Drake Named Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop Artist

Key Takeaways:

• Drake leads Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop Artists of the 21st Century list with 30 No. 1 songs and 15 No. 1 albums.
• Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and Lil Wayne are some of the other stars who made the list.
• The ranking reflects how streaming and cultural shifts have redefined chart success in Hip Hop and R&B.

From 2000 through 2024, Drake has been Billboard No. 1 R&B/Hip Hop artist. The 6 God sits atop a Top 10 list that includes JAY-Z, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and more music icons who have kept their grip on the charts for a quarter century.

Per Billboard, the list is determined by the performance of the artists on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums and Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs charts beginning January 2000 through December 2024. Despite having a relatively late start in 2009 compared to some of his competition, Drake still came out on top.

The Boy’s chart performance was bolstered by not only his own intensive release schedule but also his plentiful features with other artists. The result was 30 No. 1 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart and 15 No. 1s on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. That’s gives the “God’s Plan” rapper the most No. 1 hits in the history of both charts.

Equally impressive is who Drake ranked ahead of. The No. 2 position is held down by Beyoncé, whose post-Destiny’s Child solo career launched with her no. 1 hit “Crazy In Love,” featuring her now-husband JAY-Z, back in 2003. Queen Bey boasts an impressive eight No. 1s on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and 10 no. 1s on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart.

After The Weeknd at no. 3, Chris Brown at no. 4 and Usher at no. 5, the next highest rapper on the list is Lil Wayne at No. 6. Weezy is just ahead of JAY-Z thanks to 35 projects charting on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums list, including mixtapes, collaborative albums, and his Tha Carter titles.

The rest of the list is rounded out by Rihanna, Eminem and Alicia Keys at no. 8, no. 9 and no. 10, respectively.