ANDREAS BRANCH/patrickmcmullan.com== == (PatrickMcMullan.com via AP Images)

A new Forbes list puts Diddy on top of a list of the wealthiest artists in hip-hop with an estimated wealth of $580 million. Most of his money comes from his Ciroc deal rather than music and, Forbes says, the vodka is riding a wave of popularity that would significantly add to Diddy’s wealth if Diageo ever sold the brand.

Coming in second is Jay-Z with $475 million and Dr. Dre is in third with $350 million. Perhaps the biggest surprise (to me, at least) is Birdman at number four, but it totally makes sense. His $150 million fortune comes from Cash Money/Young Money, which has artists like Nicki Minaj and Drake signed to it. And rounding out the five is 50 Cent.

According to Entertainment Weekly, all five of these artists were on this list last year, in this order. But all of them have more money this year, most significantly Dr. Dre who has $90 million more to kick around this year.

Source: WENN

Update: Friends say Lil Wayne has been released from the hospital.

Since Lil Wayne’s hospitalization last week, there have been numerous claims made about the New Orleans rapper’s medical condition and the events leading up to his hospitalization. Some reports have even implied that the entertainer was on life support  and family members were contemplating whether or not to pull the plug. Yesterday, Wayne’s mentor Birdman called up Angie Martinez of Hot 97 to tell how things went down and refute the conflicting reports that may be circulating.

On Wayne’s current state:

“He’s great. He’s doing much, much better. He’s good.”

“[He'll probably be going home] today or tomorrow, real soon though. He’s recovered real good.”

On the events leading up to Wayne’s seizure:

“He had a seizure Tuesday night. He’s really been in the hospital since Tuesday. You know, all of the stuff that people is saying, there’s no truth to it at all. He had a seizure. We brought him to the hospital. We’ve been here ever since. He’s doing much better and he’s straight.”

“We were on our way to shoot a video when it happened. This is like the second or third time it happened, so automatically we laid him down and called the ambulance to get him to the hospital… I was there with him.”

On speculation that drugs caused the seizure:

“Honestly, you know it’s just his work ethic. What he puts in, what he believes in and how hard he works, how much dedication he gives to music, his fans and what he’s trying to accomplish in life. It ain’t had nothing to do with drugs, no such thing like that. He works around the clock. It wasn’t nothing about no drugs. He just needed to get some rest and relax. Take it one day at a time. He’ll be back, normal as anybody else. He just needs to relax.”

“At this point that [syrup] is not what they’re saying the cause is. It’s more of not getting proper rest.

On TMZ’s report:

“None of that was true. We were actually watching the game when all that popped off. It wasn’t never no truth to that He was never in that kind of situation [life support, medical induced coma etc.] throughout the whole few days we’ve been in the hospital. He ain’t never been bout to die.”

“They [TMZ] freaked the world out with that.”

“We got family and kids. When you putting out false rumors like that, you know, you can really damage families like that and have them fear.”

Turn the page to hear Baby’s full interview.

The young authors with Birdman in 2010. (Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup) via AP IMAGES

Reginae Carter and Bria Williams are following in their fathers footsteps — kind of. The two 14 year-old girls, who are the daughters of business partners and friends Lil Wayne and Birdman, respectively, are entering the public eye with a new book. The young pair teamed up for Paparazzi Princesses, which tells the story of two young girls dealing with unintentional fame as they grow up as the kids of famous parents, reports Rolling Stone (via Yahoo). The book will probably appeal to high schoolers, who are struggling with everything from schoolwork to crushes on boys.

The dads are happy about the new books. “There’s no better feeling than watching Bria and Reginae make this dream come true,” said Birdman in a statement reported by AllHipHop.com. “They took an idea, worked extremely hard, and brought it to life. It’s the kind of story that everybody can feel, and it’s only the start of much bigger things for these two wonderful young ladies.”

Lil Wayne says he is anxious for others to read the book. He said to the site, “Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how me and the Birdman feel. I can’t wait for everybody else to experience their story.”

Karyn Langhorne Folan co-authored the book, which will be out June 4th.

If the book is a success, most likely it won’t just be teens making it popular. According to a recent study, 55 percent of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids aged 12 to 17 — known as YA books — are 18 or older, with the largest segment aged 30 to 44, a group that alone accounted for 28 percent of YA sales,  reports  Publishers Weekly. The adults who buy YA books aren’t buying them  for others — when asked about the intended recipient, they report that 78 percent of the time they are purchasing books for their own reading found the study Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age conducted by Bowker Market Research.

Will you pick up a copy?

Photo Credit: PNP/WENN.com

At this point, Lil Wayne’s antics are starting to scare me. It seems like his extracurricular activities are  starting to negatively affect his art and his business. In other words, at least once or twice a week, he’s starting to act more and more like a buffoon. His latest shenanigan took place during All Star weekend at an “LIV on Sunday” at Stereo Live in Houston, Texas. The Young Money Crew and several other celebrities were there celebrating Birdman’s birthday.

Anyway, Wayne claims that the Miami Heat had him banned from attending the All Star game. (Have you noticed the NBA really doesn’t mess with him like that anymore?) Naturally, being the sports fan that he is, Wayne was not happy about this decree and when he took the stage to perform, he made sure to let the audience know about it, in probably the most classless way possible. This is what sources are saying Wayne said that night.

“If you’re wondering why you didn’t see me at the All Star Game,” Weezy began his rant, “It’s because I was banned from attending all NBA events. The Miami Heat got me banned.” You may remember last week when Lil Wayne was escorted out of a Heat game for cheering for the Lakers. Allegedly being kicked out of the game was just the beginning and now Lil Wayne is officially blacklisted from the NBA. Ouch! That’s not the worst part though. Before leading the crowd in a “F*** NBA!” chant, Lil Wayne decided to say one last thing, “F*** NBA! F*** Lebron! F*** SheWade! F*** Chris Bosh! And I f***ed Chris Bosh wife!”

In addition to questioning Dwyane Wade’s sexuality, calling him “SheWade,” and allegedly claiming he slept with Chris Bosh’s wife, Wayne instructed the crowd to participate in a little call and response.

“When I say fawk, ya’ll say NBA.”

The groupies, male and female alike, were all too happy to participate.

Ok. But you all spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, to attend one of the NBA’s biggest events of the year. You can yell fawk the NBA as much as you want, but you think they care about any of that while they’re counting your hard earned money? Probz not.

I’m sure Wayne was probably drunk at minimum; but seriously, is that a valid excuse for a man his age? Not at all. I’d love for him to do better.

In case you find this story hard to believe, check out the video below.

Source: Instagram

Reginae Carter has blossomed into a beautiful young lady right before our eyes.  Although she’s the daughter of rapper Lil Wayne and reality star Toya Wright, she doesn’t appear to be looking to get by on the star power of her parents. At just 14 years old, she’s proven that she intends to blaze her own trail.  Reginae and Birdman’s daughter Bria Williams have decided to put their creative minds together and pen a teen book. The upcoming book is entitled Paparazzi Princesses.The fictional novel will be published by Simon & Schuster in conjunction with Cash Money Content. The book’s description, which appears on the Simon & Schuster website reads:

“In the tradition of Drama High, The Clique, and the Gossip Girl series, welcome to the world of the Paparazzi Princesses. Money and designer clothes. Fame and red carpets. VIP concert tickets. Expensive parties. That’s the good stuff…but being the daughter of a music mogul or a famous rapper isn’t easy.

Step inside the lives of Kayla Jones and Promise Walker. As the daughters of two legends of rap music, trips, cash, designer labels, and famous friends are just business as usual. But so are the high expectations of super-successful parents, the drama of having two-faced friends, the not-always welcome glare of constant media attention, and the hurt of narsty gossip. Kayla and Promise face a daily struggle to figure out who to trust. To make matters worse, sometimes they’re not even sure of each other!”

Reginae took to her Twitter account over the weekend to express her excitement surrounding the upcoming book.

“Just wrapped the cover shoot for me and @briawilliams1 book ! Stay tuned my wonderful reginaetors ?#YMCMP”

Paparazzi Princesses is set to release June of 2013. I think this idea is absolutely adorable. I’m sure the parents of both girls are really proud of them. It’s beautiful to see how much Toya, Wayne and Baby invest in the creativity of their children.

Jazmine Denise is a news writer for Madame Noire. Follow her on Twitter @jazminedenise

There are some celebrity men who just seem to get a lot of women. While some of them may be moderately attractive, we suspect that if they didn’t have that moo-la that wouldn’t be baggin the women like they do.

Source: WENN

Waka Flocka

You may know by now that I have a…primal attraction toward Waka. And while I think he’s a hood cutie, his unintelligible speech, ratchet lyrical content and the fact that his mom wears plastic hair make Waka pretty much undateable. And while he might have had a bit of luck before the fame because of his looks, if he didn’t have a successful rap career, most women wouldn’t pay Waka too much attention.

Source: Necolebitchie.com

Any rapper just getting in the game is going to have a long road ahead of them if they want to out earn the five wealthiest hip hop artists of 2012. Forbes recently put out it’s annual list, and the combined wealth of just the top three earners is already well over $1 billion.

Here’s the list in order:

Diddy—$550 million, thanks to his Bad Boy record company, Ciroc Vodka, and stake in clothing lines like Sean John and Enyce.

Jay-Z— $460 million, courtesy of his own artistry and tour deals under Roc Nation, his stake in the New Jersey Nets and the 40/40 club chain. Plus he got a cool $204 million for selling Rocawear in 2007.

Dr. Dre—$270 million, which is double what he was worth last year, mostly because in August, handset maker HTC paid Dre $300 million to buy a 51% stake in Beats Electronics, the company he founded Interscope chief Jimmy Iovine in 2008.

Birdman—$125 million, most of which is via the artists under his Cash Money label—Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne, who has co-ownership of the sub-label Young Money.

50 Cent—$110 million. Even though Curtis hasn’t put out a lot of music in recent years, he still earns tens of millions from record sales, touring, and his clothing deal, but the biggest chunk of his wealth comes from selling his stake in Vitamin Water in 2007.

Every man on the list says he’s on a mad dash to become the first billionaire rapper but Diddy is the closest to making that happen, and considering his recent deal with Comcast for the Revolt channel, he has a good chance of making that happen.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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By Jay Anderson

The hip-hop industry has spawned its fair share of executives to whom the label “mogul” might be ascribed. Some of these moguls come from the world of business, others are artists who have paid their dues and risen up the ranks in a more unusual manner. Despite the amount of hard work involved in making it to the top, these hip-hop moguls often possess the same sense of entitlement and self-importance of your typical Fortune 500 CEO, which sometimes manifests itself in some questionable behavior. (Just in case anyone gets it twisted, yes, we know, successful white guys act equally crazy too. That’s true, but their stories just aren’t as entertaining.) And with that, we present to you, 7 Hip-Hop Moguls who have behaved very badly. Despite their fame and success, these millionaire black men still sometimes go off the deep end.

1. Kevin Liles Ditches Pregnant Wife in Labor For Obama Fundraiser

The birth of a child is typically one of the most memorable days in most people’s lives. It’s also one of the most nerve wracking, so what better a way to get your mind off the impending labor than to skip it altogether and go hobnob with President Obama for a few hours. The NY Post reports (via Mogulite) that Ex-Def Jam honcho Kevin Liles apparently did just that earlier this week, dashing back and forth between his in-labor wife and a $71K/per couple fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign. Thankfully, common sense prevailed when the President himself told Liles, “You have served your country” — and to please leave and go back to your wife, already. Amen. Thankfully wife and child are okay. Liles’ reputation? Not so much.

By Charlotte Young

In the royal hip hop empire, there are no deficits or credit score downgrades among the Cash Kings.
There are however, collaborations. Almost as if in celebration of their Cash King status, Jay-Z and Kanye West released their long-awaited collaboration “Watch the Throne,” this week. Forbes reports that among the top earning rappers, Jay-Z is number one; his earnings this past month added up to $37 million while West came in third.

Jay-Z owes his year’s earning to the close of his Blueprint 3 Tour and vast selection of business ventures. In second was Diddy, who earned $35 million, about half of which came from his partnership with Diageo’s Ciroc Vodka. In third place, West made $16 million. His profits are sure to skyrocket this fall as he joins Jay-Z on a co-headlining tour.

The duo are “hip hop ambassadors,” according to Steve Stoute, chief of the branding firm Translation and author of The Tanning of America. Not only have they taken the production to the next level, they know how to reach a global crowd and launched their album around the world exclusively on Apple’s iTunes.

In fourth place, Lil Wayne tied with his mentor and label boss, Birdman. Just out of an eight-month jail sentence, he’s released an album and has performed from Buffalo to Vancouver, making about $15 million. Birdman tells Forbes that he has “billion dollar dreams,” and promised that they’ll be in the number one spot soon.
Swizz Beats earned the number 15 spot with $6.5 million. He wrote in an email to Forbes that he also plans to claim the number one spot.

Other rappers, such as newcomer to the list Wiz Khalifa in the number 11 spot, are just surprised and pleased to have made it to the top and proclaimed, “that’s what’s up!” Another newcomer is Nicki Minaj, who tied with Swizz Beats for the number 15 spot. Minaj also has the honor of becoming the first female rapper to ever land a spot among the Cash Kings.

In total, the top 20 Cash Kings made a combined $271 million from live shows, recorded music sales, endorsements and various entrepreneurial ventures. Thirteen of them earned $10 million or more. Earnings are determined based from the sum earned from May 2010 to May 2011 and originate from several different sources of data including Nielsen SoundScan, individual record labels and interviews.

Here’s the full list of the Top 20 Rappers:

Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter– $37 million

Sean “Diddy Combs–$35 million

Kanye West– $16 million

Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter and Birdman– $15 million

Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Snoog Dogg and Akon– $14 million

Ludacris– $12 million

Wiz Khalifa and Aubrey “Drake” Graham– $11 million

Pharrel Williams–$10 million

Timbaland– $7 million

Swizz Beats and Nicki Minaj– $6.5 million

Rick Ross, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Pitbull–$6 million

T-Pain and Bobby “B.o.B” Simmons, Jr. — $5 million

When it comes to books, Birdman says he’s into the “hood Isht.” It’s no wonder then that he founded Cash Money Content to publish books that cater to Street Lit fans with titles like “Justify My Thug” by Wahida Clark, “Raw Law: An Urban Guide to Criminal Justice” and Ice Berg Slim’s classic “Pimp” (a re-released version).

TAP correspondent Eno Alfred attended the Cash Money Content event at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York, where the publishing company introduced their roster of authors. She caught up with Birdman to talk about his vision for his new Cash Money spinoff, Busta Rhymes about his love of literature, and more. Check it out!