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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missy Elliott

Childish Gambino

Lil Baby

Nelly

YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Wu-Tang Clan

Future

Rod Wave

Cardi B

Snoop Dogg

Don Toliver

Black Eyed Peas

Nicki Minaj

Lil Wayne

$uicideboy$

Eminem

50 Cent

J. Cole

Ye

Tyler, The Creator

Post Malone

Travis Scott

Kendrick Lamar

Jay-Z

Drake