Megan Thee Stallion’s “LOVER GIRL” Brings An End To Billboard’s Rap Chart Drought

Can Megan Thee Stallion be considered Hip Hop music’s savior? It’s likely too soon to make a judgment, but the Houston Hottie is accountable for bringing the genre back to a Top 40 position on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart after a two-week break.

Billboard announced on last Wednesday (October 29) that a Hip Hop song failed to appear on the chart for the first time since February 1990. Thanks to Megan, Hip Hop’s glaring, and arguably concerning, absence was brief.

Her new song, “LOVER GIRL,” made its debut at No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart on Saturday, November 8. Total’s “Kissin’ You” is sampled in the song, which came out on a Friday, specifically October 24. The first rap song to reach the chart’s Top 40 is since Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” which held a 44-week position on the chart before its departure on October 18.

The absence of Hip Hop from the Hot 100 chart’s Top 40 has generated considerable debate about its implications for the genre and its associated culture. Some argued that it signalled a decline in quality within the genre, but others viewed it as a catalyst to stimulate creativity further.

What many people overlooked was that the chart’s guidelines had been altered. According to Billboard, songs that had fallen on the chart were considered recurrent and eliminated from the chart if they had lasted beyond specific timeframes and also dipped below revised chart standards. The exact thresholds were not disclosed, resulting in K. Dot’s “Luther” being dropped from the chart, having previously ranked No. 38 the week before.

Fortunately, in conjunction with Megan Thee Stallion and several high-profile releases scheduled to be released this year – such as Drake’s Iceman and new music from Lil Baby – Hip Hop’s position at the top of the charts will not be absent for a long time.