For the back-to-back Billboard Hot 100 charts this year dated Oct. 25 and Nov. 1, no rap songs appeared in the top 40 — marking the first times since the Feb. 3, 1990 chart that the genre was totally absent from that region. That two-week drought comes to an end this week, thanks to Megan Thee Stallion. 

Megan’s new love song “Lover Girl” debuts at No. 38 on the Nov. 8 Hot 100, marking the first rap song (defined by Billboard as a song deemed eligible for ranking on our Hot Rap Songs listing) to reach the chart’s top 40 since Kendrick and SZA’s “Luther” spent its 44th (and to date, final) week on the listing dated Oct. 18. Following that chart, the song fell into recurrent status in the chart, as a result of recently introduced rules updating and speeding up the Hot 100’s recurrent policy. 

“Lover Girl” bows with 8.5 million official U.S. streams, 1.5 million in radio airplay audience and 5,000 sold in the week ending Oct. 30, according to Luminate. 

Billboard’s reporting last week about the top 40 being rap song-less for the first time in over 35 years set off major waves of discussion within the hip-hop and pop communities about rap’s current place in the popular music ecosystem. Such public figures as rapper-podcaster Joe Budden and producer The Alchemist weighed in with their feelings about the circumstances and meaning behind the temporary absence. 

“Lover Girl” marks Megan Thee Stallion’s 21st song to reach the Hot 100’s top 40. Most recently, she visited the region on the chart dated Sept. 21, 2024 with two tracks: her RM team-up “Neva Play,” which debuted at No. 36, and “Wanna Be,” with GloRilla, at No. 40 after reaching No. 11. Three of Megan’s songs have topped the chart: the Beyoncé-featuring “Savage” and the Cardi B-led “WAP” in 2020, and her unaccompanied “Hiss” in 2024. 

While “Lover Girl” ends the top 40’s rap songs relative dry spell for the week, it might not yet be the start of another years-long streak for rap in the region. As is typical of much-anticipated songs following their second week of release, “Lover Girl” is likely to fall on the next Hot 100 — and there are no rap songs currently behind it on the chart that are zooming in to take its place. 

Indeed, the next two highest-charting rap songs on the Hot 100 both fall from their previous week’s position: YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s “Shot Callin” (43-48) and BigXthaPlug’s Ella Langley-featuring “Hell at Night” (50-52). However, below that, Gunna’s Burna Boy-featuring “wgft” does have some forward momentum, rising 59-55, as does Cardi B’s “Safe,” featuring Kehlani, up 57-56 and gaining in airplay after debuting at its No. 26 peak last month.