Trending on Billboard
The Alchemist has added his two cents on the topic that had Rap Twitter in a frenzy this week.
On Wednesday, Billboard reported that, for the first time since 1990 — when Biz Markie‘s signature song “Just a Friend” was at No. 41 on Feb. 2 — there were no rap songs in the Billboard Hot 100‘s top 40, after Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s smash hit “Luther” was deemed recurrent and removed due to recent changes to the chart’s methodology, effectively ending a 35-year streak. Recurrent songs will now be removed if they’ve been on the chart for a certain amount of time while simultaneously falling under certain chart thresholds. “Luther” had fallen under No. 25 to No. 38 the previous week during its 46th week.
This news caused a stir on social media and predictably inspired takes from all corners of the Internet, and on Friday morning (Oct. 31), the legendary producer shared his thoughts on X.
“No rap in top 40 has nothing to do with the music being bad or good,” he wrote without any further elaboration.
Like ALC, others have also taken notice and have begun to sound the alarm when it comes to rap’s commercial dominance trending down in recent years. In 2023, there weren’t any rap albums to top the Billboard 200 or rap songs to top the Hot 100, until Lil Uzi Vert‘s third album the Pink Tape in July and Doja Cat‘s song “Paint the Town Red” in September, respectively. Right now, the highest-charting rap song is “Shot Callin” by NBA YoungBoy 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 new parameters are a bit complicated; you can get a better understanding here.
