This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Male Artist. Currently Luther Vandross holds the record for most wins in this category with five.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
1980s Year Artist Ref 1980 Larry Graham 1981 – 82 colspan="2" 1983 Lionel Richie 1984 – 87 colspan="2" 1988 Michael Jackson Bobby Brown Freddie Jackson Teddy Pendergrass Stevie Wonder 1989 Lou Rawls Babyface Peabo Bryson James Ingram Al Jarreau
1990s Year Artist Ref 1990 Luther Vandross 1991 colspan="2" 1992 Luther Vandross Peabo Bryson Ralph Tresvant Keith Washington Stevie Wonder 1993 Stevie Wonder 1994 Luther Vandross 1995 colspan="2" 1996 Luther Vandross D'Angelo Michael Jackson Barry White Stevie Wonder 1997 Babyface B.B. King Luther Vandross Maxwell Prince 1998 Babyface 1999 Luther Vandross Brian McKnight Kenny Lattimore Kirk Franklin Maxwell
2000s Year Artist Ref 2000 Brian McKnight Eric Benét Quincy Jones Santana Will Smith 2001 R. Kelly 2002 Luther Vandross Babyface Brian McKnight Maxwell Michael Jackson 2003 LL Cool J Mos Def Nelly Carlos Santana Musiq Soulchild 2004 Luther Vandross Mos Def Gerald Levert Seal Musiq Soulchild 2005 Usher Mos Def Anthony Hamilton Jay Z Prince 2006 Jamie Foxx Common Kem Kanye West Stevie Wonder 2007 Prince Jay Z John Legend Chris Brown Lionel Richie 2008 Chris Brown Common Prince Seal Kanye West 2009 Jamie Foxx Chris Brown Common John Legend will.i.am
2010s Year Artist Ref 2010 Maxwell Anthony Hamilton Jay Z Ne-Yo Charlie Wilson 2011 Usher Cee Lo Green Jay Z Ne-Yo Kanye West 2012 Cee Lo Green Chris Brown Common Anthony Hamilton Bruno Mars 2013 Usher Lupe Fiasco Bruno Mars Miguel Trey Songz 2014 John Legend Bruno Mars Robin Thicke Justin Timberlake Charlie Wilson 2015 Pharrell Williams Michael Jackson Kem Kendrick Lamar Justin Timberlake 2016 Pharrell Williams Tyrese Gibson Kendrick Lamar The Weeknd Charlie Wilson 2017 Maxwell Chance the Rapper Anthony Hamilton Kendrick Lamar Bruno Mars 2018 Bruno MarsJay Z Kendrick Lamar Brian McKnight Charlie Wilson 2019 Bruno MarsChildish GambinoJohn Legend MAJOR. Raheem DeVaughn
2020s Year Artist Ref 2020 Bruno Mars KhalidLil Nas XMAJOR.PJ Morton 2021 Drake Big SeanBlack ThoughtCharlie WilsonJohn Legend 2022 Anthony Hamilton DrakeGiveonJ. ColeLil Nas X 2023 Chris Brown Brent Faiyaz Burna Boy Drake Kendrick Lamar 2024 Usher Burna Boy Chris Brown Davido Jon Batiste 2025 Chris Brown J. Cole Kendrick Lamar October London Usher 2026 Kendrick Lamar Bryson Tiller Chris Brown Giveon Leon Thomas
Multiple wins and nominations Wins
7 wins Luther Vandross
4 wins Usher
3 wins Bruno Mars Chris Brown
2 wins Babyface Maxwell Pharrell Williams Jamie Foxx
Nominations
8 nominations Luther Vandross Chris Brown
7 nominations Bruno Mars Kendrick Lamar
5 nominations Prince Jay Z John Legend Charlie Wilson Stevie Wonder Maxwell Anthony Hamilton Usher
4 nominations Common Michael Jackson Babyface Brian McKnight
3 nominations Drake Mos Def Kanye West
2 nominations Peabo Bryson Cee Lo Green Kem Lionel Richie MAJOR. Ne-Yo Seal Musiq Soulchild Justin Timberlake Pharrell Williams Jamie Foxx Lil Nas X Burna Boy Giveon
References