The Alchemist has weighed in on rap’s historic absence from the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 40.
After 35 years straight of rap dominating the charts, hip-hop has formally hit a lull, with zero songs from the style touchdown contained in the Top 40. The information sparked waves of dialog throughout social media, however the legendary producer supplied a grounded take that immediately resonated.
“No rap in top 40 has nothing to do with the music being bad or good,” ALC wrote in a put up on X.
His remark arrives as hip-hop experiences a uncommon velocity bump in its mainstream dominance. On the chart dated October 25, 2025, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s 13-week No. 1 hit “Luther” formally fell off the Hot 100, leaving no rap songs throughout the Top 40 for the primary time since February 1990.
The highest-charting rap entry this week belongs to NBA YoungBoy’s “Shot Callin” at No. 43, adopted by BigXthaPlug’s “Hell at Night” that includes Ella Langley, and Tyler, the Creator’s “Sugar On My Tongue,” at No. 50 and 51, respectively.
While hip-hop’s absence has sparked debates over rap’s cultural standing and mainstream momentum for the time being, Alchemist’s response suggests the second is much less about high quality and extra about business mechanics.
Billboard lately adjusted its chart methodology, eradicating older “recurrent” songs that had spent prolonged time on the chart, a rule that knocked out “Luther” after 46 weeks. Seven different non-rap songs have been additionally eliminated.
At its peak in 2020, hip-hop as a style accounted for practically 30 p.c of U.S. music consumption. That quantity dipped to simply over 25 p.c by 2023 and has hovered round 24 p.c via October 2025. For comparability, the identical chart week in 2020 featured 16 rap songs within the Top 40; two years in the past, there have been eight.