Sovereign ladies
|  | | Khia | Hi Gary. I'm a huge fan of female hip-hop artists, especially Khia (who is now more popular in Europe than in the U.S.). I've always wanted to know how many albums she has sold. Rap, and, for the most part, hip-hop, seems to be dominated by men, but I think that the genre's female artists are also very talented and extremely underrated. Could you also please list the most successful female R&B artists?
Best, Matt Skylight, Wroclaw, Poland
Hi Matt. Khia Chambers sent three sets onto Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart last decade. Here are their chart peaks and U.S. sales since their releases, according to Nielsen SoundScan:
year, peak position, title, sales to-date
2002, No. 13, "Thug Misses", 616,000
2006, No. 67, "Gangstress", 17,000
2008, No. 66, "Nasti Muzik", 5,000
The Philadelphia-born artist has reached R&B/Hip-Hop Songs twice: with her own worldwide hit "My Neck, My Back" (No. 20, 2002) and as a guest on Janet Jackson's "So Excited" (No. 34, 2006). "I guess the world is just nasty and freaky like that," Khia has said of the cheeky "My Neck, My Back". "It's not even my favorite song, and I was kind of surprised (that) that's the song that everybody jumped on. That song is just nothing compared to my other music. It's like, 'That's what the world is about today,' so hey, it works for me."
Women are currently enjoying success at rap, especially, with Rihanna featured on the top track on Rap Songs, Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," for a third week, and Nicki Minaj at No. 3 with "Your Love". When the latter song began an eight-week reign in July, Minaj became the first female rapper to rule the chart since Lil Kim spent five weeks at No. 1 with "Magic Stick" in 2003.
Who are the most successful female R&B artists all-time, in terms of U.S. album sales? Here are the women with the most units certified, according to the RIAA:
63 million, Mariah Carey
55 million, Whitney Houston
26 million, Janet Jackson
19.5 million, Toni Braxton
18 million, Mary J. Blige
15 million, Alicia Keys
13.5 million, Natalie Cole
12 million, Anita Baker
10.5 million, Brandy
Speaking of "My Neck, My Back", and songs with radio edits... (Ask Billboard)
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