If you've been watching the charts over the last few years, you'll know that rap isn't dominating the Hot 100, and many of the songs that do make their way to the number one spot might no necessarily represent the genre all that well. Looking back at all the prior rap #1s on the Hot 100, this trend moves in waves. In the early 90s, we saw acts like Vanilla Ice and Marky Mark earning the highest honors of chart presence, but by the early 00s, the reigning singles on the chart were largely authentic rap and R&B songs.
We've organized a list of all the various rap songs to top the Hot 100 since its inception. Of course there were some ground rules to lay out. The songs included had to have a rapper billed as the lead artist, so R&B or pop songs with rap features were not included. By the 2010s, we're seeing a lot more interplay between rap and dance music, and crossover artists who have roots in traditional hip-hop were considered (Black Eyed Peas, Pitbull, Flo Rida), while artists who perform rap vocals but came up on the dance side (LMFAO, Kesha) were excluded.
As of this week, Desiigner's "Panda" sits at number 2 on the Hot 100. Will it become the first rap #1 since Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" in 2015? Click through the galleries to see the list and let us know if you think it'll earn induction into this exclusive club.
