Mogul earned $63 million over the last 12 months, according to business magazine.By Jayson Rodriguez
Jay-Z
Photo: WireImage
For the third time in four years, Jay-Z has been crowned the "Hip-Hop Cash King" by Forbes. The Brooklyn lyricist topped the business magazine's annual ranking of high-rolling hip-hop stars by earning $63 million over the past 12 months, thanks to business ventures like a high-grossing tour, real estate investments and the successful Broadway production "Fela!"
Jay-Z's income more than doubled the total brought home by 2010 runner-up Diddy, who clocked in at #2 on the list with $30 million earned thanks to endorsement deals and roles in films like "Get Him to the Greek."
Akon came in third, earning $21 million from endorsement deals and his signing of Lady Gaga to his Interscope-backed label KonLive.
Lil Wayne landed at the #4 spot with $20 million in earnings, most of which came through touring; the rapper's tours last year, I Am Music and America's Most Wanted, were the biggest hip-hop outings of 2009.
Dr. Dre came in at #5, earning $17 million through a combination of album royalties from his past projects, executive producing a pair of Eminem releases and income from his headphone line Beats by Dre.
Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland, Pharrell and Kanye West rounded out the top 10.
Jay-Z has topped the Forbes list every year since its 2007 inception with one exception; in 2008, 50 Cent came in at #1 when the magazine estimated his income at more than $150 million.
The G-Unit boss came in at a distant #14 this year, and he was tied with his mentor Eminem; both multi-platinum superstars raked in $8 million.
Drake was among those making their debut on the list, ranking #11.
Related Artists- Jay-Z
- Diddy
- Akon
- Lil Wayne
- Dr. Dre
- Kanye West
- Ludacris
- Snoop Dogg
- Timbaland
- Pharrell Williams
- G-Unit
- Drake
'I have a mutual respect for Drake as well as Rick Ross,' he tells MTV News.By Shaheem Reid
T.I.
Photo: MTV News
NEW YORK — T.I.'s King Uncaged doesn't have a concrete release date yet, but the Grammy-winning superstar said he's going to choose his next single within a few days.
"I don't know, we're gonna figure that out over the weekend," Tip told MTV News at his star-studded secret show in Manhattan. "It's gonna be jammin'. It's gonna be like that.
"Some people wanna hear me go more 'hood," he added of the type of records up for consideration. "Some people think I should go ahead and do my regular one-two and let them come back to me."
Regardless of what new song the King of the South goes with, he already has ample music in the marketplace now. Tip's latest two cameos — he's on Drake's "Fancy" with Swizz Beatz, and he joins Jadakiss and Erykah Badu on Rick Ross' "Maybach Music III" — are paying dividends and going over heavy with the fans.
"Both of them, man, the opportunity was introduced to me by the artist, and all I can say is, I have a mutual respect for Drake as well as Rick Ross," Tip said. "It was my pleasure to do it.
"I didn't know it was gonna be Ross and Jada," he said about "MMIII." "I just got on there because Ross asked me to get on there. I heard the previous 'Maybach Music's, and I knew what they consisted of. So I knew what I could expect."
What do you hope T.I.'s next single sounds like? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Related Photos Related Artists'That's part of my job and her job — to keep her evolving,' he tells Billboard.By Kara Warner
Lady Gaga
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic
Hot on the heels of Lady Gaga's confident pronouncement that her upcoming album is the "absolute greatest work I've ever done," "utter liberation" and an "anthem for my generation for the next decade" comes echoing praise from a reliable — if slightly biased — source: her producer RedOne.
"It's going to be shocking, shocking, shocking!" the Moroccan/Swedish master mixer behind "Just Dance," "LoveGame," "Poker Face," "Bad Romance" and "Alejandro" told Billboard of Gaga's new music. "You never want to go too far from your brand — people love you for a reason. But we still want to give them something with a kick, something that makes them say, 'Oh my God! We didn't expect this!' "
RedOne (real name: Nadir Khayat) said a big part of his job and future collaborations with Gaga are about evolution. "When you heard 'Bad Romance' after 'Poker Face,' it was like the best thing you've ever heard," he said. "We want that type of reaction. I think that's part of my job and her job — to keep her evolving."
The producer told Billboard that he worked on at least two tracks on Gaga's new album but also encouraged her to collaborate with others (he produced a total of nine tracks on The Fame and The Fame Monster), though he wouldn't divulge which hitmakers might be producing songs on the upcoming album.
"After 'Just Dance' and 'Poker Face,' 'LoveGame' and 'Boys Boys Boys,' I got a sound out of her, and that made it easier for other producers," he said. "Her sound is so defined that, no matter what, people can follow it. That sound belongs to her."
What are you expecting from Gaga's new music? Let us know in the comments!
Related ArtistsCouple reportedly 'fought a lot' and ended their seven-month-long engagement last week.By Jocelyn Vena
Evan Rachel Wood and Marilyn Manson
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images
Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood have called off their engagement. After getting engaged in January when Manson popped the question to his on-again, off-again girlfriend onstage in Paris, the pair has decided to split, according to People.com. They reportedly ended the relationship last week.
UsMagazine.com reports that "they fought a lot. It was always on and off. He's a creative mind so not the easiest person to be in a relationship with."
A rep for the "True Blood" actress hadn't responded to MTV News' request for comment by press time.
The two have reportedly always been very on-and-off. After initially dating in 2006, they split two years later before reconciling and getting engaged earlier this year. During their time apart, Wood was reportedly dating "Nikita" star Shane West. This time, it seems Manson is handling his broken heart by hitting the town.
Manson, who was once married to burlesque star Dita Von Teese, and guitarist Twiggy Ramirez were seen getting their party on in Los Angeles on Saturday night. They had dinner at hotspot STK before getting their dance on at Boudoir along with Playmate of the Year Colleen Shannon. E! News reports that Manson also had an unidentified brunette with him and was introducing her to people as his new girlfriend.
"They just broke off their engagement, and he needed a night out with friends," one source told People.com.
Last year, Wood spoke to MTV News about Manson, saying, "We have the same sense of humor." And she admitted that no one was too surprised by the pairing. "They would be more shocked about [my 'Whatever Works' co-star] Larry David," she joked. "Nobody asked me why — they asked me how."
Related Artists'I want a whole new look on everything I got going,' he tells Mixtape Daily.By Shaheem Reid
Shawty Lo and ex-fiancee Ecreia Perez
Photo: Gamface
Don't Sleep: Necessary Notables
Mixtape: Bowen Homes Carlos
Headliner: Shawty Lo
Key Cameos: "The Kitchen" (featuring Yo Gotti), "WTF" (featuring Lil Wayne) and "Say Yeah" (featuring Snoop Dogg)
Essential Info: Shawty Lo is cleaning house. He phoned in Tuesday to discuss the changes he's made in his life. First is his label: It will no longer be called D4L Records.
"That's my brand, that's where I started from," he said of D4L. "But I'm officially switching my label to 2610: BHF. 'BHF' meaning Bowens Home family. 2610 is [the address] where we started from, D4L."
Lo said the name D4L had a stigma to it that some didn't take as seriously as he wanted.
"I just want a fresh look," he said. "I feel like I got a whole new movement. And I feel the D4L got a curse on it. People think it's the dancing, the snap [music]. I just wanna get a whole new look. I had a 10-year relationship and everything. I want a whole new look on everything I got going."
That decade-long relationship to his love Ecreia Perez was highlighted by an engagement earlier this summer. But one month after he popped the question, Lo said he broke things off.
"Things happen. I can't point no fingers," Lo said. "We were separated, the engagement lasted probably a month. It was a 10-year relationship, I love her still, but it's time to move on. It's over. I'm finnin' to move on. I got everything new going for me."
Shawty won't say exactly what led to their breakup, other than alluding to the fact that Perez disappointed him. "Something happened that I found out," he said. "Me, being a man, you just can't deal with certain stuff, put up with certain stuff. So, you know, it's better for us to separate. I can't talk about it. That my daughter's mother. I got much respect for her. ... [But] yeah, I'm single right now."
On Tuesday, Shawty put out his Gangsta Grillz mixtape, Bowen Homes Carlos.
"It's crazy, man," he said. "It's probably my biggest mixtape. I worked so hard on it. My projects, Bowen Homes, was tore down.
" 'Tunnel Vision' is crazy," he added about the tape. "That's one song I leaked by mistake, and it caught. 'Tunnel Vision' means I'm focused now. This is all I see, and I'm going forward. I just released another video on 'Tunnel Vision.' There was one that was released by Jordan Towers, it wasn't official, but I appreciate him for doing that. 'Dey Say Where You Been,' that's with me and Stuntman. It's been out for a minute, but I had to put it out on my mixtape, because everywhere I go, they ask about Stuntman. 'Amazing,' that's gonna be the crossover record. I kinda did the Auto-Tune thing, the T-Pain thing on there. If you listen to the first verse, I'm kinda talking about what happened in my relationship. But I'm amazing. Shawty L.O. is amazing. Bowen Homes Carlos is here, believe that."
Outside of his music, Shawty is releasing a cologne in about a month called Lo Seduction: "It's a very nice smell for the men. It's been something I've been working on for a little over a year now. It took 13 different smells to get it where I wanted it to be. It can go unisex."
Other Heat This Week
» Gucci Mane and DJ Holiday - Jewelry Selection
» DJ Perajok - G.O.O.D. Ass Mixtape
» Young Jeezy - 1,000 Grams
» Tity Boi - Trap-A-Velli 2: The Residue
» Wale - More About Nothing
» Remo Da Rapstar - Sweet 16
» Masspike Miles - Superfly
For other artists featured in Mixtape Daily, check out Mixtape Daily Headlines.
Related Videos Related Artists'Lost' scribe Jack Bender will helm thriller based on teen party game.By Adam Rosenberg
J.J. Abrams
Photo: Andrew H. Walker/ Getty Images
With his Bad Robot production company, J.J. Abrams has tackled a highly successful "Star Trek" reboot, a genre-flipping giant-monster-invades-city movie, an impossible mission and a handful of the most gripping network television shows of the past 10 years. What's left to tackle? High school party games!
Bad Robot is developing a thriller based on "7 Minutes in Heaven," The Hollywood Reporter reveals. The name refers to a teenage party game in which two randomly selected participants are stuffed in a closet together for seven minutes, presumably spending their time either making out or staring at each other awkwardly. In the movie pitch, which originated with "Lost" writer/director Jack Bender, the two teens emerge from the closet to find that all of their friends are dead!
Bender signed a feature deal with Bad Robot earlier in the summer and the "7 Minutes in Heaven" movie will be his to direct. The next step is to find a writer, and Bad Robot is looking for one now.
Bender's experience as a feature director is limited to little more than "Child's Play 3," but he's got a strong background in television as a writer and director on "The Sopranos," "Carnivàle," "Alias," "Felicity" and, of course, "Lost." He is currently developing the superpowered TV series "Alphas" and is in negotiations to direct the next Jack Ryan film, though the latter would not be under the Bad Robot banner.
Abrams' production company is thriving nonetheless, with upcoming "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" sequels, the Steven Spielberg homage "Super 8," graphic novel adaptation "Boilerplate" and a remake of the 1980 comedy "Little Darlings." Coming up later this year for Bad Robot is the comedy "Morning Glory," starring Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams.
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Heidi Montag's plastic surgeon was reportedly texting before his car plunged off a cliff on Monday.By Gil Kaufman
Frank Ryan
Photo: Jordan Strauss/WireImage
In one of the starkest reminders to date of the dangers of texting while driving, the late celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan was reportedly tweeting about his dog just before his car plunged off a cliff in Malibu on Monday.
Ryan, best known for performing several surgeries on "The Hills" star Heidi Montag, was killed when his 1995 Jeep Wrangler fell off the side of the twisty Pacific Coast Highway and fell on its roof.
Ex-girlfriend Charmaine Blake told People magazine that Ryan was sending out a Twitter message about his border collie, Jill, just before his crash. "He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street, and he was texting while driving, and he accidentally went over the cliff," she told the magazine. Blake added that Ryan's family was told by crash investigators that the texting caused the wreck.
A California Highway Patrol spokesperson confirmed for People that Ryan was texting before the crash, but investigators have not yet determined the official cause of the accident. The dog was ejected from the car, but survived, sustaining head, eye and paw injuries.
The New York Daily News reprinted what it claims are Ryan's final texts. "After 25 years of driving by, I finally hiked to the top of the giant sand dune on the [Pacific Coast Highway] west of Malibu. Much harder than it looks! Whew!" he reportedly wrote. That missive was followed by a photo of Jill looking out at the Pacific Ocean with the caption, "Border collie jill surveying the view from atop the sand dune."
Celebrity publicist Blake, 29, who lived with Ryan from 2003 to 2006, said she remained close to the surgeon and hoped that his death will remind people that they "should not text and drive at all."
TMZ reported that the 50-year-old doctor was trapped inside his vehicle and suffered from major head injuries. He was pronounced dead after Ventura County Fire Department officials tried to lift him out of the wreckage with a helicopter.
In addition to famously working on "Hills" star Montag, Ryan's other patients included Vince Neil, Gene Simmons, reality-TV personality Adrianne Curry and Lorenzo Lamas. Montag took to her Twitter page to express her condolences.
"I am devastated to hear the news of Dr. Frank Ryan's death," Montag wrote on Tuesday. "He was the most amazing person I have ever known. He was an angel and changed my life and the lives of everyone he met. He was the most brilliant talented surgeon who will ever exist. Dr. Frank Ryan changed the world."
Related Photos'What would you guys say if me and Usher went on tour?' Brown tweeted after producer leaked tour in YouTube video.By James Dinh
Chris Brown, Elephant Man and Usher
Photo: Robert Keshishian/ Newscom
With their top-notch dance moves and tunes that make the ladies swoon, an Usher and Chris Brown co-headlining tour sounds like an idea made in R&B heaven. And according to producer Bryan-Michael Cox, it may just happen. This news comes just weeks after Breezy's surprise onstage appearance during Usher's set at Reggae SumFest.
Speculation began when Cox revealed during Jermaine Dupri's "Living the Life" YouTube show that the singers are planning to tour together. "Usher and the boy Chris Brown are going on tour, y'all know that, right?" Cox said. Dupri immediately replied, "They might not know that." But after the cat was let out of the bag, Cox admitted, "I might've just gave y'all some exclusive sh--."
Once word spread that that Usher and Breezy might be planning a co-headlining tour, the trio took to Twitter to respond to the hype. Responding to a fellow songwriter, Cox seemed to backpedal his revelation when he tweeted, "@rchonore86 I was drunk. Lol. Talking crazy. I don't know for a fact that THAT tour is happening. But it would be dope tho. Lol."
But the R&B heartthrobs kept the idea alive as they asked fans what they think of the possibility of an Usher/Brown tour. "What would you guys say if me and Usher went on tour?" Brown tweeted. An hour later, Usher's Twitter message read, "If you could see Usher perform live with anyone - who would it be?"
Reps for Usher and Brown could not be reached for comment at press time.
Earlier this year, Brown's U.K. tour plans were postponed because the singer was denied a work visa on the grounds that he is guilty of a serious criminal offense.
What do you think of the possibility of Usher and Chris Brown touring together? Let us know in the comments below!
Related Photos Related ArtistsWu-Tang's Chef expects crowd to fill in late MC's verses as they perform 36 Chambers.By Shaheem Reid
Wu-Tang Clan
Photo: LOUD
For fans of the architects of hip-hop, the countdown is almost over, and the annual fest that mixes hot newcomers with rap trailblazers is almost upon us. Guerilla Union's annual Rock the Bells Tour starts Saturday at L.A.'s NOS Center with a historic lineup that includes Snoop Dogg, Slick Rick, the Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One and Rakim.
Each of the headliners will perform a classic album from their catalog, and special guest Lauryn Hill will be igniting the stage with a bevy of her hits as well.
Wu-Tang has chosen Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) as the LP for their set. The Clan's Raekwon calls Rock the Bells the "royal rumble of hip-hop." And while the Chef said he's excited about revisiting the Clan's breathtaking debut, he'll definitely miss the show-stealing presence of late comrade Ol' Dirty Bastard.
"Dirty had given us the energy booster that we need to believe that we are the best," Rae told MTV News recently in New York. "I still think about him. ... I think as I'm getting a little older, I'm getting a little more sensitive in certain places when it comes to my brother being gone.
"It's gonna be fun to get out here and represent and talk about him and see all them fans go crazy because they love Dirty," he continued. "They love Dirty so much, I know for a fact that when them records come on, they're gonna go crazy."
Rae expects the crowd to fill in verses for their beloved brother during records such as "Shame on a N---a," "Da Mystery of Chessboxin' " and, of course, "Protect Ya Neck."
"That's a beautiful thing," Rae said about crowd participation. "When I think about my brother not being here, it still keeps me wanting to keep that Wu-Tang flag as high as it can be. He was the one that really gave us all the spirit."
Will you be checking Wu-Tang out at Rock the Bells? Let us know in the comments!
Related Artists
Our top users
 | koko Own thoughts: 89 Comments: 3 Rank: Philosopher |
 | chekistValera Own thoughts: 0 Comments: 9 Rank: Guests |
| vichki Own thoughts: 0 Comments: 0 Rank: Guests |
| harlev Own thoughts: 0 Comments: 0 Rank: Guests |
| iadamuri Own thoughts: 0 Comments: 0 Rank: Guests |
Music Tags
Show all tags
