Jermaine Dupri Slams Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums List For Snubbing R&B

Marc Griffin
·6 min read

Jermaine Dupri will never shy away from defending Hip-Hop and R&B, so it should be no surprise that he has some words for Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums List.

Dupri reacted to the first 90 albums of Apple Music’s list on X/Twitter and stated that it skimped out on including numerous R&B projects. “Looking at this @AppleMusic top 100 albums list is sad, the disrespect to R&B is CRAZY!!!!! It’s giving not worthy,” he typed on Tuesday (May 21).

A day after the iconic producer sent out his message, Apple Music finished their list. With the addition of the top ten albums, their full 100 Best Albums List had been revealed, and here is where R&B or R&B-leaning projects landed on the list: Usher’s Confessions at No. 95, Solange’s A Seat at the Table at No. 93, Mary J. Blige’s My Life at No. 86, SZA’s SOS No. 72, Erykah Badu’s Baduizm at No. 64, Sade’s Love Deluxe at No. 61, D’Angelo’s Voodoo at No. 57, Janet Jackson’s Control at No. 42, Beyoncé’s self-titled LP at No. 36, and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On at No. 17. And for what it’s worth Frank Ocean’s Blond came in at No. 5 and Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill finished at No. 1—whether those titles are considered R&B projects is up to you, debate your momma on that one.

While JD didn’t specify which artists should have been included, it’s safe to say he may have been concerned with the lack of R&B superstars such as Mariah Carey.

Jermaine Dupri worked alongside the timeless singer for her tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi, which included four songs that he helped co-write and produce, including “Shake It Off,” “Like That,” “We Belong Together,” and “Get your Number.” The classic album was included on several Best Albums of the Year and all-time lists, including Rolling Stone, NPR, and Slant—which listed it as the third-best album of the 2000s.

Outside of Mariah Carey, other notable R&B and soul legends absent from Apple Music’s list include Whitney Houston, Brandy, Aaliyah, TLC, SWV, Destiny’s Child, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, Boyz II Men, Bobby Brown, Maxwell, Luther Vandross, Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott and Anita Baker—most of which fit Ebro Darden’s criteria for the much-talked-about list.

“Voters of the #100Best on @AppleMusic were challenged to not vote for our favorites, but…Albums that represented a cultural moment for the artist or genre. * Albums that were complete thoughts, not just collections of hit songs. * Albums that thoroughly represent culture in production and lyrics. * Albums that inspired a generation to want to create more music. * Albums that represent the BEST in storytelling, musicianship, recording and production. * Albums that are timeless and reached far beyond the genre categorization,” Darden xweeted on Tuesday (May 21) as the list debate began heating up online.

Check out Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list below.

100. Body Talk – Robyn
99. Hotel California – The Eagles
98. ASTROWORLD – Travis Scott
97. Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
96. Pure Heroine – Lorde
95. Confessions – USHER
94. Untrue – Burial
93. A Seat at the Table – Solange
92. Flower Boy – Tyler, The Creator
91. Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 – George Michael
90. Back in Black – AC/DC
89. The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) – Lady Gaga
88. I Put a Spell on You – Nina Simone
87. Blue Lines – Massive Attack
86. My Life – Mary J Blige
85. Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
84. Doggystyle – Snoop Dogg
83. Horses – Patti Smith
82. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ – 50 Cent
81. After the Gold Rush – Neil Young
80. The Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem
79. Norman F****** Rockwell! – Lana Del Rey
78. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
77. Like A Prayer – Madonna
76. Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny
75. Supa Dupa Fly – Missy Eliott
74. Downward Spiral – Nine Inch Nails
73. Aja – Steely Dan
72. SOS – SZA
71. Trans-Europe Express – Kraftwerk
70. Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A
69. Master of Puppets (Remastered) – Metallica
68. Is This It – The Strokes
67. Dummy – Portishead
66. The Queen Is Dead – The Smiths
65. 3 Feet High and Rising – De La Soul
64. Baduizm – Erykah Badu
63. Are You Experienced? – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
62. All Eyez on Me – 2Pac
61. Love Deluxe – Sade
60. The Velvet Underground and Nico (45th Anniversary Edition) – Velvet Underground & Nico
59. AM – Arctic Monkeys
58. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory – Oasis
57. Voodoo – D’Angelo
56. Disintegration (Remastered) – The Cure
55. ANTI – Rihanna
54. A Love Supreme – John Coltrane
53. Exile on Main Street (2010 Remaster) – The Rolling Stones
52. Appetite for Destruction – Guns ‘N Roses
51. Sign O’The Times – Prince
50. Hounds of Love (2018 Remaster) – Kate Bush
49. The Joshua Tree – U2
48. Paul’s Boutique – Beastie Boys
47. Take Care (Deluxe Version) – Drake
46. Exodus (2013 Remaster) – Bob Marley & The Wailers
45. Homogenic – Björk
44. Innervisions – Stevie Wonder
43. Remain in Light – Talking Heads
42. Control – Janet Jackson
41. Aquemini – OutKast
40. I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You – Aretha Franklin
39. Illmatic – Nas
38. Tapestry – Carole King
37. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Expanded Edition] – Wu-Tang Clan
36. BEYONCÉ – Beyoncé
35. London Calling – The Clash
34. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back – Public Enemy
33. Kid A – Radiohead
32. Ready to Die (The Remaster) – Notorious B.I.G.
31. Jagged Little Pill (Remastered) – Alanis Morissette
30. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish
29. The Low End Theory – A Tribe Called Quest
28. The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd
27. Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin
26. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
25. Kind of Blue – Miles Davis
24. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (2012 Remaster) – David Bowie
23. Discovery – Daft Punk
22. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
21. Revolver – The Beatles
20. Pet Sounds – The Beach Boys
19. The Chronic – Dr. Dre
18. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift
17. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye
16. Blue – Joni Mitchell
15. 21 – Adele
14. Highway 61 Revisited – Bob Dylan
13. The Blueprint – Jay-Z
12. OK Computer – Radiohead
11. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
10. Lemonade – Beyoncé
09. Nevermind – Nirvana
08. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
07. good kid, m.A.A.d city (Deluxe Version) – Kendrick Lamar
06. Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder
05. Blonde – Frank Ocean
04. Purple Rain – Prince & The Revolution
03. Abbey Road – The Beatles
02. Thriller – Michael Jackson
01. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill

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