Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 26

How DJ Khaled Rolls: Hip-Hop’s Boldest Star Shows Off His Major Keys

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As DJ Khaled careers through the midday traffic clogging New York’s Columbus Circle–one hand on the wheel of a black Rolls-Royce Dawn convertible, the other raising an iPhone to stream his exploits via Snapchat–he lays out the aggressively optimistic, blustery, motivational, tautological and oddly compelling philosophy that guides his vehicular preferences and his life in general.

“You can want a Hyundai, if that’s what you want. Me, I want a Rolls-Royce,”...

The World’s Highest-Paid Hip-Hop Artists 2017

Diddy Did It: Sean Combs is once again hip-hop’s highest-paid act.. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

Sean “Diddy” Combs got his first job at age 12 delivering newspapers, nestling each delivery inside the screen door of every home instead of tossing it in the front yard. These days, he brings that same attention to detail with products like Ciroc vodka, DeLeon tequila and Aquahydrate water, involving himself in every aspect of the product down to the font of each logo.

“I’ve always unders...

Diddy And Russell Simmons: Wisdom From Hip-Hop’s Top Business Minds

Diddy and Russell Simmons: These two hip-hop legends appeared on our Centennial list of the world’s greatest business minds–and offered priceless lessons.

In honor of the Centennial anniversary of Forbes, we spent 18 months photographing and collecting wisdom from the world’s 100 greatest living business minds. Released last week, our package includes the usual billionaire suspects, including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The entertainment world is well-represented, too–Bono opened up on the...

Hip-Hop Cash Kings: Preview & Contest 2017

Last year, in honor of the tenth anniversary of the first-ever Hip-Hop Cash Kings package, Forbes compiled the above mini-documentary: “From Bronx to Billions.” This year, as Forbes celebrates its 100th birthday, we’ve got another worthy edition of our annual accounting of rap’s highest-paid acts. The latest list goes live on Wednesday, September 27th.

You can look forward to fresh features and videos on hip-hop’s most successful acts–including one who’s having a particularly big year and wi...

Rhymes With Forbes: A 100-Year-Old Magazine’s Lyrical Legacy

Wish Granted: Bruno Mars hasn’t yet appeared on an actual cover of Forbes, but we created this fake one–which appears in the pages of our Centennial issue–to fulfill his lyrical aspirations.

The surprise guest at the 1989 Grammy boycott party was not LL Cool J or Will Smith but a gentleman who roared down Sunset Boulevard on a motorcycle: Malcolm Forbes. “Hey, man,” he announced upon arrival, “I’ve got the chapter and the verse!” Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, one of the cohosts, was stunned:...

Alas, Martin Shkreli Did Buy A Real Wu-Tang Album

As much as we’d all like to believe that disgraced pharma bro Martin Shkreli has been duped, he hasn’t.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may only agree on one thing: that Martin Shkreli is despicable. Two years ago, after the former pharma executive raised the price of a drug used to treat infections in AIDS patients by 5,000%, Clinton fumed about his “price-gouging,” while Trump dubbed his actions “disgusting.” Shkreli’s stench crossed oceans: the BBC called him “the most hated man in Americ...

Gogol Bordello And The Business Of ‘Gypsy Punk’ In Trump’s America

Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hutz performs at the Tinderbox festival in Denmark on June 22, 2017. (Photo: HELLE ARENSBAK/AFP/Getty Images)

There’s a long list of bands that reportedly refused to play Donald Trump’s inauguration concert earlier this year—including Elton John, Céline Dion and Garth Brooks—but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Gogol Bordello wasn’t even asked.

The self-described “gypsy punk” band, fronted by wild-haired Ukraine native Eugene Hutz, has long been an o...

Nominate The Forbes 30 Under 30 Music Class Of 2018

30 Under 30: The Class of 2017 cover featured Halsey and Jason Derulo. Help nominate the next class of music’s top up-and-comers below.

It’s been a big year for the alums of our 30 Under 30 music list, with acts from the Weeknd to Justin Bieber clocking career-best earnings totals amid massive tours and billions of streams. Now it’s time to nominate the next batch of superstars.

The deadline for submissions in all 20 categories is September 15, 2017; the final lists will be announced in Novem...

Diplo Earnings: $28.5 Million In 2017

NEW YORK, NY – JULY 08: Diplo performs onstage during the DailyMail.com NYC Boat Party hosted by Swish Beverages for White Girl Rose on July 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for DailyMail.com )

Diplo’s earnings total lands him at No. 6 on our list of the world’s highest-paid DJs. He bested fellow stars including David Guetta and Zedd. Here’s a bit more about Diplo and his big year.

Real Name:

Thomas Wesley Pentz

Age:

38

2017 Earnings:

$28.5 million

Source:

Music, To...

Skrillex Earnings: $30 Million In 2017

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 17: Skrillex attends day two of TAO, Beauty & Essex, Avenue and Luchini LA Grand Opening on March 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for TAO)

Skrillex’s earnings total lands him at No. 4 on our list of the world’s highest-paid DJs. He bested fellow stars including Diplo, David Guetta and Zedd. Here’s a bit more about Skrillex and his big year.

Real Name:

Sonny Moore

Age:

29

2017 Earnings:

$30 million

Source:

Music, Touring

Summar...