Eminem branded 'King of Hip Hop' by Rolling Stone

Jay-Z, Not The King of Hip Hop According to Rolling Stone...Who Is?
August 16, 2011 9:29 AM EDT



"Watch the Throne" artist, Jay-Z, was crowned the Hip Hop Cash King by Forbes for 2011. He earned $37 million offer the past year. It is the fourth time in five years that he has taken the number one position on the list. However, in a recent ranking by Rolling Stone, our man Jigga, is not on top.

Eminem was crowned as the most successful rapper based on a specific criteria. They considered 20 solo rappers who have delivered an album between 2009 and July 2011. When analyzing album sales, popularity in social media, concert grosses, awards and critical rating, and R&B/hip-hop and rap charts, the award went to Slim Shady.

Eminem has sold 7.5 million albums between his latest two--"Relapse," and "Recovery." The latter record was the best selling album of 2010. He has over 1 billion views on YouTube, about 5 million Twitter followers, and 43 million "likes" on Facebook. The rapper was also the world's best selling musical artist of the last decade with over 32 million albums sold, though this was not considered in the ranking.

"As recently as three years ago, Eminem winning a survey like this was unthinkable; his nearly half-decade hiatus from recording made any comeback unlikely, let alone one in which he took back the charts as if he'd never left," Rolling Stone declared.

Other rappers on the ranking include Lil Wayne in second place. Though falls behind Eminem in album sales by nearly $5 million, he earned more money from his tour than any one else on the list, grossing $51 million. Drake, in third, had the most hits in the single chart and is definitely a force to beware of. Declaring the term "king" as gender neutral, Nicki Minaj was awarded sixth place, Rick Ross--seventh, and Ludacris in eight.

Where, you may be wondering is power duo--Jay-Z and Kanye West? Both rappers stay close, even on the charts as they rank fourth and fifth--Kanye over Jay.

Perhaps Jay-Z's cash flow last year was not primarily from record sales, etc. The rapper also receives money from a profitable Live Nation deal, the stakes he has in the New Jersey Nets and 40/40 club, his clothing line--Rocawear and his Roc Nation label.

However, Jay-Z does have very impressive stats as a musician, of course. "The Blueprint 3" was a two million-selling hit in 2009. Over the course of his career, he has had 11 number one albums on Billboard 200. He holds the record of the most chart topping albums among solo artists and is second among all artists, right under the Beatles who have 20 number ones.

Jay-Z and Kanye West are currently promoting their album "Watch the Throne." The "Watch the Throne Tour" begins on Sept. 22 in Detroit. 24 dates and several cities including Toronto, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Vancouver and East Rutherford are on the list for tour stops--and reports suggest that there are more to come!