American rapper Jay-Z ranks first among the richest hip-hop artists in the world, after earning in the last 12 months 37 million dollars.

Jay-Z takes this the top position for the fourth time in five years, inform bbc.co.uk.

Rapper P. Diddy came in second with revenue of 35 million dollars, and third place was occupied by Kanye West, who made in the last 12 months $16 million.

Lil Wayne and Birdman each earned $15 million, on the fourth and fifth place, and the sixth position is shared by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Eminem, with revenues of $14 million each.

Also ranked were Akon ($13 million), Ludacris ($12 million), Wiz Khalifa ($11 million) and Drake ($11 million).

Forbes editors say that Jay-Z earned his income from the world tour concerts included in the “Blueprint 3″ and other commercial contracts.

Forbes’s richest hip-hop artists in the world took into account the proceeds from album sales, online downloads, proceeds from tours, appearances in movies/television shows and sales of adjacent products.

Revenues were calculated for the period May 2010 – May 2011 based on data submitted by Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan, The Recording Industry Association of America and individual contracts signed with different labels.