The Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years

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In honor of the incomparable artists that have helped bring urban music to the masses over the last three decades -- and also to toast the success of our recently launched music column The Juice -- the Billboard chart team has assembled this list of the Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop artists of the last 25 years.

The tally is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts from Jan. 5, 1985, issue to the charts dated Nov. 6, 2010*. Artists are ranked based on an inverse point system (which just means that who ever spent the most weeks at No. 1 earned greater value than those that spent most time at the lower end of the chart).

Our list includes recent chart-toppers as well as classic favorites, platinum-selling crossover divas and quiet-storm crooners, innovators you'd expect to see and some surprising inclusions you never saw coming. But each artist is an essential voice in a genre that has become the driving force in today's popular music.

Now dissect the list, tear it apart, put it back together, and share your thoughts in the comments area below.

13
Michael Jackson

The King of Pop might as well be called the King of R&B as well, considering his seven No. 1 R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (five of those in the past 25 years) and incredible string of hit singles. Though he's no longer with us, Michael Jackson's music continues to live on -- both on record and on our charts. In 2009, he notched a No. 18 R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit with the title track from his concert documentary film "This Is It," while the film's companion album also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums tally.

TOP10:

http://www.billboard.com/column/the...p-artists-of-the-past-1004127916.story?page=5

10
Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys exploded onto R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2001 with her anthem "Fallin' " spending four weeks atop the chart and has never looked back. Every one of her five albums has reached the summit of R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, including her latest, "The Element of Freedom," which opened 2010 with five weeks at the top. The classically-trained pianist-turned-singer has sold a staggering 17.1 million albums in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, in her nine-year history, making her No. 10 ranking on this list well-deserved.

9
Freddie Jackson

Pop fans may not be overly familiar with Freddie Jackson's hit singles (as he's never reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100) but the singer/songwriter was a core hitmaking act on our R&B charts between 1985 and 1999, with a string of 18 top 10 hits starting with the No. 1 "Rock Me Tonight" in 1985 up through 1992's No. 2 hit "I Could Use a Little Love (Right Now)." On R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, he landed four straight No. 1s, including a 26-week reign with 1986's "Just Like the First Time" -- the third-longest run at No. 1 in the history of the chart. Only MC Hammer's "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" (with 29 weeks at the top) and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (37 weeks) were bigger.

8
Jay-Z

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter has come a long way from having to form his own record label, along with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke, in 1996 to release to his music after being rejected by label after label. After his critically acclaimed debut "Reasonable Doubt" peaked at No. 3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and sophomore release "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" capped out at No. 2, his breakthrough album "Vol. 2 - Hard Knock Life" spent six weeks atop the list in 1998. Overall, the Brooklyn emcee has posted a record 11 No. 1 albums (including two shared with R. Kelly) and on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, holds the most charted titles in the list's history with a fitting 99.

7
Luther Vandross

The silky-voiced singer placed 36 hits on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, including 20 top 10s and six No. 1s, between 1985 and 2007. Sadly, his last two appearances followed his passing in 2005 at age 54. The key to Luther Vandross' staying power was his ability to connect with younger audiences, courtesy of duets with Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey in the '90s and Beyonce in 2004. Before he suffered a debilitating stroke in 2003, he recorded "Dance With My Father," which he co-wrote with pop singer/songwriter Richard Marx. The touching ballad won the 2004 song of the year Grammy Award and Vandross' album of the same name became his first to top the Billboard 200.

6
Usher

Since arriving modestly on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with the No. 56-peaking "Call Me a Mack" (from the movie "Poetic Justice," starring Janet Jackson) in 1993, and on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums a year later with his self-titled debut set, which peaked at No. 25, Usher has gone on to sell 22.1 million albums, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Among his more recent non-chart-related credits: discovering Justin Bieber and being named one of Glamour's "50 Sexiest Men of 2010." (The mentor may have taught his protege a little too well: Usher placed at No. 38 on the list. Bieber ranked No. 7).

5
Janet Jackson

With a staggering 15 No. 1 singles on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Janet Jackson owns the most toppers on the tally in the past 25 years. Only R. Kelly and Usher, with 11 each, come close to the diva in that span of time. (Even Jackson's superstar older brother Michael trails, with just eight in that span of time.) Between the years of 1985 and 2001, Janet Jackson was an unstoppable force on the charts, landing more top 10s than any other act: 27. Going further, from 1985 through 2004, Jackson amassed 33 consecutive top 40 hits, beginning with the No. 40-peaking "Fast Girls" through the No. 18 hit "I Want You."

4
Mariah Carey

Having celebrated 20 years of conquering Billboard charts in 2010, Mariah Carey counts numerous records among her achievements. In addition to 10 No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and five on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, her 18 Hot 100 No. 1s are the most among solo acts (and second only to the Beatles' 20) and "One Sweet Day," with Boyz II Men, remains the chart's longest-reigning No. 1 (16 weeks, 1995-96). With 52.7 million albums sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Carey stands as the best-selling R&B album artist (and third overall after Garth Brooks and the Beatles) since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.

3
Whitney Houston

When Whitney Houston arrived on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 1984 as the featured guest star on Teddy Pendergrass' No. 5 hit "Hold Me," many knew that chart success was in her future. After all, it was in her genes: mother Cissy Houston was a respected gospel/R&B singer (and member of the Sweet Inspirations) and cousin Dionne Warwick had been a staple on the Billboard charts for decades. But no one could have expected just how big Houston would become. The diva not only went on to earn eight No. 1 singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, including her most recent, 2009's "I Look To You."

2
Mary J. Blige

The Queen of hip-hop soul was the title bestowed upon Mary J. Blige by Sean "Diddy" Combs who worked her debut album "What's The 411?" as an A&R exec at Uptown Records in 1992. On its way to spending seven weeks at the summit of Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, No. 1 singles "You Remind Me" and "Real Love" set the stage for Blige's illustrious career as one of the genre's most celebrated artists. She has since posted 20 top 10 tracks on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, including "Be Without You," which spent a record-setting 15 weeks atop the list, and eight chart-topping albums, the most by a female in R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart history.

1
R. Kelly

R. Kelly crowns our list of the top 25 R&B/hip-hop artists of the past 25 years with good reason. Since January of 1985, he's amassed 35 top 10 hits on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (the most of any act in the time frame) and a total of 84 charting singles. Among those are 11 No. 1s, including "Bump N' Grind" (12 weeks at the top) and "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" (seven weeks) with Ronald Isley. Further cementing Kelly's hitmaker status is his staggering 11 No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The R&B icon continued to post new chart achievements in 2010, as he notched his 56th top 40 single with "When a Woman Loves."