These 25 Rappers Are the Top-Grossing Hip-Hop Touring Acts of All Time
Billboard Boxscore has been tracking touring data and ranking the top live acts around the world across various musical genres since the mid-1980s. After revealing the list of the biggest rap touring acts in 2023, and updating in 2024, we are running down the 25 top-grossing hip-hop acts in Boxscore history, and there are plenty of big moves since the last edition.
Hip-hop was still in its adolescence when Boxscore charts started in the mid-’80s. But in the nearly 40 years since, rap has exploded, becoming a (or the) dominant force in popular music. What began in a community rec room of a Bronx apartment complex has graduated to theaters, arenas and stadiums.
In just the last two years, the threshold for making the top 25 has almost doubled, from $26.1 million to $49.1 million. The 2024 update included 10 artists who had grossed more than $100 million. Now, there are 14. Six new acts join the list, from 2020s upstarts to ’90s legends.
This list is based on global figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, as of Sept. 10, 2026. Final numbers are based on headline engagements only — no festivals — plus 50% of any co-headline grosses.
That last part is important. As in the studio, collaboration has been key on the road for the rappers on our list and beyond. From Jay-Z with Kanye West to Eminem with 50 Cent, hip-hop acts have co-headlined in various arrangements over the last few decades, using one another’s shared star power to sell out venues worldwide.
A note about eligibility for this list: We’re including rap artists who have charted on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That means that artists who rap instead of sing, but don’t fall within the genre of hip-hop, are excluded. For acts who have straddled the line, we’ve made splits — tours supporting pop or country albums for Doja Cat or Post Malone, for example, don’t count toward their totals.
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Missy Elliott
Image Credit: Jonathan Wood/Getty Images Gross: $49.1 million
Attendance: 304,000
Total Shows Reported: 44
First Reported Show(s): $1.1 million at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., on July 4, 2024
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Childish Gambino
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia Gross: $50.4 million
Attendance: 537,000
Total Shows Reported: 61
First Reported Show(s): $70K at Fox Theater in Oakland, Calif., on April 19, 2012
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Lil Baby
Image Credit: Rich Fury/GI for Visible Gross: $55.3 million
Attendance: 812,000
Total Shows Reported: 71
First Reported Show(s): $105K at Express Live! in Columbus, Ohio, on Dec. 29, 2018
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Nelly
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Gross: $64.3 million
Attendance: 991,000
Total Shows Reported: 166
First Reported Show(s): $142K at Elliott Hall of Music in West Lafayette, Ind., on April 19, 2001
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YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Image Credit: Thaddaeus McAdams/Getty Images Gross: $70.9 million
Attendance: 570,000
Total Shows Reported: 48
First Reported Show(s): $21K at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2017
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Wu-Tang Clan
Image Credit: Steve Eichner/WireImage Gross: $71.1 million
Attendance: 950,000
Total Shows Reported: 158
First Reported Show(s): $42K at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on July 20, 1997
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Future
Image Credit: Prince Williams/Wireimage Gross: $72.5 million
Attendance: 1.1 million
Total Shows Reported: 94
First Reported Show(s): $23K at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on May 27, 2014
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Rod Wave
Image Credit: Scott Legato/Getty Images Gross: $75.2 million
Attendance: 627,000
Total Shows Reported: 50
First Reported Show(s): $368K at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, on Oct. 21, 2021
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Cardi B
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Billboard Gross: $77.8 million
Attendance: 520,000
Total Shows Reported: 42
First Reported Show(s): $24K at 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2016
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Snoop Dogg
Image Credit: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns Gross: $83.2 million
Attendance: 2.7 million
Total Shows Reported: 356
First Reported Show(s): $21K at Cane’s in San Diego on Dec. 9, 2000
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Don Toliver
Image Credit: Chauncey Scott Gross: $87.3 million
Attendance: 1 million
Total Shows Reported: 101
First Reported Show(s): $39K at Stage AE in Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, 2021
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Black Eyed Peas
Image Credit: Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images Gross: $120.1 million
Attendance: 2 million
Total Shows Reported: 195
First Reported Show(s): $17K at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Conn., on Feb. 15, 2001
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Nicki Minaj
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for TIDAL Gross: $135.7 million
Attendance: 1.3 million
Total Shows Reported: 112
First Reported Show(s): $491K at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia, on May 16, 2012
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Lil Wayne
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Gross: $137.5 million
Attendance: 2.3 million
Total Shows Reported: 267
First Reported Show(s): $18K at House of Blues in New Orleans on Sept. 17, 2004
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$uicideboy$
Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella Gross: $145.9 million
Attendance: 1.7 million
Total Shows Reported: 172
First Reported Show(s): $83K at Palladium in Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2017
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Eminem
Image Credit: Sal Idriss/Redferns Gross: $151.7 million
Attendance: 2.3 million
Total Shows Reported: 103
First Reported Show(s): $19K at The Odeon in Cleveland on April 8, 1999
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50 Cent
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Gross: $155 million
Attendance: 2.5 million
Total Shows Reported: 232
First Reported Show(s): $153K at Constant Center in Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 15, 2003
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J. Cole
Image Credit: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images Gross: $172.2 million
Attendance: 1.9 million
Total Shows Reported: 182
First Reported Show(s): $9K at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 3, 2010
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Ye
Image Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images Gross: $193.8 million
Attendance: 2.4 million
Total Shows Reported: 242
First Reported Show(s): $61K at House of Blues in Chicago on Feb. 11, 2004
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Tyler, The Creator
Image Credit: Erika Goldring/WireImage Gross: $239.6 million
Attendance: 2.2 million
Total Shows Reported: 211
First Reported Show(s): $28K at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio, on March 12, 2013
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Post Malone
Image Credit: Paras Griffin/WireImage Gross: $297.5 million
Attendance: 2.6 million
Total Shows Reported: 190
First Reported Show(s): $16K at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2016
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Travis Scott
Image Credit: Erika Goldring/WireImage Gross: $331.1 million
Attendance: 3 million
Total Shows Reported: 163
First Reported Show(s): $42K at The Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2015
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Kendrick Lamar
Image Credit: Jason Koerner/GI Gross: $378 million
Attendance: 3.7 million
Total Shows Reported: 190
First Reported Show(s): $26K at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on March 27, 2012
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Jay-Z
Image Credit: Neil Lupin/Redferns via Getty Images Gross: $474 million
Attendance: 7.5 million
Total Shows Reported: 407
First Reported Show(s): $205K at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on July 27, 2001
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Drake
Image Credit: Prince Williams/Wireimage Gross: $559.2 million
Attendance: 4.4 million
Total Shows Reported: 337
First Reported Show(s): $191K at Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Penn., on April 9, 2010
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