Male artists dominate the top of the Billboard R&B and hip-hop rankings this week — hits by Nelly, Sisqó and Lil' Zane bested others on the albums and singles charts.

St. Louis rapper Nelly, who schooled doubters with his platinum debut, Country Grammar, had the top LP for a second consecutive week on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Lil' Zane, a rapper who is mostly known for his collaboration on 112's "Anywhere" (1998's Room 112), topped the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart for the third week with "Callin' Me" (RealAudio excerpt).

That single comes from his disc Young World: The Future, due later this month. Sisqó ruled summer airwaves with "Thong Song" from Unleash the Dragon, and this week he claimed #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart with a ballad from that disc, "Incomplete" (RealAudio excerpt).

But women made their presence felt. Gospel powerhouse Yolanda Adams made strong moves on the secular and spiritual music charts — she had two albums in the top 10 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart — her 1999 Mountain High ... Valley Low was at #1 and a compilation, The Best of Yolanda Adams, was at #10. Her hit single "Open My Heart" (RealAudio excerpt) continued to push Mountain High ... Valley Low up the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. This week, it cracked the top 10 for the first time, landing at #9.

The R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart saw minor changes at the bottom of the top 10, but the rest of the chart remained the same as last week. The soundtrack for "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" was at #2, Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP was at #3, the Ruff Ryders rap collective was at #4 with Ryde or Die Vol. II, Kelly Price's Mirror Mirror was at #5, Lil' Kim's Notorious K.I.M was at #7 and Three 6 Mafia's When the Smoke Clears was at #8 — the same positions they held last week.

Toni Braxton's hot-selling The Heat climbed from #9 to #6, fueled by her new single, "Just Be a Man About It." Joe's My Name Is Joe crept from #12 to #10, possibly nudged by his new single from that LP, "Treat Her Like a Lady."

C-Bo's Enemy of the State and Bahamadia's BB Queen debuted on that chart at #24 and #79, respectively.

Strong Debuts

Miami rapper Havana had an impressive first week on the Hot Rap Singles chart, hitting #11 with the title track from her fall LP, "How Much You Want Me" (RealAudio excerpt). In May, the rapper said her album would help end rap fans' assumptions about female lyricists.

"Basically, what I am saying is that I have the skills to be as good as a male rapper, but I just happen to be a female. And you don't want none of this," said Havana, who declined to give her real name.

De la Soul's first single from Art Official Intelligence continued to move up the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, as well as the Billboard Rap Singles chart. "Oooh" (RealAudio excerpt) leaped from #20 to #16 on the Rap Singles chart and crept from #55 to #52 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Big Tymers — led by Cash Money Records co-CEO Bryan "Baby" Williams and label producer Mannie Fresh — made a splashy debut at #61 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart with "#1 Stunna." That song is on their album I Got That Work and the soundtrack from "The Original Kings of Comedy" movie, due Aug. 22.

Gospel Gridlock

There was gridlock at the high end of the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. The same artists from the previous week held on to the top four spots. Mary Mary's Thankful was at #2, Fred Hammond & Radical for Christ's Purpose by Design was at #3 and the compilation LP WoW Gospel 2000 — The Year's 30 Top Gospel Artists and Songs was at #4.

Five gospel albums that fell off of the chart in past weeks reappeared. The Mississippi Mass Choir's Emmanuel (God With Us) took #29, Darwin Hobbs' Vertical landed at #34, Al Green's Greatest Gospel Hits grabbed #35 and The Cannon Spirituals' The Live Experience reclaimed its #37 spot after they all tumbled from the chart last week. T.D. Jakes and Potter House Mass Choir's LP, Live From the Potter House, hit #39 after leaving the chart for two weeks.