HIP-HOP J. Cole Returns To No. 1 On Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Chart

In its 12th week on Billboard's Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop radio airplay chart, J. Cole's "Crooked Smile" (featuring TLC) steps 2-1 to mark his second chart-topper on the list. Prior single "Power Trip" (featuring Miguel) was the rapper's first song to reach the summit, spending five weeks at the top this summer.

Featured act TLC picks up its fourth Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop No. 1 and first since "No Scrubs" ruled for 11 weeks in 1999.

The 40-position Nielsen BDS-based Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart will refresh on Thursday (Sept. 19), as always, on Billboard.biz.



(Last week, "Smile" made news as it jumped 12-9 on the airplay/sales/streaming hybrid Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.)



Cole first appeared on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop in 2010 with his debut "Who Dat," which peaked at No. 22. His featured turn on Miguel's breakout hit "All I Want Is You" (No. 9 peak) resulted in his first top 10 later that year. In 2011, he scored his first top 10 as a lead artist with "Work Out" (No. 9).

Altogether, the Roc Nation signee has taken six songs to the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop top 10:

Title, Artist Billing, Peak Position, Year

"All I Want Is You," Miguel featuring J. Cole, No. 9, 2010

"Work Out," J. Cole, No. 9, 2011

"Can't Get Enough," J. Cole featuring Trey Songz, No. 6, 2012

"Nobody's Perfect," J. Cole featuring Missy Elliott, No. 2, 2012

"Power Trip," J. Cole featuring Miguel, No. 1 (five weeks), 2013

"Crooked Smile," J. Cole featuring TLC, No. 1 (one week to-date), 2013



With this week's 2-1 rise, J. Cole becomes the only artist to visit the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop penthouse multiple times as a lead artist this year. Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna and Drake have all posted two leaders in 2013 but each as a featured act on one.

A third single off J. Cole's "Smile" parent album "Born Sinner" is slated for the fourth quarter, giving the 28-year-old emcee a shot at three No. 1s before year's end. Through the sales week ending Sept. 10, "Born Sinner" has sold 593,000 copies since its July 18th release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.