The Most Famous Hip-Hop Artists and Rappers in the World
Top 89 of 89 ranked · August 2026 · See today's live standing →
First issue under methodology v5.62. Movement begins with the next issue frozen under the same version.
Rihanna, Shakira and Beyoncé outrank every rapper on the hip-hop list
iFAMOUS Editorial Desk · 1 min read
Eminem is the first rapper on the August 2026 Hip-Hop ranking, fourth at 32.8, with Tupac Shakur the highest-placed of seven dead names.
Hip-hop's most famous name for August 2026 is a singer from Barbados. Rihanna scores 34.7, ahead of Shakira of Colombia at 33.8 and Beyoncé at 32.9. The sector gathers adjacent figures, and the world's attention groups the genre's collaborators and neighbours with its rappers. Eminem, the Detroit rapper, producer and executive, is the first name who fits the label without qualification, fourth at 32.8, a tenth of a point behind Beyoncé.
Jennifer Lopez is fifth at 32.3, and then the rappers arrive in sequence: Drake, the Canadian credited with bringing R&B sensibilities into rap, sixth at 27.3, and Ye, born Kanye West, seventh at 26.5. Tupac Shakur, whose political fury and street poetry made him one of the most influential figures in the genre's history, is eighth at 25.3, nearly thirty years after his death and above every living rapper but three.
John Cena, the wrestler, actor and former rapper, is ninth at 25. Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, is tenth at 24.3, the second dead name among the leaders. Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent and Will Smith, whose films have grossed more than ten billion dollars, hold eleventh to fourteenth within 0.2 of each other, and Lana Del Rey closes the fifteen at 21.9.
Eighty-nine names were measured across sixteen countries, and 82 are living. The United States supplies sixty, and South Korea eleven, none of whom reach the top fifteen. Seven of the measured are dead, and two of them, Shakur and Presley, hold places that living rappers with active careers cannot take from them this month.
| Rank | Name | Score | Live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rihanna  celebrityAlive | 34.7 | iFANN → |
| 2 |  Shakira  celebrityAlive | 33.8 | iFANN → |
| 3 |  Beyoncé  celebrityAlive | 32.9 | iFANN → |
| 4 |  Eminem celebrityAlive | 32.8 | iFANN → |
| 5 |  Jennifer Lopez celebrityAlive | 32.3 | iFANN → |
| 6 |  Drake  celebrityAlive | 27.3 | iFANN → |
| 7 |  KANYE WEST celebrityAlive | 26.5 | iFANN → |
| 8 |  Tupac Shakur public figure | 25.3 | iFANN → |
| 9 |  John Cena celebrityAlive | 25.0 | iFANN → |
| 10 |  Elvis Presley public figure | 24.3 | iFANN → |
| 11 |  Chris Brown celebrityAlive | 23.4 | iFANN → |
| 12 |  Mariah Carey celebrityAlive | 23.3 | iFANN → |
| 13 |  50 Cent celebrityAlive | 23.2 | iFANN → |
| 14 |  Will Smith celebrityAlive | 23.2 | iFANN → |
| 15 |  Lana Del Rey celebrityAlive | 21.9 | iFANN → |
| 16 |  Paris Hilton celebrityAlive | 21.9 | iFANN → |
| 17 |  Sean Combs celebrityAlive | 21.7 | iFANN → |
| 18 |  Jay-Z celebrityAlive | 21.3 | iFANN → |
| 19 |  Snoop Dogg celebrityAlive | 21.2 | iFANN → |
| 20 |  Nicki Minaj  celebrityAlive | 20.9 | iFANN → |
| 21 |  Travis Scott celebrityAlive | 20.3 | iFANN → |
| 22 |  Jung Kook  celebrityAlive | 19.9 | iFANN → |
| 23 |  Kobe Bryant celebrity | 19.9 | iFANN → |
| 24 |  Cardi B celebrityAlive | 19.6 | iFANN → |
| 25 |  V (Kim Taehyung) celebrityAlive | 19.6 | iFANN → |
| 26 |  Mark Wahlberg celebrityAlive | 19.3 | iFANN → |
| 27 |  Memphis Depay  celebrityAlive | 18.7 | iFANN → |
| 28 |  Post Malone celebrityAlive | 17.8 | iFANN → |
| 29 |  Jimin celebrityAlive | 17.7 | iFANN → |
| 30 |  Kendrick Lamar celebrityAlive | 17.4 | iFANN → |
| 31 |  Pitbull celebrityAlive | 17.4 | iFANN → |
| 32 |  Jennie celebrityAlive | 17.2 | iFANN → |
| 33 |  Jamie Foxx celebrityAlive | 17.1 | iFANN → |
| 34 |  XXXTentacion celebrity | 17.0 | iFANN → |
| 35 |  Bad Bunny  celebrityAlive | 16.6 | iFANN → |
| 36 |  Maluma celebrityAlive | 16.1 | iFANN → |
| 37 |  Rosé  celebrityAlive | 15.3 | iFANN → |
| 38 |  Ice Cube celebrityAlive | 15.0 | iFANN → |
| 39 |  Doja Cat celebrityAlive | 15.0 | iFANN → |
| 40 |  Dr. Dre celebrityAlive | 14.5 | iFANN → |
| 41 |  Jin celebrityAlive | 14.4 | iFANN → |
| 42 |  Nelly Furtado celebrityAlive | 14.3 | iFANN → |
| 43 |  Lisa  celebrityAlive | 14.1 | iFANN → |
| 44 |  Pharrell Williams celebrityAlive | 14.1 | iFANN → |
| 45 |  Frank Ocean celebrityAlive | 13.7 | iFANN → |
| 46 |  Jaden Smith celebrityAlive | 13.7 | iFANN → |
| 47 |  SUGA celebrityAlive | 13.7 | iFANN → |
| 48 |  Rosalía  celebrityAlive | 13.6 | iFANN → |
| 49 |  T.I. celebrityAlive | 13.4 | iFANN → |
| 50 |  North West celebrityAlive | 13.4 | iFANN → |
| 51 |  Machine Gun Kelly celebrityAlive | 13.3 | iFANN → |
| 52 |  J-Hope celebrityAlive | 13.1 | iFANN → |
| 53 |  Wiz Khalifa celebrityAlive | 13.1 | iFANN → |
| 54 |  Teyana Taylor celebrityAlive | 13.1 | iFANN → |
| 55 |  ASAP Rocky celebrityAlive | 13.0 | iFANN → |
| 56 |  Mac Miller celebrity | 13.0 | iFANN → |
| 57 |  Melanie Martinez celebrityAlive | 13.0 | iFANN → |
| 58 |  Oliver Tree celebrity | 12.9 | iFANN → |
| 59 |  Ne-Yo celebrityAlive | 12.9 | iFANN → |
| 60 |  Lil Wayne celebrityAlive | 12.9 | iFANN → |
| 61 |  Stromae  celebrityAlive | 12.8 | iFANN → |
| 62 |  Lauryn Hill  celebrityAlive | 12.8 | iFANN → |
| 63 |  Psy celebrityAlive | 12.7 | iFANN → |
| 64 |  Jisoo celebrityAlive | 12.5 | iFANN → |
| 65 |  Kesha celebrityAlive | 12.5 | iFANN → |
| 66 |  Chester Bennington celebrity | 12.4 | iFANN → |
| 67 |  Travis Barker celebrityAlive | 12.2 | iFANN → |
| 68 |  Flo Rida celebrityAlive | 12.2 | iFANN → |
| 69 |  Central Cee  celebrityAlive | 12.1 | iFANN → |
| 70 |  Becky G celebrityAlive | 12.0 | iFANN → |
| 71 |  Jada Pinkett Smith celebrityAlive | 12.0 | iFANN → |
| 72 |  G-Dragon celebrityAlive | 12.0 | iFANN → |
| 73 |  Queen Latifah celebrityAlive | 11.9 | iFANN → |
| 74 |  Lin-Manuel Miranda celebrityAlive | 11.9 | iFANN → |
| 75 |  Lil Nas X celebrityAlive | 11.9 | iFANN → |
| 76 |  Playboi Carti celebrityAlive | 11.9 | iFANN → |
| 77 |  Rick Ross celebrityAlive | 11.8 | iFANN → |
| 78 |  Megan Thee Stallion celebrityAlive | 11.8 | iFANN → |
| 79 |  RM celebrityAlive | 11.7 | iFANN → |
| 80 |  Keke Palmer celebrityAlive | 11.7 | iFANN → |
| 81 |  Akon  celebrityAlive | 11.6 | iFANN → |
| 82 |  Kelly Rowland celebrityAlive | 11.6 | iFANN → |
| 83 |  Future celebrityAlive | 11.6 | iFANN → |
| 84 |  Iggy Azalea  celebrityAlive | 11.5 | iFANN → |
| 85 |  6ix9ine celebrityAlive | 11.4 | iFANN → |
| 86 |  Missy Elliott celebrityAlive | 11.3 | iFANN → |
| 87 |  Don Toliver celebrityAlive | 11.2 | iFANN → |
| 88 |  Tyler, the Creator celebrityAlive | 11.2 | iFANN → |
| 89 |  Willow Smith celebrityAlive | 11.1 | iFANN → |
About this list
This list ranks the most famous hip-hop artists and rappers in the world as of August 2026, by overall global fame rather than one month's attention. It is the top 89 of 89 names the rankings measured in this sector, frozen as the permanent record of that edition. This is the standard reading: everyone, living or dead, on one scale. 82 of the 89 listed are living; the Alive reading restricts the same ranking to living people.
Rihanna is No. 1 on this list for August 2026. Behind Rihanna come Shakira and Beyoncé.
What famous means here
Fame, in iFAMOUS, is how widely the world knows a name: how recognisable a person's name, face or work is, and how well people know who they are. It is assessed from extensive historical and current public data, some of it reaching back more than twenty years, and it is not merit, talent, importance or popularity on iFANN. The rankings model real-world global fame, not internet fame; the data is the instrument, not the subject. Activity on iFANN itself is excluded.
The month in the title is the date of this edition, not the period measured. The list is a snapshot of overall fame as it stood when the issue was frozen: a name does not lose its place because one month was quiet, and a trending moment alone does not put a name here. Trending attention is published separately on ifann.net.
How the list was ranked
The iFANN Global Fame Rankings combine worldwide Wikipedia readership across languages, worldwide news coverage and search interest anchored against stable reference names, with search history reaching back to 2004. A twelve-month baseline sits behind the current reading and short-lived surges are capped, so the list reflects durable recognition rather than one week of headlines. Rankings are computed daily on ifann.net and frozen on the second day of the following month as that month's issue; a published issue never changes.
About Hip-Hop
Hip-Hop is one of the sectors the journal ranks every month, alongside every country, origin and region list in this issue. Sector lists use the same rankings and the same scale as The 100, so a name can be compared across sectors and against the world. Rap, hip-hop and drill across every era and region.
Powered by iFANN
iFAMOUS is published by iFANN and powered by the iFANN Global Fame Rankings v5.62. Today's live standing for this list is on ifann.net; the journal freezes it once a month so it can be cited permanently.
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"Rihanna, No. 1 on The Most Famous Hip-Hop Artists and Rappers in the World", iFAMOUS No. 1 (August 2026), ifamous.org