For the first time in 35 years, there was a two-week drought of rap music in Billboard’s top 40. When Kendrick Lamar and Sza’s “Luther” dropped off the list, there was no rap music listed at the top of the charts. As of recent, Megan Thee Stallion’s new single “Lover Girl” debuted at 38, putting the genre back on the top 40 charts. However, this doesn’t alleviate the growing fear for the state of rap music.
Currently, the top 40 is occupied by pop music and R&B. Twelve of those spots are filled by songs on Taylor Swift’s album, The Life of A Showgirl. Seven songs are from the animated film, K-POP Demon Hunter. After Megan’s new entry, the next rap song is NBA Youngboy’s “Shot Callin,” which occupies the number 48 spot. A fraction of this phenomenon is due to Billboard’s new charting rules.
Billboard’s New Rules
Billboard has recently gone through changes within their charting system. According to Billboard, their new system removes songs from the Hot 100 section once they’ve reached a certain number of weeks. An example of how the system works is if a song drops below number five after 78 weeks, it’s gone. Other entries are on a different number basis. Some songs that were removed included Teddy Swim’s“Lose Control,” and Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.”
When these songs were wiped, other hits filled those spots, but none of the replacements were rap. Does this signal a continuing decline of rap music, or is this a sign that we put too much emphasis on charts? The purpose of charts is to give an overview into the success of songs and artists, which makes them important in that context. However, it’s not an indication of talent nor should it illustrate how music is made. The bigger the audience is, the higher the demand becomes. Because of this, the reliance on where they fall on the charts can sometimes weaken the content.
In general, rap was never intended to be marketable or focused on charts. Starting at block parties in New York City, the focus was on the community. From there, the sounds changed as well as the audiences, naturally dividing itself into different categories. Some of those categories include melodic rap, drill rap, trap music, etc. As the list continues to expand, more newcomers are inspired. There isn’t a lack of rap music or good quality music per se, but their disappearance from the top charts shows a shift of mainstream focus and replay value on streaming services.
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