Cardi B, Post Malone, 21Savage: Forbes predicts hip hop’s next generation of moguls

US business magazine Forbes has long released annual lists of which of hip hop’s superstars earn the most and what their revenue sources are.

In the latest list of highest paid, Sean ’Diddy’ Combs was on top with US$130 million (from music, clothing lines, touring, endorsements) followed by Drake ($94 million), Jay-Z ($42 million), Dr Dre ($34.5 million) and Chance The Rapper ($33 million).

Clearly there is a lot of money to be made, and Forbes is already predicting the next generation of hard rappin’ moguls aged under 30.

Its 2018 Hip-Hop Future Moguls List pinpoints Cardi B, Post Malone and 21 Savage among them.

They all slammed hard in 2017 in a year where hip hop ruled over all other genres in America.

Bronx hailed Cardi B (Bacardi), one time stripper, Bloods gang member and reality series Love & Hip Hop: New York cast member who turns 26 this year,as one of the major breakthroughs of the year.

Her ‘Bodak Yellow’ was at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, making her the first female rapper to top the chart solo since Lauryn Hill in 1998.

It also clocked up 400 million on-demand streams. She grosses $150,000 per show these days.

The guitar playing Post Malone, born in New York and raised in Texas, reached #1 with ‘Rockstar’ which stayed at that position for eight weeks, dragging his acclaimed Stoney album to the two million sales mark.

‘Rockstar’ featured 21 Savage, aka Dominican born 25 year old Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, who also had a momentous 2017 on his own with the Issa Album and lead-off single ‘Bank Account’.

21 Savage is something of a fashion statement, in part his relationship with model Amber Rose, and in part his tattoos on his forehead including a dagger between his eyes.

Among others on the list are Chicago based Grammy nominated Vic Mensa who is already worth $2 million, 17-year oldLil Pump whose ‘Gucci Gang’ went to #3, trap beats purveyor Playboi Carti whose Top 15 success with his debut album and 150-million Spotify streams for ‘Magnolia’ led to a six-figure deal with Adidas, Detroit rapper Lizzo whose Coconut Oil EP notched more than 10 million streams on Spotify, and producer Wondagurl who has crafted hits for Drake, Rihanna and Big Sean.

Tyler The Creator, 26, has been around for almost ten years but made the under-30 list because he didn’t have a solo charting single with ‘Who Dat Boy’ until last year.

The BMX bicycle-obsessed Tyler is already well on its way to mogul-hood, with his Golf Wang streetwear, streaming service Golf Media and annual Camp Flog Gnaw festival.

“Talent mixed with weirdness is a recipe for success in today’s society,” Wendy Day, founder of Rap Coalition, an artist advocacy organization that has been helping hip-hop acts negotiate deals since the early 1990s, told Forbes.

“I realized [Malone] would get to the money quickly when a 60-year-old woman at the LAX airport pulled up in her convertible bumping ‘Rockstar.’”