Jay-Z pulled in $63 million over the past 12 months, earning him his second straight hip-hop cash crown. His income level places him in the 35% tax bracket, which means he’ll pay Uncle Sam about $22 million this year–a sum greater than the total earnings of any other rap star besides second-ranked Diddy.

1. Jay-Z – $63 Million (Crazy thing is Beyonce makes even more with 87 million)
2. Diddy – $30 Million (Take that, thake that)
3. Akon – $21 Million (Lady Gaga money must be looking nicccceee)
4. Lil Wayne – $20 Million (Don’t let Carter 3 producers see this)
5. Dr. Dre – $17 Million (Beats By Dre money?)
6. Ludacris – $16 Million (Theater of the Mind and Battles of the Sexes did their thing)
7. Snoop Dogg – $15 Million
8. Timbaland – $14 Million
9. Pharrell – $13 Million
10. Kanye West – $12 Million
11. Drake – $9 Million
11. T.I. – $ 9 Million
12. Swizz Beatz – $9 Million
14. Eminem – $8 Million
14.50 Cent – $8 Million
14. Young Jeezy – $8 Million
17. Common – $7 Million
18. Soulja Boy – $7 Million
18. T-Pain – $7 Million
20. Lil Jon – $5 Million
20. Gucci Mane – $5 Million

The announcement comes two weeks after rumors surfaced about Scrappy’s departure from Lil’ Jon’s BME Recordings and Warner Brothers Records.

As one of the headliners of the “No1 in the South Got Swagga Like Us” concert, which took place at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena Sunday evening, Luda made the news official to a crowd which had gathered to see him perform alongside Young Jeezy, Plies, Rick Ross and others.

Following the announcement, Ludacris brought Scrappy to the stage to perform his 2006 hit single “Money in the Bank.”

According to DTP CEO Chaka Zulu, the new deal also brings Scrappy’s label, G’s Up, into the DTP family.

Projects stemming from their partnership will be released through Def Jam, DTP’s parent company since inception.

“Its very exciting to partner with an artist like Scrappy,” Chaka told AllHipHop.com. “He has been involved in a major movement in southern Hip-Hop and also has shown he can be an asset as a businessman/ CEO with his G’s Up brand. I am extremely excited about the next moves for Scrappy, as we have signed him to Def Jam. He can stand next to Hip-Hop’s elite and compete. Also he is shooting a movie currently, which will allow his star to continue to get brighter.”

Once filming for his big screen debut is completed, Lil’ Scrappy will embark on a summer tour to promote and set up his next album, The Grustle, due out later this year.

He will also appear on three upcoming DTP this year: Willy Northpole’s The Connect, Playaz Circle’s Flight 360 and Ludacris’s highly anticipated Battle of the Sexes, featuring Shawnna.

First introduced to audiences in 2004 with the single “No Problem,” Scrappy, born Darryl Richardson, was one of the first two acts signed to BME by super producer Lil’ Jon.

The single, from the album The King of Crunk & BME Recordings Present: Trillville & Lil Scrappy, established the young rapper as “the Prince of Crunk” and one of Atlanta’s A-List performers.

Two years later, Scrappy released his official debut album Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live amid much fanfare, as a joint effort between BME and G-Unit Records, with both Lil’ Jon and 50 Cent serving as executive producers.

The album featured appearances by artists from both camps, including Lil’ Jon, Bohagon, Young Buck, Olivia and 50 Cent, as well as production from Ike Dirty, Don Cannon, Bangladesh and Sha Money XL.

Since then, as the BME imprint has faded from the prominence it enjoyed at it’s height in 2005, Scrappy has also remained mostly out of the spotlight, aside from public appearances with longtime girlfriend and former label mate Diamond, and a brief arrest in 2008.

Forbes Releases “Hip-Hop’s 20 Biggest Earners” Of 2008

1. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson: $150 million
2. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter: $82 million
3. Sean “Diddy” Combs: $35 million
4. Kanye West: $30 million
5. Timothy “Timbaland” Mosley: $22 million
6. Pharrell Williams: $20 million
7. Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean: $17 million
8. Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus: $16 million
9. André “Dr. Dre” Young: $15 million
10. Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges: $14 million
11. Clifford “T.I.” Harris: $13 million (tie)
12. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter: $13 million (tie)
13. Marshall “Eminem” Mathers: $12 million (tie)
14. Lonnie “Common” Lynn Jr.: $12 million (tie)
15. Aliaune “Akon” Thiam: $12 million (tie)
16. Jermaine Dupri: $11 million (tie)
17. Jonathan “Lil Jon” Smith: $11 million (tie)
18. OutKast: $10 million (tie)
19. Hakeem “Chamillionaire” Seriki: $10 million (tie)
20. Jayceon “The Game” Taylor: $10 million (tie)

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