Record labels matter in rap more than any other genre of music

That's because they tend to be regional, often have a house sound, and the label that's selling the most units says a lot about where Hip Hop is at any particular moment.

Matt Daniels and Kevin Beachem have studied the performance of  600 plus rap labels over the past 25 years and have come up with Def Jam as the most successful:

That being said, number 2 Young Money is really the most impressive label in Hip Hop history. Lil Wayne's charges come in second place despite having only nine charting artists over six years, compared to Def Jam's 48 over 25.

There are all sorts of other goodies for data junkies over at Daniels and Beachem's site.

Are you surprised by these results?