Kendrick Lamar noticed his chart-topping streak come to a halt as “Luther,” his 13-week No. 1 collaboration with SZA, dropped off the Billboard Sizzling 100 dated October 25—leaving the highest 40 with out a single rap monitor for the primary time in over three a long time.
The tune’s elimination wasn’t as a consequence of fading recognition. Billboard’s up to date chart coverage now classifies songs as “recurrent” in the event that they fall under No. 25 after spending greater than 26 weeks on the chart. “Luther” had slipped to No. 38 in its forty sixth week, triggering its elimination below the brand new rule.
With that, Hip-Hop’s uninterrupted 35-year run within the Sizzling 100’s high 40 got here to an in depth. The final time rap was utterly absent from the highest 40 was February 2, 1990, when Biz Markie’s “Only a Good friend” sat at No. 41 earlier than leaping to No. 29 the next week and kicking off a historic streak.
The best-charting rap tune on the October 25 chart was YoungBoy By no means Broke Once more’s “Shot Callin” at No. 44. Cardi B’s “Secure” that includes Kehlani and BigXthaPlug’s “Hell at Evening” that includes Ella Langley adopted at Nos. 48 and 49, respectively.
The style’s presence on the charts has been regularly thinning. In accordance with Billboard, Hip-Hop peaked in 2020 with almost 30% of the market share. That quantity dipped to only over 25% in 2023 and at present sits at 24% by means of the week of October 23, 2025.
For context, 5 years in the past, on the chart dated October 24, 2020, 16 of the highest 40 songs have been rap. By October 28, 2023, that quantity had fallen to eight.
The lull comes because the style’s most bankable names take a breather. Drake, who holds the file for probably the most Sizzling 100 entries ever, has but to launch his long-awaited album “Iceman.”
Kendrick Lamar, after dominating the cultural and industrial panorama for a 12 months and a half, has remained comparatively quiet.
Nonetheless, there’s been exercise. Cardi B and BigXthaPlug each dropped new albums since August, and Drake has continued releasing singles since saying Iceman in July.
“Luther” was the final rap tune to crack the highest 10, hitting No. 9 on the August 2 chart earlier than slipping to No. 12 the next week.
Since then, the closest any rap tune has come was BigXthaPlug’s “All of the Means” that includes Bailey Zimmerman, which reached No. 22 on September 6 after peaking at No. 4 in April.
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