Now more than ever before, entrepreneurship has become one of the most defining strengths within the music industry, particularly in hip-hop.

Over the past decade, the entrepreneurial spirit in hip-hop has taken off, with the industry grossing more than $10 billion per year. Hip-hop artists from the projects have gone from broke hustlers to millionaire moguls as the CEOs and founders of hip- hop empires. Now more than ever before, entrepreneurship has become one of the most defining strengths within the music industry, particularly in hip-hop.

Two of the more prominent examples of entrepreneurial hip-hop artists are Jay Z and P. Diddy. We took the liberty of collecting some information about their entrepreneurial endeavors and think you'll be both surprised and impressed. We were.

JAY Z

This multi-million dollar, multi-platinum empire was built by Jay Z and Damon Dash.

Roc-A-Fella Films has produced six movies featuring the label's singers (which often don Rocawear apparel while drinking Armadale). Three feature films (Paid in Full, Paper Soldiers and Death of a Dynasty) will hit theaters soon.

Rocawear is one of the nation's bestselling men's apparel brands, with its baggy jeans and bulky pullovers quickly gaining market share. Established in 1999, Rocawear is distributed throughout Europe, Japan, Canada and the U.S. CEO Damon Dash expected that sales would top $300 million for 2003.

Premium two grain, triple distilled Scottish vodka distributed by Roc-A-Fella in the U.S.

An elite sports bar in New York City.

An autobiography on Jay Z's life.

P. DIDDY

One of the world's preeminent urban entertainment companies, BBWEB encompasses a broad range of businesses, including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, marketing and advertising, apparel, and restaurants. Collectively, sales are approaching $300 million annually and the company has an employee base of nearly 400.

The flagship company of BBWEG is Bad Boy Records, which was formed in 1994 with the signing of just two artists, former EPMD roadie Craig Mack and friend and collaborator Notorious B.I.G. Today, Bad Boy's annual sales have reached an overall average of $100 million with more than 75 million records sold worldwide by an impressive artist roster.

In 1997, Combs opened the doors to Justin's restaurant, named after his oldest son, in the Chelsea section of New York. Following the success of the first location, a second Justin's was opened in 1999 in Atlanta. The upscale décor, service and quality food helped to generate an expected $8 million in annual sales. Based on this success, the Justin's chain is scouting locations in several other cities, including Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit and Miami.

Blue Flame Marketing and Advertising has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Nike, Pepsi and Reebok, as well as New Line Cinemas and Versace, developing innovative marketing programs to capture the attention of young consumers.

In 1998, Combs formed Sean John Clothing, a line of designer men's urban contemporary clothing. Sean John is expected to generate sales of more than $100 million in just it's third year.

Because of the positive influence of family, teachers and mentors, Combs established Daddy's House Social Programs, Inc., in 1995 to create educational programs and initiatives for inner-city youth to try and recreate those same positive influences in the lives of youth. In addition to Daddy's House Day Care, Sean Combs is actively involved in a variety of charitable causes that give back to the community.

Plans in the future call for the re-launching of Notorious Magazine.

Daddy's House Studios is one of New York's most innovative, state-of-the-art,full-service recording studios and has been used for the majority of Bad Boy's recordings and outside projects.