undeniably blazed the trail for the next generation of female MCs, while at the same time, building a legacy whose impact is hardly limited to the hip-hop world: Nicki is one of only a dozen artists to have more than 100 Billboard Hot 100 entries, and earned the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 2022 for her provocative music videos.