Zack O'Malley Greenburg's Blog, page 96

Timbaland’s Treatise: How To Save Hip-Hop And Pop

Timbaland: Unimpressed with the state of music.

If you think of the members of this year’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings list as an extended family, there’s little doubt that Timbaland is the eccentric uncle.

There are clues sprinkled amongst his eclectic oeuvre, not to mention a host of YouTube videos, Facebook pages and blogs devoted to the curious facial expressions he makes in videos. But the portly producer is more than willing to proclaim his own peculiarity, not to mention that of his hip-hop famil...

Cash Kings 2012: Hip-Hop’s Top Earners

see photosGetty Images North America

Click for full photo gallery: Cash Kings 2012: Hip-Hop's 20 Top Earners

Six years agoDr. Drewas walking along the beach with Interscope Records chief Jimmy Iovine, pondering whether or not he should launch his own shoe line. “[Forget] sneakers,” said Iovine. “Let’s sell speakers!”

It might have been the best piece of advice the rapper-producer ever received. In 2008 he teamed with Iovine and a handful of other partners to launch Beats ByDr. Dre, which now sel...

Jay-Z’s Made in America Festival: A Cross-Promotional Bonanza

see photosAP

Click for full photo gallery: Jay-Z's Made In America Festival

For Jay-Z, the finale of his set at last weekend’s Budweiser-backed Made in America music festival was just a prelude. But it was quite a prelude, nonetheless.

As a crowd of 45,000-plus looked on—assembled before the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps (the ones made famous by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky)—Jay-Z issued a proclamation: “Since you treated me so well … I’ma be good to you, Philly.” A few moments later, a hand...

Hip-Hop Business Pioneer Chris Lighty Dead At 44

Chris Lighty and 50 Cent in Forbes Magazine (2006).

Chris Lighty, one of the most influential players in the business of hip-hop, was found dead in his New York apartment today. Early reports indicate that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after an argument with his ex-wife. Lighty was 44 years old.

The Bronx native got his start by hauling record crates for DJ Red Alert in the late 1980s. Over the next decade, he established himself as a prolific talent manager, guiding the...

My Next Book: Michael Jackson, Inc.

Michael Jackson, Inc: Chronicling the business of the King of Pop.

Today marks the 54th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s birth, and millions of fans around the world are celebrating the life of the King of Pop. So, I figured, what better time to announce the birth of my next book—a business-focused biography called Michael Jackson, Inc.

Scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster’s Free Press imprint in 2014, this will be my second book, following Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Str...

Hip-Hop Cash Kings 2012: Preview & Contest

Money Talks: Who's getting the most in hip-hop?

Diddy, Jay-Z and the rest of rap’s elite earners continue to rake in millions from their various ventures–music and business alike–and FORBES continues to take note. This year’s Hip-Hop Cash Kings package is now set for launch on Wednesday, September 5th, and it will give readers a comprehensive look at the genre’s top earners for the sixth consecutive year.

There are plenty of questions to be answered–first and foremost, who’s number one? But sid...

The Scandalously Boring Truth About Michael Jackson’s Will

Will Power: Despite recent controversy, The King of Pop's will is in no real danger of being overturned.

More than three years after his untimely death, Michael Jackson continues to make headlines—most recently as a result of a controversy over his will this summer. A few of his siblings labeled the document “false” and “fraudulent”; representatives for his estate countered by saying, “We are saddened that false and defamatory accusations grounded in stale Internet conspiracy theories are now...

Foo Fighters, Black Keys, Neil Young To Team Up For Historic Charity Concert

The Foo Fighters: Along with Neil Young, The Black Keys, K'naan and Band of Horses, they'll also be fighting poverty.

The Foo Fighters, The Black Keys and Neil Young have a few things in common. They have platinum albums under their belts, they gross well over a quarter-million dollars for their shows, and they’re among the premier rock icons of their respective generations.

Soon, they’ll have another: performing at a free concert together in front of some 60,000 people on September 29thin Cent...

Skrillex: The $15 Million DJ

Skrillex: No. 2 on FORBES' first-ever Electronic Cash Kings list.

This story appears in the August 20th issue of Forbes magazine.

Even from the back wall at a recent Skrillex concert in Austin, Tex., the DJ’s sound clatters and bangs on the brain, an all-out aural assault. Every thump of the bass feels like a punch to the throat, from the inside. Yet the thousands of revelers writhing in unison enjoy the experience with a dreamy fervor generally reserved for religious awakenings, undulating eve...

Gym, Tan, Money: Inside Pauly D’s $11 Million Payday

Pauly D: Beating up the beat -- and making a mint.

Paul DelVecchio’s résumé doesn’t scream “Master of the Universe,” at least not at first glance. The Rhode Island native never attended college, instead taking a job at a car dealership after high school. For much of the last decade, he spent the bulk of his nights and weekends DJing small clubs in Providence for a few hundred dollars a pop.

But something changed in 2009, when he was selected to be a part of MTV’s Jersey Shore. Three years later...