With the exit of Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “luther,” the top 40 of the Hot 100 breaks a decades-spanning streak.
For the first time since 1990, there are no rap songs in the top 40 of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s hit “luther,” which spent 13 weeks at No. 1, left this week’s most recent chart entirely after logging at No. 38 the previous week. In total, the song spent a whopping 46 weeks in total on the Hot 100.
The departure of “luther” is the result of new rule changes in how songs are deemed eligible for the Hot 100. Songs that have been on the chart for extended periods of time and fall below a certain chart position are deemed “recurrent” and removed. One of the thresholds for removal is if a song has spent 26 weeks on the chart and falls below No. 25 — making “luther” a prime candidate to be taken down, despite its ongoing popularity.
The last Hot 100 chart to be released without any rap in its Top 40 came out on February 2, 1990. Back then, Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend” bubbled under at No. 41. The following week, the track would rank No. 29 on the Hot 100. Billboard writes that the rap-less top 40 is an indication “of a recent dip in rap’s commercial dominance,” from 30% of market share in 2020 to 24% in 2025 so far.