Drake Named Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist Of The Century

Drake Named Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist Of The Century

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Drake may have been the laughingstock of many rap fans since his beef with Kendrick Lamar wrapped up, but numbers don’t lie.

Billboard has officially ranked him as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the 21st Century.

With his cache of hits, holding the top spot shouldn’t be too surprising until you realize he didn’t have his first hit until 2009 with “Best I Ever Had,” which means there are plenty of other artists that had a nine-year head start that couldn’t accomplish what he did.

From 2000 to 2024, he had 30 No. 1 hits on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and 15 No. 1s on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. He holds the top totals among all artists in the entire history of each chart, and once broken down, the data still favors him, thanks to the sheer number of hits. He’s got the most No. 1s at 30, 135 top 10 hits, and a total of 355 chart entries. His 15 No. 1s on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums alone amount to 67 weeks atop the chart.

While on his way to this distinction, his consistency helped him rank as the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artist for a record-breaking eight years: 2012, 2015-18, 2021-22, and 2024.

Part of Drake’s appeal, which also garners him a ton of heat, is his versatility in the ability to rap bars, seamlessly hop into his R&B bag, and invite himself into any trend or other cultures, such as reggaeton, grime, experimental dance music, and dancehall.

The only artist to have a substantial impact in such a short time frame is The Weeknd, who also made the list.

Billboard says its numbers for the list “reflect performance on weekly charts dated Jan. 1, 2000, through Dec. 28, 2024. The Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists category ranks the best-performing acts in that span based on activity on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.”

Here’s who rounded out the top 10: