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ANTHONY “TOP DAWG” TIFFITH
Founder/CEO, Top Dawg Entertainment
Last Year’s Rank: New
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Tiffith is the only player on the Power 100 who had a song about him on the Hot 100 in 2017. The Kendrick Lamar single “DUCKWORTH.,” which peaked at No. 63 in May, tells the true story of Tiffith meeting Lamar’s father at a fast-food restaurant.
STAKES IS HIGH: Tiffith signed Lamar when the MC was just 15, and their partnership paid off in a big way in 2017, with all 14 songs from DAMN., Lamar’s latest album, hitting the Hot 100, and his first No. 1 as a lead artist, for “HUMBLE.” Top Dawg also released R&B boundary-pusher SZA’s Ctrl, which got her a best new artist Grammy nomination. Not that Tiffith is allowing himself to rest easy. “The pressure doesn’t come off despite the demand for anything Lamar touches,” he says. “Expectations are always high, and you are competing against the last project you dropped.”
