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. The update comes as ...

With Kendrick Lamar and SZA's 13-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "Luther" falling off the Hot 100 dated Oct. 25, 2025, there were officially no rap songs in the chart's top 40 last week. The ...

A recent tiff between underground rap promo pages has sparked an impassioned online debate about the definition of “gimmick rappers” over the past week. Most of it is boring and wrapped up in ...

Jazmin Kylene is a Miami-bred writer and editor with a decade-long career that spans all editorial genres, though she has a particular passion for music journalism. Upon graduating Florida Atlantic ...

Sort of like the economy, the current state of hip-hop depends on who you ask. There were the reports last month that, for the first time in 35 years, no hip-hop song had reached the top 40 on the Hot ...

Rap in 2025 was all about experimentation. From the year’s first runaway hit, NBA player-turned-musician Gelo’s single “Tweaker,” to the maximalist ecclesiastics of Playboi Carti’s Music, or even in ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Hugh McIntyre covers music, with a focus on the global charts. Lil Wayne’s “The Days” featuring Bono debuts at No. 21 on the Hot ...

**For clarity, rap and hip-hop are used interchangeably throughout the article, as both represent the same space in music charts.** Additionally, in mid-September 2025, only four hip-hop songs were on ...