George Clinton – $1.8 million
Greatest Hits: Can’t C Me, Loopzilla, You’re Thinkin’ Right
George Clinton, a longtime Motown songwriter, is renowned for composing and releasing many hit singles for independent Detroit soul labels. He founded The Parliaments, his own team, later renamed Parliament and Funkadelic. In the years after that, Clinton was recognized for his distinctive acid rock and electro-funk sound. He also sang, “Can’t C Me.” for artists like Ice Cube, Outkast, Redman, Wu-Tang Clan, and more. He influenced rap music, writing Tupac’s song “Bop Gun” C Kunspyruhzy, his own label.
Isaac Hayes – $12 million
Greatest Hits: Soul Man
The main influence behind Stax Records was Isaac Hayes. He was an in-house studio guitarist for the label before becoming a singer-songwriter. He was born in Tennessee and recorded the song ‘Soul Man,’ which is known to be one of the most popular soul songs. He wrote popular songs for movies as well. He wrote the film score for Shaft, winning an Oscar for his score. He earned the “competitive” Oscar as the third African-American kid. He was named a BMI Symbol in 2003, receiving ten prizes.