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 Hot 100 dated October 25—leaving the highest 40 and not using a single rap monitor for the primary time in over three many years.

The music’s removing wasn’t as a result of fading reputation. 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 removing underneath the brand new rule.

With that, Hip-Hop’s uninterrupted 35-year run within the Hot 100’s prime 40 got here to a detailed. The final time rap was fully absent from the highest 40 was February 2, 1990, when Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” sat at No. 41 earlier than leaping to No. 29 the next week and kicking off a historic streak.

The highest-charting rap music on the October 25 chart was YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Shot Callin” at No. 44. Cardi B’s “Safe” that includes Kehlani and BigXthaPlug’s “Hell at Night” that includes Ella Langley adopted at Nos. 48 and 49, respectively.

The style’s presence on the charts has been progressively thinning. According tomusic/rb-hip-hop/no-rap-songs-hot-100-top-40-first-time-since-1990-1236100625/”> Billboard, Hip-Hop peaked in 2020 with almost 30% of the market share. That quantity dipped to simply over 25% in 2023 and presently sits at 24% by way 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 had 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 document for probably the most Hot 100 entries ever, has but to launch his long-awaited album “Iceman.”

Kendrick Lamar, after dominating the cultural and business panorama for a yr and a half, has remained comparatively quiet.

Still, there’s been exercise. Cardi B and BigXthaPlug each dropped new albums since August, and Drake has continued releasing singles since asserting Iceman in July.

“Luther” was the final rap music 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 music has come was BigXthaPlug’s “All the Way” that includes Bailey Zimmerman, which reached No. 22 on September 6 after peaking at No. 4 in April.

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