Dr. Dre comfortably sits on the first line of the list of the top 10-earning musicians of the decade published by Forbes.
Hip hop musicians are generally well represented on this list, with Diddy and Jay-Z keeping Dre company.
The achievements that enabled Dre to reach the top are not recent and are not directly linked to his musical talent. He released only one album this decade, his shows are rare, and his last production credit on a No. 1 hit was Eminem’s “Crack a Bottle” in 2009. However, the historical deal with Apple, which bought his Beats for more than 3 billion dollars in 2014, will take longer to wear off.
This is exactly how hip hop artists make money in this business, not exclusively by touring and selling albums, but by making wise investment decisions and venturing into business themselves.
