Forbes magazine dropped its Top 25 R&B singers of all time list, listing names like Cleo Sol and Keith Sweat as the mavericks of the genre but failed to mention greats like Whitney Houston or Michael Jackson.
The magazine’s submission sent shock waves through many in the Black community, as the vocalist responsible for songs like “Next Lifetime” and “Bag Lady” was ranked over iconic singers such as Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Lauryn Hill, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, Luther Vandross, Toni Braxton, and Ray Charles, who also were not listed at all.
Cultural influencers like “The Breakfast Club” hosts Charlamagne Tha God, Jess Hilarious and DJ Envy were outraged at the list.
The “Get Honest of Die Lying” author said, “R&B is too deep. I don’t even know how you can sit down and try to do a top 25 R&B list. It’s too deep. Too many decades.”
As Jess Hilarious reviewed the list, Charlamagne questioned the exclusion of artists who have dominated Billboard’s R&B charts since the 60s, like Patti Labelle, Marvin Gaye, and the Isley Brothers. Jess Hilarious dismissed the list as a “joke,” and DJ Envy asked, “Who does these lists?”
The person at the publication responsible for this list is senior Hollywood & entertainment contributor Jacqueline Schneider, who named four-time Grammy winner Erykah Badu the best R&B singer of all time.
Forbes released a list of the 25 greatest R&B artists of all time. Top;
— Meddie Hunks®️↙️ (@mediehunks) July 20, 2024
WTF is Erykah Badu ?🙄🙄 pic.twitter.com/jcm7pvP8T2
The radio show, which is ranked the most-listened-to hip-hop and R&B morning show in America, posted the clip on its Instagram page and many of its 2 million followers weighed in.
One person commented, “Chyle Whitney Houston not being in the top spot let alone top 10 completely invalidates the list. Move along.”
Additional reactions included, “No Luther Vandross?!?? Y’all trippin!!!!” and “I love SZA, but her at #5 ALL TIME?!?!??… is laughable.” Another user remarked, “I love Erykah but ain’t no way she’s number 1! WHO’S young ass chose this list? I can’t even believe what I’m hearing right now?!!”
The radio vets were not the only ones giving push back. That Grape Juice posted the list on its Instagram page and their fans went off on the list, zeroing in on them selecting Badu as the best of the best.
“Forbes must love her incense,” one person wrote, referencing her sold out fragrance of her special body part.
Another quipped, “I love Erykah but HELLLLLLL NO.”
One fan rationalized, “Whoever did that is probably just in love with her hit song Tyrone…People feel a connection to that song,” before another followed up with, “They better call Tyrone to destroy this article…But they.”
One someone urged, “@Forbes stick to finance.” Along the same line, one person stated, “This is insane. what does @forbes know about music?”
The question is fair, particularly as Schneider got some basic facts wrong about the artists and genre in the article.
She wrote, “The R&B sound is known for vocal talents, with well-known artists who pioneered the genre at its height in the late 90s and early 2000s like Erykah Badu, Usher, Sade and Mariah Carey, to those who laid the groundwork for the R&B sound many people know and love now like Al Green, Anita Baker and Aaron Neville who sang about love and lust with intention and truly unique vocal stylings.”
Sade’s biggest hits were released in the early ’80s. She also asserted that acts like Usher and Mariah Carey pioneered the genre, when both artists looked to Michael Jackson, whose career started as No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B singles in 1969 with his brothers The Jackson 5’s hit “I Want You Back,” and then in 1983 his “Thriller” album stayed on the top of that R&B Album chart for 25 consecutive weeks.
This controversy raises the question of what defines R&B and who is qualified to discuss it.
That Forbes 25 greatest R&B list is a doozy. Lota of greats on it dont get me wrong but as soon as I saw the list creator I was like oh ok…that tracks…
— Eyes Forward,Love (@OhhTHATSMallory) July 20, 2024
While she notes that the term “Rhythm & Blues” was coined by Jerry Wexler of Billboard magazine in 1948, she failed to state the term replaced the offensive label “Race Music” and it appeared in Billboard as early as 1943, according to The National R&B Hall of Fame.
Schneider, who positions herself as an expert, gave no criteria as to how she came to rank the list, including people like Black British singer Cleo Sol in the list despite her never charting on Billboard — ever — over Franklin and Stevie Wonder, who have had 20 different songs on the chart.
Other artists who made Forbes’ list of the 25 greatest singers of all time include, D’Angelo, En Vogue, Brownstone, Floety, John Legend, Frank Ocean, Aaliyah, SZA, Mary J. Blige, TLC, and Jill Scott.
