Jamaican dancehall icon Sean Paul, Barbadian superstar Rihanna, and Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj have earned spots on Billboard’s prestigious Top Artists of the 21st Century list. Unveiled on Wednesday, January 8, 2024, the list ranks Sean Paul at No. 88, making him the sole Jamaican artist to achieve this milestone.
Billboard’s Top Artists, Top Billboard 200 Albums, and Top Hot 100 Songs of the 21st Century rankings reflect chart performance from January 1, 2000, to December 28, 2024. The Top Artists category specifically honors the best-performing acts based on their activity on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts during this period. Notably, titles released before mid-1999 are excluded unless they charted on the Billboard 200 or Hot 100 within the specified timeframe, contributing to the calculations.
Sean Paul has 19 Billboard Hot 100 hits to his name, the most for any Jamaican act including “Gimme The Light” (2002): his breakout hit which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, introducing his versatile style to the international scene.
His other hits are “Get Busy” (2003) from the Grammy-winning Dutty Rock album, which claimed the #1 spot and stayed on the charts for 32 weeks.
“Like Glue” (2003): A player’s anthem peaked at #13 and was featured in the video game Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition “Baby Boy” (2003): A collaboration with Beyoncé, hit #1 hit from her Dangerously in Love album and was a cultural phenomenon. “Temperature” (2006): One of Sean Paul’s most successful singles, stayed on the Hot 100 for 31 weeks, 17 of them in the top 10. “Cheap Thrills” (2016): A collaboration with Sia, reached #1 and became a global success, earning multiple platinum certifications worldwide.
Sean Paul’s other charting tracks include notable collaborations with Blu Cantrell (“Breathe”), Rihanna (“Break It Off”), Enrique Iglesias (“Bailando”), and Clean Bandit (“Rockabye”).
Billboard’s Top Artists of the 21st Century ranks Rihanna at No. 3 making her the highest ranking female Caribbean artist and Nicki Minaj at No. 36. Rihanna has 14 No. 1 singles, themes for any Caribbean national, including: “SOS,” three weeks at No. 1 beginning May 13, 2006, “Umbrella,” feat. JAY-Z, seven, June 9, 2007, “Take a Bow,” one, May 24, 2008, “Disturbia,” two, Aug. 23, 2008, “Live Your Life,” T.I. feat. Rihanna, six, Oct. 18, 2008, “Rude Boy,” five, March 27, 2010, “Love the Way You Lie,” Eminem feat. Rihanna, seven, July 31, 2010, “What’s My Name?,” feat. Drake, one, Nov. 20, 2010, “Only Girl (In the World),” one, Dec. 4, 2010, “S&M,” feat. Britney Spears, one, April 30, 2011, “We Found Love,” feat. Calvin Harris, 10, Nov. 12, 2011, “Diamonds,” three, Dec. 1, 2012, “The Monster,” Eminem feat. Rihanna, four, Dec. 21, 2013 and “Work,” feat. Drake, nine, March 5, 2016.
Nicki Minaj breathes rare are on the Billboard charts with 149 Hot 100 entries on total. She was the first woman to reach triple-digits, and is the only female rapper in the club.
Latin hitmaker Bad Bunny is ranked at No. 55, making him the highest ranking male Caribbean artist.
Taylor Swift and Drake are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Artist Of The 21st Century. Swift having scored 14 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums. She is ranked the biggest female rapper of the 21st century by Billboard.
