Chart Displacement / Hip-Hop / R&B

• 2 Chainz had several Top 40 hits (the highest of which being the #13 "Mercy", an equally-credited collaboration between him and rappers Kanye West, Big Sean, and Pusha T), but his signature "Birthday Song" only peaked at a measly #47.
• 50 Cent easily averts this, as "In da Club", "21 Questions" and "Candy Shop" all made it to #1. But in the UK, his highest chart position was #2, yet neither of the aforementioned songs hit that spot. Instead, they were "Ayo Technology" and "My Life", with the latter having been released in 2012, well after his prime.
• 112's highest peaking song (excluding their feature on Puff Daddy's The Notorious B.I.G. tribute "I'll Be Missing You", which was #1 for 11 weeks) is the #4 "Peaches & Cream", which is still quite well-remembered but not as much as "Only You" or "Cupid", which peaked at #11 and #13 respectively. Their only #1 as lead artist on the R&B chart? None of the aforementioned songs, but rather "It's Over Now".
• Aaliyah's sole #1 surprisingly was neither "One in a Million", which was never released as a physical single, nor "Are You That Somebody?", which never got higher than #21, but "Try Again". In fact, she outpeaked "Somebody?" on eight different occasions.
  • Over on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, her three #1s weren't any of the aforementioned songs (the former two didn't chart but they both peaked at #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop airplay charts, while the latter peaked at #4), but rather "Back and Forth", "If Your Girl Only Knew", and "Miss You".
• Al B. Sure! averts this, as his biggest pop hit was "Nite and Day", which hit #7. But what was his next highest charting hit? "Off On Your Own (Girl)"? (Nope, #45) "Killing Me Softly"? (Nope, #80) "If I'm Not Your Lover"? (Nope, didn't chart) It was "Missunderstanding", which only got as far as #42 before sliding off the chart almost immediately after (This is overall averted on the R&B chart, where all five are his five highest peaks). He had a second US Top 40 hit with "The Secret Garden" as part of a Quincy Jones-helmed supergroup with Barry White, James Ingram, and El DeBarge, and his lone UK Top 40 hit on David Bowie's "Black Tie White Noise", but he was a featured artist on both, and neither are associated with him.
• Alicia Keys had 3 #1 hits as a lead. They were "Fallin'", "No One" and… "If I Ain't Got You" or even "Girl on Fire"? Nope, those only reached #4 and #11. The third #1 was "My Boo", a far less memorable duet with Usher. Those two songs aren't even the closest she got to having a fourth #1; that honor belongs to the #3 "You Don't Know My Name". Even "Un-Thinkable" (#21) is probably better-known than that song.
• Beastie Boys scored three Top 40 hits. If you guessed two of them were "Fight For Your Right" (their highest charting hit, despite major Creator Backlash) and "Intergalactic", you're right. What was the third? "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", "Paul Revere" (Nope, the former two didn't chart), "So What'cha Want" (Nope, #93), "Sure Shot" (Nope, didn't chart either), or "Sabotage" (Nope, #115)? It was "Hey Ladies", which is usually only remembered as part of the band's seminal 1989 album Paul's Boutique rather than as a single. Like its parent album, "Hey Ladies" was only a modest hit when originally released (at least, comparatively to the blockbuster success of Licensed to Ill) and barely made the Top 40. "Hey Ladies" also holds the curious distinction of being the very first song to chart on both the Billboard Hot Rap Singles and Modern Rock charts — both had only just been introduced when the single was released.
  • Their sole #1 hit on alternative radio was "Ch-Check It Out" in 2004, well after their peak in popularity.
  • They had five entries on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, but out of the above songs, only "Paul Revere" (#34) charted, and even then, it wasn't the highest charter of the four; that would be "The New Style" (#22).
• Jamaican dancehall hip-hop artist Beenie Man had three US Top 40 hits and three UK Top 10 hits, but none of them were his 1997 breakthrough single "Dancehall Queen"(featuring Chevelle Franklin, from the movie of the same name), which petered out at #90 on the Hot 100 and didn't even chart in the UK. Averted in the Netherlands, where it went to #10 and was his biggest hit.
• Big Daddy Kane had a #31 hit, and his only Hot 100 entry, with "Very Special" in 1993, but it pales in comparison to "Ain't No Half-Steppin'", "Warm It Up Kane", "Raw", and "I Get the Job Done", among others.
• The Black Eyed Peas had three #1 hits. They were "I Gotta Feeling", "Boom Boom Pow", and… "Imma Be", which is far less famous than the likes of "Where Is The Love?" (#8), "Let's Get it Started" (#21), "My Humps" (#3), "Pump It" (#18), and "Just Can't Get Enough" (#3), to say the least. "Imma Be" isn't even the third-best known single from The E.N.D.; that would go to "Meet Me Halfway" (#7).
  • Fergie as a solo artist is a similar case. She had three #1 hits; if you guessed two of them were "Glamorous" and "Big Girls Don't Cry", you're correct. Most people would probably guess the other #1 was "Fergalicious"; it's certainly better-known than "Glamorous". However, it actually fell short at #2 behind Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable". The other #1 was "London Bridge", her debut single which did not have as much staying power. will.i.am, however, averts this, as his highest charting song "Scream & Shout" is easily his signature.
• B.o.B's only #1 hit was his 2010 debut single "Nothin' on You". However, his signature song is often considered to be "Airplanes" featuring Hayley Williams, which fell just short of the top spot at #2. The main reason for this is because "Nothin' on You" features Bruno Mars, who would later become a pop megastar eclipsing B.o.B., leading to the song being more associated with him. Additionally, "Airplanes" long outlived and far outsold "Nothin' on You". This is averted in the UK, where both songs made it to #1.
  • He had ten entries on the R&B chart, with "Nothin' on You" being the highest-peaking of the ten. However, "Airplanes" was his second-lowest entry on the chart.
• Bobby Brown topped the Hot 100 with his signature "My Prerogative", so he averts this trope. However, what was his next highest charter? "Rock Wit'cha" (Nope, #7), "Every Little Step" (Nope, #3), or "Don't Be Cruel" (Nope, #8)? It was actually "On Our Own". Despite being used as the Theme Song for Ghostbusters II, it's almost completely forgotten today. Brown did have a second #1 on the Hot 100 in "She Ain't Worth It", but he was only a featured artist, and the single didn't have the staying power of his previous singles (See the "Pop" page for more details).
  • The chart displacement is even worse in the UK. While most of his signatures were top-40 hits, his biggest hit at #3 was "Two Can Play That Game", a track that completely bombed in Brown's native USA and only got as high as it did in the UK because of a house remix by electronic group K-Klass. The only track to get close to matching its peak in the UK was "On Our Own" at #4, while "My Prerogative" and "Every Little Step" only made it to #6, and "Rock Wit'cha" reached #33.
• Born Jamericans' only top 10 US Rap hit wasn't "Send My Love/Send One Your Love", which only peaked at #19 there, but "Yardcore", which went to #8. The latter also outpeaked the former on the R&B chart (#45 vs. #60). Averted by "Send My Love" on the Hot 100, where it was their highest peaking song, albeit only at #72, whilst "Yardcore" failed to chart, though they did have an earlier Hot 100 entry with "Boom Shak-a-Tak" (#84), a track remembered only by Born Jamericans fans and Saints Row 2 players, as the Dancehall remix is a part of the game's licensed soundtrack.
• Bruno Mars has five #1 hits, eight including guest features and collaboration projects. Most of those songs are iconic, but you'd probably be surprised that "The Lazy Song" was not one of them; it peaked at #4, although it did top the UK charts. It's one of his best known songs despite being disowned by Mars himself. "Marry You" peaked at only #85, but it has remained in the public consciousness in part because of its continued use as a wedding song and a lasting pop radio presence. "Count on Me" is also very well-known for its use as a children's song despite never charting in the U.S, although it did chart elsewhere.
• When you ask a hip-hop head to name a Busta Rhymes song, they'll come up with a wide variety of answers such as "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" (#8), "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" (airplay-only single), "Dangerous" (#9), "Fire It Up" (#10), "Break Ya Neck" (#26) and "Pass the Courvosier" (#11). However, they probably wouldn't name "What's It Gonna Be?!" or "I Know What You Want", his two highest charting entries on the Hot 100, both peaking at #3 (and are his two highest entries on the R&B chart). While the latter is definitely better remembered than the former, it's probably more associated with Mariah Carey than him. The former is largely known for having one of the most expensive music videos ever made, but its then-eye-catching special effects are a lot less dazzling two decades on.
• Cee Lo Green entered the top 40 of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart three times (excluding features), but "Fuck You" tapped out at an astonishing #57. Averted on the Hot 100, where it and "Crazy" both reached #2.
• Chaka Khan's biggest hit on the Hot 100 at #3 wasn't "I'm Every Woman", which only peaked at #21 despite reaching #1 on the R&B chart, but her 1984 cover of Princes "I Feel For You".
• Chamillionaire's biggest hit on the hip-hop charts wasn't "Ridin'", but rather the far less memorable "Hip Hop Police". This is averted on the Hot 100, where "Ridin'" was easily his biggest hit.
• Chris Brown had two #1 hits, one of which was the well-known "Run It!". What was the other one? "With You" (#2), "Forever" (#2), "Deuces" (#14), "Yeah 3x" (#15) and "Look at Me Now" (#6) are all reasonable guesses, but it was actually "Kiss Kiss", which faded into relative obscurity after Brown and featured artist T-Pain's careers got damaged.
  • Brown achieved five #1s on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, three of which were "Run It!", "Deuces", and "Look at Me Now". As for the other two, they weren't "With You" (#5), "Forever" (#66), or "Yeah 3x" (didn't even chart), but rather "Say Goodbye" and "Go Crazy".
• Chuckii Booker's 1992 single "Games" topped the R&B charts, and is frequently sampled in other songs, most famously in Mark Morrison's 1996 hit "Return of the Mack", but stalled at #68 on the Hot 100. His other major hit, "Turned Away", fared better on the pop charts, but just missed the Top 40 at #42, and isn't as well remembered as "Games".
• Color Me Badd had two #1 singles on the Hot 100, but neither was "I Wanna Sex You Up", which just missed the top spot. Averted on the R&B chart, where it was one their two #1s.
• The Commodores had two #1 hits: "Three Times a Lady" and..."Brick House"? (Nope, #5) It was actually the less memorable "Still". Also, they had seven #1s on the R&B chart, none of which were "Brick House", which stalled at #4.
• Craig David averts this in his native UK, where both "Fill Me In" and "7 Days" hit the top spot. But in the US, "7 Days" was his only Top Ten hit, while "Fill Me In" stalled at #15, but became his most enduring hit overseas. This is partially attributed to the fact that both singles and their accompanying album, Born to Do It, weren't released in the US until well over a year after its initial UK release, which slowed David's crossover momentum considerably.
• Cypress Hill easily averts this trope, as their signature "Insane in the Brain" was their only Top 40 hit. However, they have a strong Periphery Demographic with rock fans, even with those who don't normally listen to hip-hop. As a result, they've managed several hits on alternative rock. However, "Insane", the song you're most likely to hear on the rock format nowadays, never charted there, as the format was not very friendly to hip-hop acts at the time of its release. The rock hits were 2000's "(Rock) Superstar" (#18), 2004's "What's Your Number" (#23), and 2010's "Rise Up" (#20). Today, only the formermost song remains well-known, though not to the extent of "Insane".
• Deborah Cox's two Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ^note and two #1s on the R&B chart were "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here", at #2, and... "Thing's Just Ain't The Same"? Only made it to #56. "It's Over Now"? Stalled out at #70. "I Never Knew"? Didn't chart. Rather, her second and last US Top 10 hit was a long-forgotten duet with R.L., "We Can't Be Friends", peaking at #8. She also had two other obscure Top 40 hits, "Who Do U Love" (#17), and "Sentimental" (#27). On the Dance Club Songs chart, though, she averts this trope, with "Things", "Nobody", "I Never Knew", and "It's Over Now" all being #1's there.
• Destiny's Child had four #1s. "Say My Name", Independent Women Part 1", and "Bootylicious" were three of them. The other was either "Survivor" or "Jumpin', Jumpin'", right? Nope, #2 and #3 respectively; it was "Bills, Bills, Bills".
• Digital Underground is best known for their #11 novelty hit "The Humpty Dance". But even some of their most devout fans don't know they had a second top-40 pop hit. It wasn't "Same Song", which didn't chart, but "Kiss You Back", which barely scraped in at exactly #40. "Same Song" is more remembered because it was the debut of then-member Tupac Shakur, who broke out into a very successful solo career almost immediately after its release.
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, and, by extension, Will Smith (See below for his own entry), avert this trope on paper, with several successful Top 40 singles including the #4 Billboard hit "Summertime", and a UK #1 with "Boom! Shake the Room". But their most iconic song, "Yo Home to Bel-Air", AKA "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme", was never released in the US as a single until 2016, twenty years after the show ended. The song was released in 1992 to the Netherlands and Spain, and hit the Top Five in both countries, and earned the group a Silver BPI certification in the UK.
• DJ Khaled has had six top 10 hits (including the #1 "I'm the One"), but "All I Do Is Win" petered out at #24. Also, his two biggest hits, "I'm the One" and "Wild Thoughts", are often primarily associated with Justin Bieber and Rihanna, respectively, rather than Khaled (ironically, neither are the only featured artists on their songs).
• DMX had three Top 40 hits: "Party Up", "Ruff Ryders Anthem"^note similar to the Motörhead example on the Metal and Hard Rock page, this charted higher than its original release after his death in 2021, reaching a new peak of #16 - it peaked at #93 originally and... the third one must have been "X Gon' Give It to Ya" or "Where the Hood At?", right? Nope, those peaked at #46 and #68 respectively; his third Top 40 hit was "Get at Me Dog", which was also his highest entry on the Hot Rap Songs chart.
• Dr. Dre averts this on one hand, as his signature "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" peaked at #2. He had three more Top 10 hits as the lead artist, but none of them were "Still D.R.E.", "Forgot About Dre" and "The Next Episode". Believe it or not, they never made it past #23^note it originally peaked at #93, but reached its current peak after Dr. Dre headlined the Super Bowl halftime show with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar in 2022, #25 and #23, respectively. The others are "Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everyone's Celebratin')", "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" and "I Need a Doctor" (the latter commonly being thought of as Eminem's song).
  • He also averts this overall on the R&B chart, where "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" was his only chart-topper. However, what was his second-highest entry, at #3? "Let Me Ride", which is quite far from being one of his signatures.
  • In the UK, he had five Top 10 hits, yet "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" stalled at #31, and whilst his Top 10s include the iconic "The Next Episode", "Still D.R.E" and "Forgot About Dre" (with the former being his highest charter), the other two were the aforementioned "I Need a Doctor" and the long forgotten "Bad Intentions".
• Drake has had many top 10 hits and 12 #1s (including eight as the lead artist and four more as a featured artist), but "The Motto" (best known as the song that gave rise to "YOLO") only reached #14, and both "Best I Ever Had" and "Hotline Bling" fell one spot short at #2.
  • As a lead artist, Drake has had 18 #1s on the rap chart, but "Find Your Love", "Hold On, We're Going Home", and "One Dance" all didn't even enter the chart.
• E-40 had three top 40 hits - "Rapper's Ball", "U and Dat" and "Tell Me When To Go". The latter is easily the best-known out of the three, despite being the lowest-charting (and the second is probably associated more with T-Pain than with him). Of the three, it's also the lowest-charting on both the R&B and rap charts.
• Eminem:
  • He had five #1 singles (including his signature "Lose Yourself"), but most people would be surprised to find out that "My Name Is" fizzled out at #36 and "Stan" never made it past #51. In fact, Dido's "Thank You", the song that the latter adopted its hook from, peaked at #3 despite nowadays being much less remembered.
  • Most would assume that three of his five #1 hits were "Without Me", "The Real Slim Shady", and "Cleanin' Out My Closet", but they just missed the spot, with the former at #2 and the latter two at #4. One of those five #1s was the relatively forgotten "Crack a Bottle".
  • The Eminem Show produced four Top 40 hits, with the aforementioned "Without Me" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet" being the two highest-charting of them all, but "'Till I Collapse" wasn't one of the four, as it wasn't released as a single. In spite of this, it's easily more well-known than the other two hits off of the album, "Sing for the Moment" (#14) and "Superman" (#15), thanks to its later presence in various media and its status as a workout anthem.
  • The Marshall Mathers LP 2 produced two Top 5 hits — "The Monster" of course was one of them being its sole #1, but the other must've been "Rap God", right? Actually, "Rap God" only reached #7. The other Top 5 was the #3 "Berzerk". Far from obscure, but not quite as well known. "Berzerk" hit #3 because it was the album's lead single which had strong first-week sales; meanwhile "Rap God" is hailed as one of Eminem's all-time greatest tracks, and arguably even eclipsed "The Monster" in public consciousness.
  • Bizarrely, "The Ringer", a non-single from Kamikaze, charted at #8 - higher than the singles "Fall" (#12) and "Venom" (#43), despite the latter being by far the most well-remembered and popular song on the album, and the only Kamikaze song to have more than 500M views on YouTube (far more than some of his signature songs like "My Name Is", "Forgot About Dre" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet"). Only "Lucky You" charted higher, hitting #6. In the UK, "The Ringer" went to #4 and was the highest charting song from the album, with "Lucky You", "Fall" and "Venom" only reaching #6, #8 and #16 respectively. Considering the content of "The Ringer", commentators at the time noted that this success was likely due to hate-clicks.
  • In the UK, he had nine #1 hits, with five of them being some of his most popular songs ("The Real Slim Shady", "Stan", "Without Me", "Lose Yourself" and "The Monster"), whilst the other four were the lesser remembered "Just Lose It", "Like Toy Soldiers", "River" and "Godzilla".
• En Vogue's Signature Song "Free Your Mind" only got to #8 on the Hot 100 and #23 on the R&B charts. Meanwhile, "Hold On", "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" and "Don't Let Go (Love)" all charted one step away from the top spot at #2 on the Hot 100, but they were among their many #1 R&B hits.
• Eric B. & Rakim only had one charting entry on the Hot 100. It wasn't "Paid In Full", "Eric B. Is President", or "I Ain't No Joke", but rather the much-less remembered "Juice (Know the Ledge)". Their only Top 40 appearance was a featured credit on Jody Watley's now-long forgotten #9 hit "Friends". Averted on the Dance Club Songs chart, where "Paid In Full" was their highest charter at #3.
• Etta James had nine top 40 hits, but "At Last" was not among them, peaking at #47.
• Fabolous had four Top 10 hits: "Breathe", "Can't Let You Go", "Into You" and "Make Me Better". The first is the best-known of the four, but it charted the lowest.
• German hip-hop group Die Fantastischen Vier's three best remembered songs are also the ones that were really huge: "Sie ist weg" (#1), "Die da!?!" (#2) and "MfG – Mit freundlichen Grüßen" (#2). Their arguably fourth most popular song, however, is "Tag am Meer", which only reached #67 (the one that charted was an unplugged version; the original didn't chart), whereas various other major and moderate hits such as "Troy" (#9), "Ernten was wir säen" (#12) and "Einfach sein" (#11) are pretty much forgotten.
• Fat Joe has had 6 Top 40 hits, and one of them, "What's Luv?", was also one of two singles to top the Hot Rap Songs chart. The other #1 Hot Rap Songs hit (not counting Terror Squad's "Lean Back") was not "We Thuggin'" (#7), "So Much More" (#18) or "Make It Rain" (#2), but rather his largely-forgotten debut single "Flow Joe".
• Flo Rida easily averts this overall, as his 10-week 2008 chart-topper "Low" is easily his signature. However, his 2015 EP My House falls into this status, having produced two Top 10 hits — "G.D.F.R." and the title track. The former stalled at #8 while the latter made it to #4. However, when all is said and done, "G.D.F.R." will likely be the more enduring of the two, due to it being a club anthem and that it was used in a couple blockbuster films (Furious 7 and Deadpool).
  • In the UK, he does fall into this, as "Low" only made it to #2, with his three #1 hits instead being "Right Round", "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Good Feeling".
• Fort Minor, a side project of Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, hit #4 with "Where'd You Go" in 2006. Their only other charting hit, "Remember the Name" stalled at #66 before plummeting off the charts, and the project was cancelled shortly after. Sounds like your typical One-Hit Wonder, right? Well, that's mostly true, except most say that the latter song was the "one hit". It's been used numerous times in media, became a sports anthem, and has overshadowed anything else they've ever done, while the former has faded into general obscurity.
• The Fugees is a weird example. Their highest charter only reached #29, it was their only Top 40 hit, and it was neither their cover of "Killing Me Softly" nor "Ready or Not", but rather "Fu-Gee-La". However, that's because despite being a massive airplay hit and a worldwide chart-topper, "Killing Me Softly" was not eligible to chart on the Hot 100 because it was not released as a physical single. It undoubtedly would've made the Top 10, if not #1, if it were. Meanwhile, "Ready or Not", which was also not released physically, peaked at a mere #69 on the airplay chart. Averted with Lauryn Hill as a solo artist, as her signature "Doo Wop (That Thing)" was her only #1 hit and nothing else came close.
• Ginuwine's highest-charting song wasn't "Pony", which peaked at #6, but rather "Differences", which peaked two spots higher. Averted on the R&B chart, where both were his only visits to #1.
• Gucci Mane's highest charting appearance on the Hot 100 before his prison sentence was a feature on Mario's long-forgotten "Break Up", at #14. In comparison, of his more iconic singles from this time period like "Wasted", "Icy" and "Lemonade", only "Wasted" made it to the top 40 (at #36; "Lemonade", while being more popular than "Wasted" today, just missed the top 40 at #53, and "Icy" only charted on the Bubbling Under charts). Inverted post-release, with him having a feature on Rae Sremmurd's huge #1 hit "Black Beatles" (Rae Sremmurd, however, ended up a Two-Hit Wonder, albeit remembered outside of trap circles as a One-Hit Wonder for "Black Beatles") and his own tracks "I Get The Bag" and "Wake Up In The Sky" being both his highest charting tracks on the chart (both peaking at #11) and party staples.
• Guy aren't considered one-hit wonders, however, many would be surprised to learn that many of their singles didn't even sniff the Hot 100, let alone the Top 40. "Groove Me", "Teddy's Jam", "Do Me Right", and many more were hits on the R&B chart, but didn't cross over onto the Hot 100, while "Let's Chill" barely missed the Top 40, peaking at #41. Their lone Top-40 pop hit, "Dancin'" (#19), came eight years after their prime, and isn't nearly as well-remembered as any of their singles from their 1988-1992 heyday.
• Heavy D's "Now That We Found Love" was a worldwide smash, and hit #11 on the pop charts, so he mostly averts this. But many of his most popular singles like "We Got Our Own Thang" and "Somebody For Me" didn't even sniff the Hot 100. Even "Nuttin' But Love", which barely scraped the Top 40 in 1994, is better remembered than his Gold-certified 1997 hit "Big Daddy", which reached #18. He had big features with Michael and Janet Jackson ("Jam" (#26) & "Alright" (#4), respectively), but neither song was associated with him.
• Ice-T had two solo entries on the Hot 100, but his best-known song (his band Body Count's "Cop Killer") was never released as a single. That song has never been re-released, and became known for the controversy surrounding its lyrics.
• The Isley Brothers had twelve Top 40 hits, but their signature "Shout" topped out at #47. The only other song that comes close is the #17 "Twist and Shout", which was Covered Up by The Beatles.
  • The Isley Brothers are the only act in pop music history to have a Top 40 single in every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s, so this happened a couple other times to them in their long and storied career. The 1983 ballad "Between the Sheets" has been sampled so often by so many different artists (most notably by The Notorious B.I.G. in "Big Poppa"), that one would think it was one of their biggest hits of that era. But it fell just short of the Hot 100, topping the Bubbling Under chart. Their highest charting tune from the 1980s was "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love)", a now completely forgotten #39 hit from 1980.
• Ja Rule averts this, as "Always on Time" was his sole #1, not just on the Hot 100 but also on the hip-hop and rap charts. He also only had one #1 in the UK, but it wasn't "Always on Time". Was it "Livin' It Up" or "Mesmerize" instead? No, it was the much less remembered "Wonderful". The song's reputation isn't helped by the fact that it featured the now disgraced R. Kelly.
• Jackie Wilson's best showing on the Hot 100, "Night" (#4), is not nearly as iconic as "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" (#6), "Reet Petite" (did not chart on the Hot 100) or "Lonely Teardrops" (#7). However, "Reet Petite" was a Christmas #1 in the UK in 1986, three years after his death.
• James Brown averts this trope, as one of his signature tunes ("I Got You (I Feel Good") peaked at #3 and was one of seventeen #1 singles on the R&B chart.
  • "Living in America" from Rocky IV was his next-biggest hit on the Hot 100 (#4), but it only peaked at #10 on R&B.
  • Among his #1 singles on R&B, this total does not include "Funky Drummer" (#51 Hot 100, #20 R&B), "Get Up Offa That Thing", (#45 Hot 100, #4 R&B), "Funky President" (#44 Hot 100, #4 R&B), or "Sex Machine" (#15 Hot 100, #2 R&B).
• Janelle Monáe's highest charting solo song isn't her Signature Song "Tightrope" (which actually didn't even chart in the U.S.), "Cold War" (also didn't chart stateside) or "Make Me Feel" (#99), but rather 2015's "Yoga" (#79), a collab with Jidenna that charted following the success of his only hit "Classic Man", which surprisingly outpeaked all of Janelle's solo songs despite being relatively forgotten today. Her highest charting song in general is technically her small feature on fun.'s "We Are Young", which is easily her best known song overall.
• Jason Derulo:
  • He has two #1 hits: his debut single, 2009's "Whatcha Say", and 2020's "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)" with Jawsh 685 (helped by a remix featuring BTS). Neither song is quite as iconic as 2014's "Talk Dirty" (featuring 2 Chainz), which only peaked at #3, or 2015's "Want to Want Me", which peaked at #5. While not on the same level, some may be surprised to learn that "Swalla", which saw a minor resurgence in The New '20s thanks to Memetic Mutation, tapped out at #29.
  • In the UK, he averts this overall as "Talk Dirty" and "Want to Want Me" were two of his five #1 hits, although some of his other well-known songs such the aforementioned "Whatcha Say" and "Ridin' Solo" didn't make it (#3 and #2 respectively), especially as one of those #1 hits was the completely forgotten "Don't Wanna Go Home".
• Jay-Z:
  • His only #1 hit as a lead artist was "Empire State of Mind" featuring Alicia Keys, which is quite well-known, especially as an anthem for residents of the Big Apple. His signature "99 Problems," however? That one didn't get any higher than #30. The latter song is also not one of his seven #1s on the rap chart, stopping at #10.
  • In the UK, his only #1 was the largely forgotten "Run This Town", although "99 Problems" did fare better here than in the US, making it to #12 as a double A-side single with "Dirt Off Your Shoulder".
  • He and Kanye West had three top 40 hits with The Throne: "Niggas in Paris", "Otis" and… "No Church in the Wild"? It was actually the less memorable "H•A•M".
• Juice WRLD had two #2 hits, with his signature "Lucid Dreams" being one of them. The other must've been his breakout hit "All Girls Are the Same", right? It's one of his most played songs on nearly every streaming platform. His other #2 was "Come & Go", a posthumously-released collaboration with Marshmello that isn't quite as well-remembered. Many would be even more surprised that "All Girls Are the Same" fell short at #41 and he outpeaked it twenty times, some of which were tracks from his posthumous album Legends Never Die (the record that contained "Come & Go") that were never even released as singles.
• Juvenile had two Top 40 hits — 1999's "Back That Azz Up", which only reached #19, and 2004's "Slow Motion", a chart-topping smash. What happens next? The former becomes his most iconic song, a staple of parties across the country, and the song you're more likely to hear on urban stations, while the latter fades into relative obscurity.
• Kanye West:
  • Kanye has three #1 hits on the Hot 100. If you guessed that two of them were "Gold Digger" and "Stronger", you'd be correct, considering they are some of his most well-known songs to date. However, not many would guess the third one to be "Carnival", which was released in 2024 after his career hit a new low due to antisemitic comments from late 2022 onwards, including praising Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust, and because of that, it is unlikely to be held in the same vein as many of his songs that didn't reach the top ten at all, including classics like "Jesus Walks" (#11), "Touch the Sky" (#42), "Mercy" (#13), "Black Skinhead" (#69), "Flashing Lights" (#29), or any of the singles from his iconic album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^note "Power" (#22), "Runaway" (#12), "Monster", and "All of the Lights" (both reached #18)
  • "Gold Digger" was his biggest hit off of Late Registration, but the album also spawned two other Top 40 hits. They were not "Touch the Sky" and "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", but "Heard 'Em Say" and "Gone". The former is more remembered for its Animated Music Video co-directed by Bill Plympton and is only brought up for the novelty of Kanye collaborating with Adam Levine, of all people. The latter wasn't even a single and only briefly charted in 2013, eight years after the album was released, when video of a woman quitting her job and dancing to the track went viral, where it was naturally forgotten once that video's popularity came and went.
  • He topped the hip-hop charts four times^note not counting songs where he wasn't top-billed, including "Niggas in Paris", "Marvin & Chardonnay", "Knock You Down", "Slow Jamz" and "FourFiveSeconds": "Gold Digger" was of course one of them, but the other three were "Mercy", "Hurricane" and the aforementioned "Carnival". While they aren't obscure by any means, they don't compare to the likes of "Stronger" (#30), "Heartless" (#4), or "All of the Lights" (#2), among other songs.
  • He also topped the rap chart six times^note again, not counting songs where he wasn't top billed, including "Niggas in Paris", "Put On", "Run This Town", "Forever" and "Slow Jamz", but "Stronger" and "All of the Lights" fell at #3 and #2 respectively.
• Kendrick Lamar scored his first #1 hit (as a lead) in 2017 with "HUMBLE." However, time will tell if it can supplant the #81 "Alright" as his signature. Despite its low peak, "Alright" is well-known due to it becoming an anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement, being named the top song of 2015 by outlets like Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, and The New York Times, being nominated for Song of the Year at the VMAs, and winning a Grammy for Best Rap Song.
• Kid Cudi's only #1 is "The Scotts" from his side project of the same name with Travis Scott, which debuted at the top of the charts due to the novelty factor but fell off relatively quickly; as such, it hasn't had the same longevity as "Day 'n' Nite" (#3) and "Pursuit of Happiness" (#59).
• Lil' Jon's biggest hit was "Get Low" (#2), which is easily his best-known song today. Most people would guess his next-biggest hit was his spot on DJ Snake's "Turn Down for What" (#4), but it was actually "Lovers & Friends" (just barely, though). Even "Snap Yo Fingers" (#7) is probably better-known than that song.
• LL Cool J's two highest-charting hits reached #3, but neither of them were "Mama Said Knock You Out", "I Need Love" or "I Can't Live Without My Radio" (the former two peaked at #17 and #14 respectively, while "I Can't Live Without My Radio" did not chart on the Hot 100). One was the fairly well-remembered Boyz II Men collaboration "Hey Lover", but the other was the largely forgotten "Loungin'". Even fewer will realize that his sole #1 hit was not as a lead, but as a feature, which came in 2003 on Jennifer Lopez' largely forgotten "All I Have".
• Ludacris had two #1s as a lead artist, but neither was "Move Bitch" (which only peaked at #10). They were "Stand Up" and "Money Maker". Not entirely obscure, but not as well known as "Move Bitch". "Move Bitch" also does not rank among his #1s on both the R&B and rap chart, peaking at #3 on both charts.
• M.O.P. never touched the Hot 100, but they did have one song hit the Bubbling Under chart, "Handle UR Bizness", which isn't nearly as iconic as their signature "Ante Up". Averted in most other countries where it was their only hit... ...except for the UK and Ireland, where it was outpeaked by "Cold as Ice".
• Mac Miller's highest-charting hit wasn't his signature "Donald Trump" (#75), but rather his posthumous "Good News" (#17). Also surprising is that the former was outpeaked by 12 solo tracks, none of which are as well-known. The main reason "Donald Trump" remained so enduring was due to said businessman's media ubiquity during his presidential campaign, and with him winning presidency of the nation (and the song re-entering the iTunes charts afterwards), it's unlikely that any song will ever be able to displace it as Miller's overall signature. However, his best showing on the Hot 100 was a feature on Ariana Grande's "The Way", which is still the most famous song he was ever on.
• Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men were two of the biggest artists of the 1990s, spawning #1 hit after #1 hit throughout the decade. You may know the former for songs like "Hero", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", "We Belong Together", and "All I Want For Christmas Is You", while you may know the latter for songs like "End of the Road", "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday", and "I'll Make Love to You." Now, those songs were huge, but chart record-wise they barely compared to a certain other song. In late 1995 through early 1996, both acts shared the single "One Sweet Day," an R&B ballad that spent 16 weeks at the top of the chart, a record that stood until "Old Town Road" in 2019. Nowadays? It's not nearly as memorable as those other singles. However, it still has a large following with chart enthusiasts, and is still often used to mourn the loss of a loved one.
• Maxwell's signature hit, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" still gets regular rotation on R&B radio, but only reached #36 on the Hot 100. He outpeaked the song multiple times afterwards, most notably with his 1999 #4 hit "Fortunate"; but "Ascension" remains his best-selling single.
• MC Hammer averts this trope overseas, as his signature "U Can't Touch This" topped the charts in a few countries. Back home in the USA, "Touch" was a massive radio hit, and was his only chart-topper on the R&B chart, but it actually wound up as the lowest-peaking of his five Top 10 hits on the Hot 100; It stalled at just #8… because Capitol Records only released it there as a rare 12-inch single (it would have almost certainly topped the Hot 100 if it were more widely available). His biggest hit stateside, believe it or not, is "Pray", a now-obscure #2 hit that sampled Prince's "When Doves Cry". His second best-known song, "2 Legit 2 Quit", only peaked at #5, just one below Hammer's long-forgotten cover of "Have You Seen Her".
• Milli Vanilli had three songs hit #1 on the Hot 100 (all in 1989), however "Girl You Know It's True", the first thing people associate with them that's not their scandal, peaked at #2. Averted in their native Germany, where "Girl You Know It's True" was their only #1.
• Missy Elliott had three songs that charted higher than "Get Ur Freak On", which peaked at #7. "Work It", her highest charting song, still gets steady airplay on urban stations, but "Hot Boyz", one half of the other two, is largely obscure today. The other half of the other two higher-charting songs was "Lose Control", which was saved from obscurity thanks to its usage in a meme involving a clip of the Triforce of Courage from The Light of Courage dancing.
• Nas had three Top 40 hits as the lead artist — "Sweet Dreams", "Made You Look", and "I Can". However, none of them are considered his signature. That honor goes to "N.Y. State of Mind", which was never released as a single. Of the three, "Made You Look" is the best known, but even then it's an example as it was the lowest charting of the three.
• Ne-Yo averts this overall, as his signature "So Sick" was his only #1 as a lead. However, his only #2 wasn't "Miss Independent" or even "Closer", both of which peaked at #7, but rather "Because of You". While far from obscure, it isn't quite as well-known.
  • As a lead artist, he topped the R&B/Hip-Hop chart twice. Once was with "Miss Independent", but the other wasn't with "So Sick" (#3) or "Closer" (#21), but rather the considerably lesser-known "Sexy Love".
  • In the UK, he had four #1 hits, two of them being "So Sick" and "Closer", but the other two were the lesser-known "Beautiful Monster" and "Let Me Love You", with "Miss Independent" only getting to #6.
• Nelly had four #1 hits: "Hot In Herre", "Dilemma", and... "Ride wit Me" and "Country Grammar"? Actually, they never made it past #3 and #7, respectively. The other two are the much less remembered "Shake Ya Tailfeather" and "Grillz".
• N.E.R.D. made a surprise comeback in 2017/2018 when "Lemon", their collaboration with Rihanna, became their first song to chart on the Hot 100 and went Top 40. However, since it only became a hit because of her, it's not as associated with them when compared to some of their earlier songs, like "Lapdance", "She Wants To Move", or "Rockstar", or even Pharrell Williams's solo hits like "Frontin'" or "Happy".
• New Boyz's biggest hit wasn't "You're A Jerk" (#24), but rather the long-forgotten "Tie Me Down" by two spots. Averted on both the rap and R&B charts, where the former was their highest entry.
• Nicki Minaj's three #1 hits on the Hot 100 were a remix of Doja Cat's "Say So", 6ix9ine's "TROLLZ", and her own song "Super Freaky Girl". However, since she wasn't the main artist on the former two^note even though the latter is credited to both artists on the lead and the latter is too recent, it is likely that they won't be as well-known or associated with her as songs like "Super Bass" (#3), "Starships" (#5) or "Anaconda" (#2). "TROLLZ" notably only charted for four weeks, setting a record for shortest charting #1 hit in Hot 100 history (later broken by BTS' "Life Goes On", which only lasted for three).
  • She has had eight #1s on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, "Anaconda" being one of them. However, the remaining total does not include "Super Bass" (#6) or "Starships" (#85). Instead, it includes "Moment 4 Life" ("Super Bass"'s predecessor), "Only" ("Anaconda"'s followup), "Do We Have a Problem?" (with Lil Baby), her featured credit on Drake's "Make Me Proud", and her aforementioned #1s on the Hot 100.
• Nina Simone's only Top 40 hit wasn't "Feeling Good", but rather "I Loves You, Porgy". This is because "Feeling Good" wasn't released as a single until 1994, almost 30 years after it first appeared on her album I Put a Spell on You. Other Simone classics better known than her "Porgy" cover also had lower chart peaks or didn't chart at all on the Hot 100: 1968's "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" only reached #94, while 1964's "Mississippi Goddam" missed the Hot 100 entirely, in part because many radio stations outright banned it due to its pro-civil rights message.
• The Notorious B.I.G. had four Top 10 hits: "Big Poppa", "One More Chance", "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money Mo Problems" (the latter two being posthumous #1s). While all of his hits are classics (especially the two #1s), none are quite on the level of his debut single "Juicy". It is widely hailed as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time, despite never making it past #27.
  • In the UK, his sole #1 was "Nasty Girl", which came out several years after his death, and is definitely lesser-known than "Hypnotize" (#10) and "Juicy" (#72).
• OutKast's biggest hit in the UK wasn't "Hey Ya!" (#3), being outpeaked by one spot with "Ms. Jackson" (#2), which is still popular, but not quite as iconic. Averted in their native America, where both songs topped the Hot 100 (alongside "The Way You Move"), although on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, "Hey Ya!" only made it to #9, being outpeaked four times, with one of the higher charting songs being the largely forgotten "The Whole World".
• The Pointer Sisters had five of their singles reach the Top 5 on the Hot 100, including two at #2. Not one of them was "I'm So Excited", despite it charting twice (the original at #30 and a remixed version reaching the Top 10 at #9). In addition, neither of their two #2 hits was "Jump (For My Love)" (#3), "He's So Shy" (#3), "Automatic" (#5), or "Neutron Dance" (#6).
• Prince had five #1 hits. Three of them ("When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy" and "Kiss") remain among his most iconic songs. The other two were "Batdance" and "Cream", neither of which are as well-known as "Purple Rain" (#2), "1999" (#12), "Little Red Corvette" (#6), "Raspberry Beret" (#2) or "Sign o' the Times" (#3). When he died in 2016, it was "Purple Rain" that led the cavalcade of his recharting songs.
  • He had eight #1s on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Five of them are "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss", and "Sign o' the Times". However, if you guessed "1999" (#4), "Little Red Corvette" (#11), "Purple Rain" (#3), and/or "Raspberry Beret" (#3) for the remainders, you'd be incorrect. The remaining three are "Thieves in the Temple", "Diamonds and Pearls", and the aforementioned "Batdance".
  • Even more blatant in the UK where his only number one came with 1994's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World". Needless to say it's far less remembered than classics like "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy".
• Public Enemy had only one top 40 hit on the Hot 100. Must've been "Fight The Power" or even "Bring the Noise", right? Nope, those didn't chart; it's the long-forgotten "Give It Up". Similarly, their highest entry on the R&B chart, at #11, is the even lesser-known "Can't Truss It".
• R. Kelly had two #1 singles in the US. Surely they were "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Ignition", right? No, both of those stalled at #2. They were actually the still remembered "Bump n' Grind" and the long-forgotten Céline Dion duet "I'm Your Angel". "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Ignition" both hit #1 in the UK, however. He also had 12 #1s on the R&B chart (including "Bump n' Grind" and "I Believe I Can Fly"), but "Ignition" stalled at #2 on that chart as well.
• Rich Homie Quan's highest charting single was "Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh)", which peaked at #26; while that song is still quite well known, it's not as popular as his signature "Type Of Way", which only reached #50.
• Rick Ross had three Top 40 hits, but neither of them were "Hustlin'" (which only reached #54). His highest charter was "The Boss", which is largely forgotten today mainly because it is more associated with T-Pain, whose career hasn't aged too well into the '10s. The second Top 40 hit was the even less remembered "Aston Martin Music", which is more associated with Drake than him. Third was "Purple Lamborghini", where Ross got equal billing with Skrillex, and that song was quickly forgotten.
• Rihanna:
  • On one hand, she averts this. Of her eleven #1s as a lead artist, seven of them remain very iconic — "S.O.S.", "Umbrella", "Disturbia", "Only Girl (In the World)", "Rude Boy", "We Found Love" (her 10-week champion) and "Diamonds". On the other hand, some are not as remembered, such as "Take a Bow", "What's My Name?", "S&M", and "Work", which while not forgotten aren't quite as well known as some her other songs that didn't hit #1, including "Pon de Replay" (#2), "Unfaithful" (#6), "Don't Stop the Music" (#3), "Where Have You Been" (#5), and "Stay" (#3), which are likely better known to general audiences and get more airplay than those songs do today.
  • She has scored a whopping eleven #1 hits on the pop songs chart (including hits such as "Rude Boy" and "We Found Love"), but surprisingly none of them were her signature "Umbrella", which fell just short at #2.
• Hip-Hop / Rap Rock pioneers Run–D.M.C. avert this on one hand. Their legendary cover/remix of "Walk This Way" was their highest charting single and only Top 10 hit. However, they had two other Top 40 hits. Most would guess from a wide variety of songs such as "It's Like That", "Sucker MCs", "Rock Box", "King of Rock", "My Adidas"^note their highest entry on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, three spots higher than "Walk This Way", "Christmas in Hollis", or "It's Tricky". All are good guesses, but many would be surprised to learn that only the lattermost song charted on the Hot 100, fizzling out at #57. The other two Top 40 hits were the long-forgotten "You Be Illin'" (the follow-up to "Walk This Way", but has since been overshadowed by the much more enduring "It's Tricky") and "Down with the King" (released in 1993, well after their peak in overall popularity). On the other hand, a strange example in that overseas their biggest hit by far wasn't "Walk This Way", but a dance remix of "It's Like That" in 1997, which topped numerous charts worldwide but was mostly unnoticed back home.
• Everyone knows about Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It", but did they know it only reached #19? Or that they had three songs chart higher, including two songs that went Top 5? Those songs would be "Shoop", "Let's Talk About Sex", and "Whatta Man". All of them are still iconic, with "Whatta Man" being the best known of them all, but they aren't on the level of "Push It".
  • On the R&B chart, "Shoop" and "Whatta Man" are their highest entries, both peaking at #3. Their two #4s on that chart? The mostly forgotten "Shake Your Thang" and their featured credit on Pebbles' even lesser-known "Backyard".
• Kiwi rapper Savage has had only one song with his name attached hit the Billboard Hot 100. Is it "Freaks" by Timmy Trumpet featuring him? Of course not, it's instead his own song "Swing" (specifically the version featuring Soulja Boy). While "Swing" is not a forgotten song, more people would probably recognize him for "Freaks".
  • Averted in his native New Zealand, where both songs hit number 1.
• ScHoolboy Q has two Top 40 hits as a lead — "Studio" and "THat Part". However, neither are considered his signature. That title goes to "Collard Greens", a song that only barely scraped the bottom of the Hot 100.
• Simply Red had only one #1 hit in their native UK. Was it "Holding Back the Years", "Something Got Me Started", "If You Don't Know Me by Now" or "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)"? Nope, those peaked at #2 (via a reissue; the original peaked at #51), #11, #2, and #13 respectively. Their only #1 hit in the UK was the more-forgotten "Fairground". Averted in the US, where "Holding Back", "If You Don't", and "Something" were their three highest entries.
• Sisqo's "Thong Song" reached #3 on the pop charts, but most people have forgotten about his number-one "Incomplete." This is probably because only "Thong Song" was a major hit on pop radio, while "Incomplete" relied on sales (with a "Thong Song" B-side) and R&B airplay to reach the peak.
• Slick Rick has four Hot 100 entries, but none of them were "Children's Story", "Hey Young World", "Teenage Love", or even "Street Talkin'". His highest charting hit as a solo artist was "Behind Bars" (#87), released during a period where Rick was in prison for attempted murder, and entangled in a fight with the US government over his immigration status. His highest charting hits as a featured artist were Montell Jordan's "I Like" (#26), and Jay-Z's "Girls, Girls, Girls" (#17), but they're generally not associated with him, and he wasn't credited on Billboard for his appearance on the latter.
• Snoop Dogg's iconic "Gin & Juice" only hit #8 on the Hot 100. He outpeaked it four different times — all in the 21st century. While "Drop It Like It's Hot" (his only #1 hit) remains iconic, his other three hits "Beautiful", "Sexual Eruption", and "Young, Wild, & Free" (the latter sharing equal billing with Wiz Khalifa — and it's honestly more associated with Khalifa than Snoop — and featuring Bruno Mars — who's also more associated with the song than Snoop is) aren't quite on that level.
  • In the UK, his two Top 5 singles were the still-remembered "Signs" (#2) and the largely-forgotten "Sweat" (#4), the David Guetta remix of "Wet".
• Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon In the Sky" is widely considered to be a highlight in his immense discography, but only reached #54 on the pop charts. Also, he had 30 entries on the AC chart, yet his iconic "Superstition" was his third-lowest peak on that chart.
• Tanto Metro & Devonte's highest peak on the Hot 100 was not their signature "Everyone Falls in Love"(#88), but the obscure follow-up single "Give It To Her" (#85). Averted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop and Hot Rap charts, where "Everyone Falls In Love" outpeaked "Give It To Her" by 11 and 14 places, respectively.
• Tavares' only top 10 hit wasn't "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" (#15), but rather "It Only Takes a Minute".
• Tevin Campbell's "Tell Me What You Want Me to Do" is his most successful single, hitting #6 on the pop charts, and reaching Gold certification, but is constantly overshadowed by "Round and Round" and "Can We Talk", which only reached #12 and #9, respectively; and "I 2 I", which was not a single.
• Three 6 Mafia had three Top 40 hits: "Stay Fly", "Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body)" and… "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp"? Nope, "Poppin' My Collar".
• T.I.:
  • He both plays this straight and averts this. He had two #1 hits as a lead, "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life". "Whatever" topped the Hot 100 for seven weeks to "Life"'s six, but the latter is generally better remembered today than the former, likely because it features guest vocals from Rihanna. However, because of Rihanna's appearance on the song, the song is primarily associated with her despite the fact that she was just the featured artist and T.I. the lead. Because "Life" isn't considered his song in the eyes of the public, "Whatever" is still seen as his Signature Song.
  • An isolated example, but his 2014 album Paperwork produced two singles — "About the Money" featuring Young Thug which fizzled out at #42 and only peaked at #12 on rhythmic, and "No Mediocre" featuring Iggy Azalea, which hit #33 and became a rhythmic chart-topper. However, since the latter was always more associated with Azalea, with her being the reason it became a hit, it wasn't able to displace "Money" as being the album's signature. Couple this with the fact that Azalea fell victim to controversy, and this became the signature entirely.
• T-Pain's only lead #1 hit was "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')", which isn't too surprising, though some may be surprised to hear that the almost-equally known "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" only hit #5.
  • In the UK, his highest charting hit was 2011's "5 O'Clock" (#6), which was released several years after his peak, and mostly succeeded due to featuring Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa rather than him.
• While many, if not all of A Tribe Called Quest's singles are undisputed classics, you'd probably be surprised to learn that they've never had a pop Top 40 single in their entire career as a group. The closest they got was "Award Tour", which reached #47, while other classics like "Electric Relaxation" (#65) and "Check the Rhime" never got as close, or didn't chart at all. Q-Tip managed to score three Top-40 hits as a solo artist, and he and Ali Shaheed Muhammad produced and/or remixed many more together as part of The Ummah.
• Tupac Shakur's output zig-zagged this. While he has three Top Ten pop hits, including the #1's "California Love" and "How Do U Want It", some of his classic singles either missed the Top 20 ("Changes" petered out at #32), or were barred from charting due to chart rules at the time ("2 of Amerika's Most Wanted", "I Ain't Mad At Cha" and several others were either only given promo releases, or not physically released in North America).
  • The situation is more blatant in the UK, where his sole #1 was released eight years after his death. "Ghetto Gospel" featuring an Elton John sample, which is nowhere near as popular as many of his other songs.
• Twista's only #1 hit was "Slow Jamz", which isn't nearly as iconic as his #6 "Overnight Celebrity". Averted on the rap chart, where both were his only #1s. Nowadays the former is associated more with Kanye West, but even then it's far from one of his best-known songs.
• Usher managed nine #1 hits, seven of which ("U Remind Me", "U Got It Bad", "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", "Love in This Club" and "OMG") remain classics to this day. The other two were "Nice & Slow" (his first #1) and the aforementioned "My Boo" (see the Alicia Keys example above), which are more obscure than non-#1s like "You Make Me Wanna…" (#2^note stuck in the runner-up spot for seven straight weeks behind Elton John's best-seller "Candle in the Wind 1997", which he famously performed at Princess Diana's funeral), "U Don't Have to Call" (#3), "Caught Up" (#8), "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (#4), "More" (#15) and "Scream" (#9).
  • Usher achieved 13 #1s on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart, but "OMG" stalled at #3, while "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" stopped at #51. Conversely, among the #1s were the lesser-known "Papers" and the aforementioned "Nice & Slow" and "My Boo".
• Vanilla Ice's only #1 was his signature "Ice Ice Baby". Most people would be surprised to hear that he had another top-5 hit. Was it the "Ninja Rap"? Nope, that song never charted; the second was a rap remix of "Play That Funky Music", which Wild Cherry sued over, which resulted in the remix being blacklisted from many radio stations.
• V.I.C.'s only top 40 hit on the Hot 100 wasn't "Wobble" (#94), as popularized by the iconic dance craze, but rather "Get Silly". Because it was written and produced by Soulja Boy, and contains with his signature "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em" intro, many people thought it was his song and were unaware both songs were by the same artist. Regardless, "Get Silly" was a minor hit that was quickly forgotten, and since Soulja Boy's career has not aged well into the New Tens it has remained that way; thus it's not surprising that V.I.C. is remembered as a one-hit wonder for an iconic rap dance song than one associated with a disgraced snap rapper.
• Will Smith had two #1 hits, "Getting Jiggy Wit' It" and... "Men in Black"? Actually, "Men in Black" was ineligible to enter the Hot 100 due to a chart quirk preventing non-physical singles from entering at the time (though it did top the airplay chart). The other #1 hit is "Wild Wild West", which isn't obscure but not as well known as "Black" or even "Miami". He also had a #7 hit, but it wasn't "Miami" (which reached #17), it was the relatively obscure "Switch".
  • Downplayed in the UK, where "Men in Black" was his only #1, but neither of his three #2 hits were "Getting Jiggy Wit' It" or "Miami", both just missing out at #3. Instead they were "Wild Wild West" and... "Just the Two of Us" and "Will 2K".
• Wiz Khalifa is a weird example. He had two #1 hits on the Hot 100; of course, one was his signature megahit "See You Again", which ruled for twelve weeks. The other one? "Black & Yellow". While it's far from obscure, it's not nearly as well-remembered as other hits from the time period (like "Party Rock Anthem", "Give Me Everything" and "Rolling in the Deep") are, largely because it was a rap song with minimal crossover play but plenty of viral appeal. Most people who do remember it won't remember that it hit #1, and will assume his second #1 was his spot on Maroon 5's "Payphone" (which reached #2); in fact, said guest spot is widely seen as his only other notable song besides "Again" to mainstream audiences.
• Young Jeezy's only Top 5 hit wasn't "Put On" (#12) but rather "Soul Survivor", featuring Akon. Averted on the rap chart, where both hit #1.
• Zapp & Roger:
  • Zapp's only single to sniff anywhere near the Top 40 was the #43 "Slow and Easy"; which came out well after their early 80's heyday in 1993, as part of a greatest hits compilation. None of their other R&B hits, with the exception of "More Bounce to the Ounce" (#86), crossed over to the Hot 100.
  • Roger Troutman, Zapp's frontman, fared slightly better; with his signature hit, "I Wanna Be Your Man" reaching #3 on the Hot 100, and a feature on Tupac Shakur's #1 hit, "California Love". But most of his other famous R&B hits, such as "Do It Roger" and "In the Mix", failed to crossover onto the pop charts.