Dr Dre Dominates Forbes Hip-Hop Rich List with Income of $620m

Dr Dre is edging closer to becoming rap's first billionaire, with the latest hip-hop rich list showing he earned a massive $620m last year - ten times more than his nearest rival Jay-Z, according to Forbes.

Dre's earnings, which amounts to more than the rest of the list combined, are the fruits of the former NWA rapper's headphone company Beats By Dre firm, which was sold this year to computer giants Apple for $3bn in May.

Compton-born Dre founded the firm himself with record producer Jimmy Iovine. Forbes' Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2014 list said the rapper would have reached the landmark billion had it not been for a huge tax bill on the back of the Apple deal.

Apple also acquired the Beats Music service, as part of the deal when it bought Beats headphones. Apple has said it may rebrand that as part of iTunes.

In second place on the list but with a tenth of the income, Jay-Z earned $60m, while Diddy earned about the same.

Hip-hop romantic Drake entered the top four making $33m after selling four million copies of his album, Nothing Was The Same, as well as an endorsement deal with Nike.

Thrift Shop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were fifth, bringing in $32m and edging egomaniac Kanye West down to sixth place. West earned $30m.

There were two newcomers to the list as J. Cole and DJ Khaled bustled into hip-hop's top earners gang; they occupied 20<sup>th place after they made $7m each in the last year.

Nicki Minaj is the sole female representative in the list, as she comes in at 11<sup>th place after earning $14m, in spite abandoning American Idol.