Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine that ranks R&B and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, 1965, in an effort by the magazine to further expand into the field of rhythm and blues music. It then went through several name changes, being known as

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LPs in the 1970s and Top Black Albums in the 1980s, before returning to the R&B identification in 1990 and affixing a hip hop designation in 1999 to reflect the latter's growing sales and relationship to R&B during the decade. From 1965 through 2009, the chart was compiled based on reported sales at a core panel of stores with a "higher-than-average volume" of R&B and/or hip-hop album sales to monitor buying trends of the African-American community. This panel included more independent and smaller chain stores compared to the high percentage of mass merchants that account for overall album sales. The core panel of stores continued to be monitored with the advent of SoundScan technology in the early 1990s but was dissolved at the end of 2009 when the methodology of the chart changed to "recap overall album sales of current R&B/hip-hop titles."

Chart name history

The chart debuted on January 30, 1965, as the Hot R&B LP's. On August 23, 1969, ''Billboard'' renamed both singles and albums contingents of the R&B charts as

charts; the albums chart was first called Best Selling Soul LP's and then from July 14, 1973, simply Soul LP's. On June 26, 1982, the singles and album charts were renamed again as Black Singles and Black LPs respectively. With ''Billboard's'' overhaul of its charts on October 20, 1984, the chart became Top Black Albums. On October 27, 1990, the charts returned to the R&B designation (Top R&B Albums, Hot R&B Singles). On December 11, 1999, ''Billboard'' renamed them again as Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, in an effort to recognize the growing sales of

hip hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

and the genre's influential relationship to

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

Achievements

Top Rap Albums

''Billboard'' began the Top Rap Albums chart on the weekend of June 26, 2004, although its first publication on print commenced on the week of November 20, 2004.

Pop Smoke Bashar Barakah Jackson (July 20, 1999 – February 19, 2020), known professionally as Pop Smoke, was an American rapper. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, he rose to fame with the release of his 2019 singles "Welcome to the Party (P ...

's posthumous debut, ''

Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon ''Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Pop Smoke. It was posthumously released on July 3, 2020, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records, and a deluxe edition of the album that include ...

'' holds the record of most weeks at number one on the chart with twenty non-consecutive weeks.

Albums with the most weeks at number one

Artists with the most number-one albums

Notes

References

Works cited

* Whitburn, Joel (2000). '' Top R&B Albums: 1965–1998.'' Record Research.

External links

Yearly Billboard Top 5 R&B Hip-Hop Albums 1966-2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Top RandB Hip-Hop Albums Billboard charts