The Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40 Has No Rap Songs for the First Time in 35 Years
The Billboard Hot 100 looks different this week—alarmingly different for hip-hop. For the first time in 35 years, there are no rap songs in the top 40. The change follows the removal of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s chart-topping collaboration “Luther,” which fell off after a rule adjustment rendered it “recurrent.”
The song spent 46 weeks on the chart, peaking at No. 1 for 13 of them. Once “Luther” exited, the highest-ranking rap track was YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Shot Callin” at No. 44, followed by Cardi B’s “Safe” (featuring Kehlani) at No. 48 and BigXthaPlug’s “Hell at Night” (featuring Ella Langley) at No. 49.
The last time this happened was February 2, 1990, when Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” sat at No. 41—just before vaulting into the top 40 the following week and sparking a 35-year run of rap representation in the chart’s upper half.
Billboard’s recent rule updates helped push “Luther” and seven other top 40 tracks into recurrent status. The change removes songs that have charted more than 26 weeks and fall below No. 25, freeing space for newer titles. But with Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl filling 12 top-40 spots, there wasn’t much room left for rap to reemerge.
The genre’s slide isn’t just on the charts, it’s in sales and streams. Hip-hop’s market share has dropped from 30% in 2020 to 24% in 2025, according to Billboard. Five years ago, 16 of the Hot 100’s top 40 songs were rap; by 2023, that number was down to eight.
Part of the slowdown stems from timing. Drake hasn’t released his long-delayed Iceman album. Kendrick Lamar, after an 18-month cultural sprint, has gone quiet. And while Cardi B and BigXthaPlug both released albums this fall, neither cracked the top 40.
“Luther” was the last rap song to break into the Hot 100’s top 10, holding No. 9 as recently as August. Since then, no rap single has reached higher than BigXthaPlug’s “All the Way” (featuring Bailey Zimmerman), which hit No. 22 in September.
The current chart, dated Nov. 1, 2025, extends rap’s absence for a second week. Still, “Shot Callin” has inched closer, rising from No. 44 to No. 43, hinting the drought might not last much longer.
