Lil Wayne One Of The Top 5 Grossing Artists Of 2011

Original Story Billboard magazine recently released its list of the top 40 highest earning acts of 2011 and rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West make appearances on the list.

Billboard ranked the top 40 highest earning acts of 2011, based mostly on tour sales.

The list also factors in digital and physical album sales for the past year as well.

Only two Hop-Hop artists made the list this year, with Lil Wayne raking in over $23 million, while Kanye West earned the number 39 spot with over $5 million in income.

Success for Lil Wayne came via his hit album the Tha Carter IV, which moved over 930,000 units in his first week in stores.

The rap star’s rigorous touring schedule also helped place high on the list, earning the rapper $23,178,722.

Lil Wayne’s income put him in the top five earners for 2011, following behind Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney, U2 and Taylor Swift, who topped the list this year with $35 million in earnings.

As for Kanye West, the Chicago rapper made a total of $5,363,661 in 2011.

West’s money came mostly from his albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Watch The Throne with Jay-Z, in addition to the Watch The Throne tour.

Other notable acts to make Billboard’s list include Usher (#35), Rihanna (#22), Adele (#10), Bon Jovi (#7) and Sade (#6).