Not Like Us and…?

I was told for years drake was a popstar though?

I was told for years his biggest hits werent even the rap joints tho?

Luther

Also theres rap songs in the 40 range its just taylor whole album is blocking the songs from top 40. They just want to push this narrative for clicks.

Which songs?

yb shot callin is 43
big x is 50
tyler 51

Taylor’s whole album blocking them doesn’t make it in asterisk. It’s not like “well they’re REALLY top 40 but Taylor’s album* is right there”

Yea I'm working on a video on this but this is a huge point lol at no time in the pre-streaming era could a whole album occupy the Billboard Hot 100 like that, completely different eras we're comparing here

also not a coincidence that it's "since 1990" if you know about Nielsen and the fact labels used to deliberately under-report hip-hop albums before 1991

I guarantee theres months where the only "rap song" in the top 40 is either a pop song by a rapper similar to hotline bling or a rap adjacent song by post malone or similar artists. it dont really mean anything imo.

Hmmm. Wouldn’t really call that an unavoidable hit, even though it did last at #1 for 13 weeks. It’s kinda similar to Last Night in that regard in my opinion. #1 record for a super long time but didn’t really feel like an inescapable song

True, but as of right now there are literally zero. That’s unprecedented

Billboard shoulda been changed Hot 100 eligibility rules in a post-streaming world, but alas, here we are

Songs should not be allowed to chart unless they are released individually as a single

The chart just doesn't really mean anything, like see above, people are saying a song that was #1 for 13 weeks in a row didn't really have cultural impact. Whether they're right or wrong, what's the point of this billboard chart if a song can be #1 for 13 weeks and people aren't even sure if it was inescapable?

the answer is it was inescapable for one pocket of the population and probably not for another

the world is too segmented for a billboard hot 100 to feel as accurate as it used to. monoculture is dead. there might be some valid points about the direction of MAINSTREAM hip-hop that come out of this discussion but in terms of charts this s*** is kinda pointless in 2025 (imo)

finally

I straight up do not know what Last night is lol

Wonderful start to the “Dot Era 🏆”

It is kinda ironic that rap hits this point after the so called elimination of Drake lol

Ngl rap is cooked, authenticity been dead in the mainstream, s*** is shallow as it gets rn

Underground has some good s*** for sure but a lot of it relies to heavily on nostalgia and even a lot of underground rappers sound guarded these days. I grew up listening to Ye, an artist who put his whole self in the music flaws and all and that’s what made it so interesting. All this I’m the coolest nigga ever and I have everything under control rap is boring, people sick of it. That’s not real art lol.

!!!!!

This is partly true but rap is not in a healthy place rn, if it was there would at least be a few placements in the top 40 regardless of the presence of Taylor’s album

Rap is simply loosing popularity among regular people who aren’t enthusiasts or who aren’t overly invested in the culture

Right blaming Taylor’s album for no rap songs in the top 40 is just illogical

Lmao see, that’s my point

I feel like there’s people who have never heard luther before either

This is a false narrative. Rap has been heading to this point since 2023. There were articles about no rap #1 in 2023 until Doja Cat released Paint the Town Red in August