Dr. Dre takes top spot on Forbes’ annual list of hip-hop’s biggest earners

High-end headphones have boosted Dr. Dre to the top of Forbes’ annual list of hip-hop’s biggest earners.

Dre earned $110 million before taxes last year, thanks largely to his Beats by Dr. Dre premium headphones company, according to Forbes’ Hip-Hop Cash Kings list.

The rapper-producer collected $100 million last year when HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in the company. Earlier this summer, Dre and his partners bought back half of that stake.

Beats’ success may even explain why he still hasn’t finished his long-awaited “Detox” album.

“I understand why Dre didn’t finish “Detox,” former Def Jam president Kevin Liles said with a laugh. “It’s called Beats.”

Dre’s just one of several hip-hop heavyweights on the list who make most of their money outside of the music industry.

Diddy came in second with $45 million thanks to his share of profits from Ciroc vodka. Jay-Z, last year’s top earner, ranked third this year with $38 million, pulling in more than half of that from outside ventures like his ownership stake in the Nets and a deal with Duracell.

Kanye West and Lil Wayne round out the top five with a mix of earnings from albums, tours and endorsement deals.

Drake and Nicki Minaj took in $20.5 million and $15.5 million off albums, tours and endorsements to snag the sixth and eighth spots.

Ludacris came in 10th with $12 million from movie roles, voiceovers, his own headphone line and other ventures.

Eminem, who earned $15 million, is making the majority of his money from music. Marshall Mathers sold more albums in the last decade than any other artist and continues to cash in from his back catalog and concerts.

In total, Forbes’ top 20 hip-hop earners pulled in $415 million last year, the most since 2008.

To compile the list, Forbes looked at income from touring, record sales, publishing, films, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures from May 2011 to May 2012.