Amid Cardi B finally coming back “Outside” and Jay-Z surprising attendees Beyoncé’s final Cowboy Carter Tour show at Paris’ Stade de France with spirited renditions of “Crazy In Love” and “N—as in Paris,” there was one news item that dominated the week of Juneteenth — Billboard staff’s much buzzed-about ranking of the 75 Best R&B Singers of All Time.
Released in four parts, Billboard’s latest list quickly dominated both Internet and real-life conversations, as R&B lovers debated the vocal ability, longevity, catalogs, and careers of soul pioneers like Stevie Wonder and new-class leaders like Frank Ocean. Five-time Grammy nominee Tank, who landed at No. 67, took his Instagram Story, writing, “I see these kinds of things and refuse to get [emotional]… lol I’m really a monster and I’ll leave it at that.” On the other hand, Tamar Braxton, a four-time Grammy nominee who did not make the list, wrote on X: “… And [Billboard] got that best singers of all times list wrong if Kelly ain’t on there… everyone have a blessed day,” later clarifying she meant Kelly Clarkson, who earned an honorable mention for Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century ranking last year.
While debates rocked the R&B world, hip-hop enjoyed the beginnings of what could be a battle between Pusha T and Travis Scott after the former directed the following lines at the latter on Clipse’s new “So Be It” single: “You cried in front of me, you died in front of me/ Calabasas took your b—h and your pride in front of me/ Her utopia had moved right up the street/ And her lip gloss was poppin’, she ain’t need you to eat.”
With Fresh Picks, Billboard aims to highlight some of the best and most interesting new sounds across R&B and hip-hop — from Khamari’s new D’Angelo-sampling single to kwn and FLO’s X-rated link-up. Be sure to check out this week’s Fresh Picks in our Spotify playlist below.
