<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43995" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/12/bestof.png" alt="bestof" width="1000" height="700" /> We are excited to announce the winners of our 2016 Best of R&B Awards. Thousands of R&B fans participated in the online poll of nine categories including Best Female Artist, Best Male Artist, Best Contemporary Album, Best Traditional R&B Album, Best R&B/Soul Single, Best Mixtape/EP, Best New Artist/Duo, Best Song With Social Message and Best Dance Video. We won't waste your time with a lengthy post, so here are the winners...<!--nextpage--> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Female Artist</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">Fantasia</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-42359" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/08/Fantasia_005748.jpeg" alt="Fantasia_005748" width="5760" height="3840" /><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Male Artist</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">Maxwell</p> [caption id="attachment_41448" align="aligncenter" width="4896"]<img class="size-full wp-image-41448" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/06/maxwell.jpg" alt="Photo Credit: Christian Hansen" width="4896" height="3264" /> Photo Credit: Christian Hansen[/caption] <!--nextpage--> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Contemporary Album</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">ANTI by Rihanna</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-39216" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/01/rihanna-anti.jpg" alt="rihanna-anti" width="600" height="597" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Traditional Album</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">"The Definition Of..." by Fantasia</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-41784" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/07/fantasia-the-definition-of.png" alt="fantasia-the-definition-of" width="780" height="702" /><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best R&B/Soul Single</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">"Thick of It" by Mary J. Blige</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43116" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/10/mary-j-blige-thick-of-it.jpg" alt="mary-j-blige-thick-of-it" width="960" height="960" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Mixtape/EP</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">"But U Caint Use My Phone" by Erykah Badu</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-43996" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/12/erykah-badu-but-you-caint-use-my-phone.png" alt="erykah-badu-but-you-caint-use-my-phone" width="807" height="807" /><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best New Artist</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">MAJOR.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-41609" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/07/major..png" alt="major." width="1916" height="1094" /><!--nextpage--></p> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Song with a Social Message</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">"Freedom" by Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar</p> [caption id="attachment_41482" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]<img class="size-full wp-image-41482" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/06/BET-Beyonce-Kendrick-Lamar-2.jpg" alt="Photo Credit: Paras Griffin/BET/Getty Images for BET" width="1280" height="851" /> Photo Credit: Paras Griffin/BET/Getty Images for BET[/caption] <!--nextpage--> <h3 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Best Dance Video</strong></h3> <p style="text-align: center;">"Formation" by Beyoncé</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-39444" src="http://cdn.ratedrnb.com/2016/02/beyonce-formation.jpg" alt="beyonce-formation" width="640" height="640" /></p>