Wed, August 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM UTC Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of the 21st Century recaps reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan.

Tank, a veteran singer with a decade and a half of R&B hits, remembers the moment when rappers took over the airwaves. “Bone Thugs-n-Harmony are the Jesuses of melody rap,” he says. “What they did was ...

Prior to "Folded," Kehlani landed in the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay penthouse via a feature on Cardi B's "Ring," which ...

From MPCs to FL Studio sessions, one thing remains consistent across generations of Hip Hop and R&B: The power of the sample. With that said, few eras have been mined more heavily than the 1980s. With ...

F or the first time in his career, Kendrick Lamar reigns as Billboard ’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the year, storming to the 2025 crown. The superstar rapper claims the throne in his 13th time on the ...

During the late '80s and early parts of the '90s, R&B was dominated by the new jack swing era, with artists such as Janet Jackson, New Edition and Boyz II Men being some of the subgenre's most ...

Drake leads Billboard's 100-position Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 21st Century retrospective. Below, find a breakdown of the 2000-24 top 10. By Trevor Anderson Drake dominates the competition as the ...

Welcome to The State of R&B, ESSENCE’s look at the past, present and future of rhythm and blues. In this piece, ESSENCE editor Rivéa Ruff reports on the blending of hip-hop and R&B. Since the ...

This list contains many of the year’s best-selling acts and, track-for-track, it looks like a fairly representative cross-section of 2013 pop. Except it’s not pop—at least, not according to the ...