Joey Bada$$ recently made the argument that 2025 has been one of the strongest years for hip-hop in recent memory. Moreover, he added that it's the best of the 2020s decade. He argued that the albums we have gotten up until this point are why it deserves such praise.
"We got two Westside Gunn joints. We got JID, Clipse doing the reunion joint, Larry June & 2 Chainz, Chance the Rapper... Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist..." While he's got a point, the charts suggest that it's been a fairly lackluster year overall.
Per Hip Hop All Day, on the latest version of the daily Spotify Global Chart, only four of the 200 spots are occupied by rap songs. For those wondering, this list is based on daily streams. Compared to this exact day five years ago, the aggregator reports that 56 songs were on this Spotify chart.
What's more though is that this is the worst performance the genre has seen since this chart was introduced nine years ago. Lastly, making things a bit more concerning is that the four that are charting are from 2024 or earlier.
The songs include The Weeknd and Playboi Carti's "Timeless" (2024) and Don Toliver's "No Pole" (2023).
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Then, it's Tyler, The Creator and Kali Uchis' Flower Boy collab "See You Again" and "All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA. "Timeless" sits at 41, then there's a steep drop off from there. "All The Stars" is at 63, "See You Again" is 78, and "No Pole" occupies the 121st spot.
Overall, there's just been a lack of smash hits in 2025. There's been a few that have come and went such as Drake's "NOKIA" and GELO's "Tweaker." But there are still two-and-a-half months to go for things to turn around.
We do have some major releases coming in that time such as Cardi B's AM I THE DRAMA?, Young Thug's UY SCUTI and Drake's ICEMAN. Playboi Carti's BABY BOI is rumored to be coming by year's end. There's also Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat (although she's leaning into pop for Vie), Ty Dolla $ign and more to look forward to.
