Weeks after the streamlining of Universal Motown and Universal Republic into a single entity now known solely as Universal Republic, the rechristened label becomes the first record company to lock down the top four spots on Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart (to be released on Billboard.Biz on Thursday, Aug. 11) in nearly six years.
As it did a week ago, Universal Republic holds down positions 1 to 3, respectively, with "I'm On One" by DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne (on We the Best/Young Money/Cash Money), "How to Love" by Lil Wayne (Cash Money) and "Motivation" by Kelly Rowland featuring Lil Wayne (Universal Motown). Jumping up 5-4 is Nicki Minaj with "Super Bass" (Young Money/Cash Money) -- which doesn't feature Wayne, but he's Minaj's mentor, frequent collaborator and, since Young Money is his label, basically her boss.
Hard to miss in that lineup is Lil Wayne's appearance on the top three tracks, a placement he's maintained for the past five weeks. He is the first act to appear on the top three titles in the history of the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart, which dates back to 1993.
Though renamed and reconfigured, Universal Republic achieves its top four takedown without the aid of an artist roster merger as all of the aforementioned acts were part of the Universal Motown family and were promoted to R&B radio by what was previously known as Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG).
Michael Horton, Sr. VP of Urban Promotion, Universal Republic, who also held that title for the Universal group pre-merger, states: "I take great pride in having reached this accomplishment. This was made possible through strategic planning, the dedication of my staff and the exceptional music of our gifted artists: Kelly Rowland, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake and DJ Khaled."
Universal Republic hits a milestone last achieved at Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop by the then Sony Urban Music group (SUM) which led the list on the chart dated Sept. 3, 2005 with "Like You" by Bow Wow Featuring Ciara (No. 1), Destiny Child's "Cater 2 U" (No. 2), Lyfe Jennings' "Must Be Nice" (No. 3) and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow featuring Omarion. All four SUM tracks were on the Columbia imprint, which continues to hold the distinction as the only imprint to claim the top four titles on a weekly chart.
Lil Wayne Helps Universal Lock Down Top Four Spots on R&B/Hip-Hop Chart | Billboard.biz
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