The hip hop genre has not exactly been known for having a squeaky clean, morally upright, unassailably wholesome image. We hear of rappers getting arrested for weapons charges or assault every now and then. A good number of hip hop lyrics tell of (and even glorify) guns, drugs, violence, misogynist behavior, and a hodge podge of anti-authority sentiments. And of course, the killings of high profile rap artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur have become landmark incidents that established the notoriety of hip hop.

Along with the progression of hip hop personalities getting embroiled in gangster-esque incidents came rumors that a task force has been formed by the New York Police Department focused specifically on the rap industry. Major newspapers reported that a team of NYPD detectives were assigned to monitor hip hop events, feuds, and even rap lyrics. Artists have complained that they were being subjected to police surveillance.

The NYPD has repeatedly denied the existence of such unit but talks of the hip hop cops are still far from dying down. The revelations of retired NYPD detective Derrick Parker that he was the one who started comprehensive investigations on the hip hop industry further fueled the controversy. Parker said that it was his duty to compile all information relating to hip hop and interview artists who were involved in criminal cases. He clarified though that it wasn't as large as the purported full-blown task force that was reported in the media but was merely another scope of the Intelligence Division's Gang Unit.

In 2004, it was reported that the a three-day hip hop training session was held and attended by police officers from New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. In the said seminar, six-inch binders containing information on rappers with criminal records were distributed to the attendees. A Miami police sergeant said the seminar involved training on what look for in rap lyrics, monitoring radio and TV stations, and surveying hip hop concerts.

To further compound the existence of a hip hop squad, another voluminous document on rapper profiles was made public. This time, it was a 500-page dossier containing rap artists' mug shots, home addresses, license plate and social security numbers, criminal histories, arrest details, frequented locations, and known associates. The dossier, which bore the logo of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, was published online and was also featured on the documentary Rap Sheet: Hip Hop and the Cops.

Not a few rappers and civil rights activists bemoaned these acts as racial profiling and unnecessary intrusion to privacy. Police refused to comment on the dossier but reasoned that familiarizing themselves with the hip hop industry was just a part of doing their job. They said that the unsolved murders of famous hip hop artists was reason enough to monitor this particular genre of the music industry. As Derrick Parker put it, they simply don't want another rapper killed.

The last few years were not a good time for the music industry in terms of album sales. No genre has taken this harder than hip hop, which dropped 44 percent in sales since 2000 and accounted for a mere 10 percent of the total music sales. Despite this, the cash still kept coming in for the hip hop moguls who went beyond being rappers and became big-time entrepreneurs.

In the Forbes' list of hip hop cash kings, the top earners were artists who didn't just produce albums and go on concert tours; they were head honchos of multi-million empires which were banked on the entire hip hop and pop culture. These personalities put their stamp on everything, from sneakers to vitamin water, so much so that were already brands in themselves.

The current top earner in the hip hop industry is Def Jam Recordings CEO Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z. After a supposed retirement in 2003, the rapper staged a recording comeback three years later with his 11th studio album Kingdom Come. The album fared well with 680,000 copies sold on its first week, topping the US Billboard chart.

Album sales are nothing but a small fraction of Jay-Z's wealth though. In March 2007, the rapper earned $204 million, before taxes, in the sale of his clothing brand Rocawear to the Iconix Brand Group. He will still manage the marketing, licensing, and product development of the label and will pocket another $35 million if the brand performs well for the next three to five years.

The business-savvy rapper also co-owns the franchise of 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar, as well as a small stake in the NBA team New Jersey Nets. In October 2006, he was named co-brand director for Budweiser Select after his single was featured in an Anheuser Busch ad. He also earns about $13 million annually for the distribution of the Scottish vodka Armadale. His income for 2006 was estimated at $34 million. All in all, Jay-Z's wealth as of 2007 amounted to $547 million dollars.

Sean Combs, now known simply as Diddy after a series of name changes, is the second wealthiest hip hop entertainer although he placed third in the Forbes list of top hip hop earners for 2006. With an estimated net worth of $358 million, Diddy rules over an empire consisting of the record label Bad Boy Records, the Sean John clothing line, the Unforgivable cologne, and two restaurants called Justin's. Forbes placed his earnings for 2006 at $28 million.