Special Report

Most Popular Hip Hop Groups of All Time

Courtesy of Run DMC via Facebook

Hip-hop celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Although the musical genre and cultural movement have deep roots, its genesis is often attributed to a 1973 summer party in the Bronx where DJ Kool Herc used two turntables to create a breakbeat – one of the foundations of modern hip-hop music.

What started as a New York subculture spread across the nation in the mid ‘80s and early ‘90s, which came to be known as the Golden Age of Hip-Hop – the era when innovative acts like Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy, and A Tribe Called Quest hit the mainstream. (From the beginnings to today, these are the rappers with the most hits.)

To determine the most popular hip-hop groups of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on chart performance from the Billboard Hot 100. Hip-hop artists were ranked based on an inverse score wherein a week at No.1 is worth 100 points, a week at No. 2 worth 99 points, and so on, up to a week at No. 100 worth one point. Only songs for which a hip-hop group is the primary credited artist – not a featured act – were considered. Chart data is current through Aug. 5, 2023.

Click here for a ranking of the most popular hip-hop artists of all time

Other acts on the list that gained fame in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s include Heavy D and the Boyz, Cypress Hill, and Salt-N-Pepa. Some pioneers of the genre continued making music well into the 21st century, including the Beastie Boys, Mobb Deep, and the Atlanta duo Outkast (which has become one of the most popular musical duos of all time.)

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

40. Wu-Tang Clan
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 30 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) (No. 60 for 2 weeks)

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Courtesy of Lox via Facebook

39. The Lox
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 20 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: If You Think I’m Jiggy (No. 30 for 1 week)

38. De La Soul
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 25 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Me Myself and I (No. 34 for 1 week)

37. EPMD
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 23 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Crossover (No. 42 for 1 week)

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36. Sugarhill Gang
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 32 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Rapper’s Delight (No. 36 for 1 week)

35. The Pharcyde
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 35 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Passin’ Me By (No. 52 for 1 week)

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Courtesy of NERD via Facebook

34. N*E*R*D
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 1 song
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 21 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Lemon (ft. Rihanna) (No. 36 for 1 week)

Courtesy of G-Unit via Facebook

33. G-Unit
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 1 song
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 18 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Wanna Get To Know You (ft. Joe) (No. 15 for 1 week)

Courtesy of The Lonely Island via Facebook

32. The Lonely Island
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 6
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 36 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: I’m on a Boat (ft. T-Pain) (No. 56 for 1 week)

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Courtesy of The Roots via Facebook

31. The Roots
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 30 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: You Got Me (ft. Erykah Badu) (No. 39 for 2 weeks)

Courtesy of Public Enemy via Facebook

30. Public Enemy
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 29 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Can’t Truss It (No. 50 for 1 week)

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Paul Hawthorne / Getty Images

29. Mobb Deep
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 5
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 59 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Got It Twisted (No. 64 for 2 weeks)

John Sciulli / Getty Images

28. A Tribe Called Quest
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 5
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 50 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Award Tour (No. 47 for 1 week)

Courtesy of The Fugees via Facebook

27. Fugees
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 36 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Fu-Gee-La (No. 29 for 2 weeks)

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Courtesy of Onyx via Facebook

26. Onyx
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 4
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 31 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Slam (No. 4 for 1 week)

Courtesy of Goodie Mob via Facebook

25. Goodie Mob
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 4
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 47 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Cell Therapy (No. 39 for 3 weeks)

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24. Geto Boys
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 42 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Mind Playing Tricks on Me (No. 23 for 1 week)

Courtesy of The 2 Live Crew via Facebook

23. The 2 Live Crew
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 58 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Me So Horny (No. 26 for 1 week)

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22. City Girls
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 4
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 48 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Act Up (No. 26 for 1 week)

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Courtesy of Big Tymers via Facebook

21. Big Tymers
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 4
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 54 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Still Fly (No. 11 for 1 week)

Courtesy of Clipse via Facebook

20. Clipse
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 47 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: When the Last Time (No. 19 for 1 week)

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Courtesy of Cypress Hill via Facebook

19. Cypress Hill
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 6
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 67 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Insane in the Brain (No. 19 for 1 week)

Courtesy of Junior Mafia via Facebook

18. Junior M.A.F.I.A.
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 40 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Get Money (ft. The Notorious B.I.G.) (No. 17 for 1 week)

Courtesy of Another Bad Creation via Facebook

17. Another Bad Creation
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 40 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Iesha (No. 9 for 1 week)

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

16. YoungBloodZ
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 44 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Damn! (ft. Lil Jon) (No. 4 for 3 weeks)

Courtesy of D12 via Facebook

15. D12
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 3
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 45 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: My Band (No. 6 for 1 week)

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Scott Gries / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

14. Terror Squad
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 2
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 47 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Lean Back (No. 1 for 3 weeks)

David Redfern / Redferns via Getty Images

13. Beastie Boys
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 7
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 74 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Intergalactic (No. 28 for 4 weeks)

Courtesy of Run DMC via Facebook

12. Run-D.M.C.
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 5
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 67 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Walk This Way (No. 4 for 1 week)

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Courtesy of Three 6 Mafia via Facebook

11. Three 6 Mafia
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 5
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 72 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Stay Fly (ft. Young Buck & Eightball & MJG) (No. 13 for 4 weeks)

Courtesy of Heavy D via Facebook

10. Heavy D & The Boyz
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 5
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 97 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Now That We Found Love (No. 11 for 1 week)

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9. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 8
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 120 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Summertime (No. 4 for 3 weeks)

Courtesy of Kris Kross via Facebook

8. Kris Kross
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 7
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 111 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Jump (No. 1 for 8 weeks)

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

7. Ying Yang Twins
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 9
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 146 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Salt Shaker (ft. Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz) (No. 9 for 2 weeks)

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6. Naughty By Nature
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 10
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 157 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Hip Hop Hooray (No. 8 for 1 week)

Vince Bucci / Getty Images

5. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 8
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 145 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Tha Crossroads (No. 1 for 8 weeks)

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Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

4. Rae Sremmurd
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 11
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 185 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Black Beatles (ft. Gucci Mane) (No. 1 for 7 weeks)

Steve.Granitz / WireImage via Getty Images

3. Salt-N-Pepa
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 10
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 217 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Whatta Man (ft. En Vogue) (No. 3 for 3 weeks)

Ilya S. Savenok / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

2. Migos
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 33
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 246 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: Bad And Boujee (ft. Lil Uzi Vert) (No. 1 for 3 weeks)

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1. Outkast
> Number of Hot 100 entries as primary artist: 15
> Time spent on the Hot 100 as primary artist: 257 weeks
> Highest-charting entry: The Way You Move (ft. Sleepy Brown) (No. 1 for 1 week)

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