For the past couple of weeks, there’s been a lot of chatter about a lack of rap songs in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Since the publication changed the rules to promote more movement on the chart, a bunch of hip-hop tracks fell off after hanging out for truly ridiculous runs.
But the hand-wringers and worrywarts can slow down their heart rates: Megan Thee Stallion has arrived to save the day. Her new single “Lover Girl” has brought rap back to the top 40 after a two-week absence, landing at No. 38 despite a less-than-enthusiastic reception from many listeners.
The last rap song in the top 40 was Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s “Luther,” which spent 13 weeks at No. 1, and became both artists’ highest-charting, longest-running hit at 46 total weeks. But Billboard had been fretting the lack of turnover on the chart, with few new songs entering because of long-tail recurrent hits from nearly a year ago.
There are probably questions to be asked about why any of this stuff matters (there are literally billions of songs available across like eight streaming services, and you can listen to whatever you want, whether it’s a hit or not, to say nothing of the hundreds of classic rap tracks that never reached top 40 status), but the kerfuffle can at least die down a bit, thanks to in part to Klay Thompson, who has helped end rap’s top 40 drought the way he helped end Golden State’s championship drought. The universe is funny like that.