There Are No Rap Songs in the Top 40 for the First Time in 40 Years, but Why—a Dip in Commercial Dominance, Rule Changes, Taylor Swift?

The latest Billboard Hot 100 chart is unlike any other one in recent memory. According to the outlet, for the first time in 35 years, there are no rap songs in the chart’s Top 40.

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The update comes as Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s hit “Luther” falls off the chart. The song was at No. 1 on the chart for 13 weeks.

“Luther” was just one part of Lamar’s huge year. The rapper headlined the Super Bowl halftime show, won five Grammys, and saw his LP, GNX, make history as the longest-running No. 1 album on the Billboard Top Rap Albums chart.

Now, the highest ranking rap songs on the chart are outside of the Top 40. YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Shot Callin,” is at No. 44. Cardi B’s “Safe” (featuring Kehlani) came in at No. 48, and BigXthaPlug’s “Hell at Night” (featuring Ella Langley) ranked at No. 49.

A Top 40 without a rap song has been unheard of for decades. In fact, the last time Top 40 was sans rap tracks is February 1990. At the time, Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” was the highest ranking song at No. 41. The no-rap streak lasted just one week, as Markie’s track came in at No. 29 on the following chart.

Why There Are No Rap Songs in the Top 40

The outlet noted that their charting methodology has changed in recent years. The rule in question, Billboard explained, saw the outlet deem descending songs recurrent. Such tracks were “removed from the chart if they had exceeded certain durations on the chart while also falling below certain updated chart thresholds.” Such was the case with “Luther.”

While the rule change resulted in the no-rap Top 40, it wasn’t solely responsible for the situation. With the departure of “Luther” from the chart, other rap songs below it had an “extra opportunity” to “rebound into the top 40, or to reach it for the first time.” No songs were able to do that, though.

The outlet that noted that Taylor Swift further complicated matters as well. All 12 tracks from her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, found their way into the Top 40, limiting space for songs of other genres.

The no-rap Top 40 is a sign of the genre’s dip in “commercial dominance” in recent years, the outlet reported. Two years ago, eight rap songs were in the Top 40. Five years ago the number was even higher at 16.

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