Megan Thee Stallion has brought rap back to the US top 40 following a two-week absence, which marked the first time the genre hadn’t featured on the chart since 1990.
Last month, an update for the Billboard Hot 100 saw Kendrick Lamar and SZA‘s hit single ‘Luther’ fall into recurrent status due to rule changes in how songs are deemed eligible for the chart.
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The 2024 collaborative track was removed from the run-down after 46 weeks, during which the song spent 13 weeks at Number One. ‘Luther’ was still a top 40 hit at the time, landing at Number 38 in its final week.
Its departure meant that there were no singles from the world of hip-hop and rap in the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 for the first time in 35 years.
However, the latest update (for the week of Saturday November 8) has seen rap return, after being missing completely from the previous two charts (October 25 and November 1).
This is thanks to Megan Thee Stallion’s latest single, ‘Lover Girl’. Released on October 24, the track has debuted at Number 38 on the Hot 100.
‘Lover Girl’ racked up 8.5million official streams in the US, 1.5million in radio airplay audience, and 5,000 copies sold in the week ending October 30, according to data analytics company Luminate.
The song marks Megan’s 21st release to reach the Hot 100’s top 40. However, as Billboard notes, ‘Lover Girl’ is likely to drop on the next Hot 100 update. There are no rap songs currently behind it on the chart that could race up to take its place.
The next two highest-charting rap songs on the Hot 100 have both dropped from their position on the previous update. YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s ‘Shot Callin’ is down from Number 43 to Number 48, with BigXthaPlug and Ella Langley’s ‘Hell At Night’ falling from Number 50 to Number 52.
But further down the chart, Gunna’s ‘WGFT’ (featuring Burna Boy) has risen from Number 59 to Number 55. Cardi B and Kehlani’s ‘Safe’ has jumped one position, too (from Number 57 to Number 56).
Songs that have been on the Billboard Hot 100 for extended periods of time and also fall below a certain chart position will now be deemed “recurrent” and removed from the top 40, per the rule change.
‘Lover Girl’ follows on from Megan Thee Stallion’s other 2025 single ‘Whatever’, which was released in April. The track arrived on the heels of the rapper’s performances at this year’s Coachella. Both songs are expected to feature on her next album, ‘Megan: Act III’.
In a glowing, five-star review of last year’s ‘Megan: Act II’, NME wrote: “Megan confirms why she’s “the baddest bitch out right now” once again. Despite all the adversity that has plagued her in recent years, she firmly stands atop the rap world as the princess of rap, gazing down from her pedestal while polishing her tiara – maybe there’s a coronation on the horizon very soon.”
