And it seems to have been the peak of accomplishment for female rap artists.

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New York rap artists Ashanti and DMX were booked to perform in the same event, dubbed the "Battle of Hope".

BBC: Ali daughter's battle for hope postponed

John lives in Austin, TX and occasionally directs videos for rap artists.

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Nike China invests in underground street-ball tournaments, sponsoring local rap artists to write street-ball anthems, and even designing and freely giving away customized street-ball Nike products.

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"I didn't realize how much harm I was doing back then and I think a lot of rap artists probably don't realize it now, " the newspaper quoted him as saying.

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In the hard-core rap community hip-hop artists who move into movies are routinely berated for losing their edge.

BBC: Rappers move into the movies

Born Dwayne Carter, Lil Wayne is one of the rap world's most successful artists.

CNN: Rapper Lil Wayne suffers seizure

And Jannuzzo acted as pit bull in notifying 12 record labels that the company objects to artists using the word "Glock" in rap songs such as Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit, " mainly out of fear that Glock's name will become a generic term for handgun.

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To compile the Cash Kings list, which charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap, we looked at income from touring, record sales, publishing, films, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures.

FORBES: Cash Kings 2012: Hip-Hop's Top Earners