State Champ Radio R&B/Hip-Hop
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Sure, SZA’s album is the one called SOS, but it’s everyone else’s projects that need help.
The singer-songwriter’s titan returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart (dated July 29) to capture a 21st week at the summit. With its latest chart-topping frame, SOS sails into further historic territory, breaking from a tie with Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon as the chart’s longest-leading No. 1 of the 21st century thus far, and the album with the most weeks atop the list since 1990.
SOS rebounds from No. 2 through 43,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 20, according to Luminate, down 1% from the prior week. The set had weathered the arrival of several heavyweight albums – Lil Durk’s Almost Healed, the Metro Boomin-helmed Metro Boomin Presents: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack, Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse, Young Thug’s Business Is Business and Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape – in the seven weeks since it last ruled.
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As SOS collects a 21st leading frame, it breaks from a tie with Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon for the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since M.C. Hammer locked up 29 weeks at the top with Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em in 1990. In addition to passing Pop Smoke’s posthumous LP and its 20-week run at No. 1, SOS also climbs above two other 20-week champs – Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life and Rick James’ Street Songs – for sole possession of fifth place on the overall leaderboard.
Here’s a look at the albums with the most weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums since the list began in 1965:
Weeks at No. 1, Album, Artist, Date First Reached No. 1
37, Thriller, Michael Jackson, Jan. 29, 1983
29, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em, M.C. Hammer, April 28, 1990
26, Just Like the First Time, Freddie Jackson, Dec. 6, 1986
23, Can’t Slow Down, Lionel Richie, Nov. 26, 1983
21, SOS, SZA, Dec. 24, 2022
20, Songs in the Key of Life, Stevie Wonder, Oct. 16, 1976
20, Street Songs, Rick James, June 6, 1981
20, Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon, Pop Smoke, July 18, 2020
19, Purple Rain, Prince and The Revolution, July 28, 1984
Plus, SOS extends its record for the longest-running No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums by a female artist, adding another frame between it and the second-place title, Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Now, which ruled for 17 weeks in 1968.
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SOS traces its historic feats both to feverish anticipation in the project’s lead-up and executing a consistent string of hits before and after its arrival. The album, released in December 2022, came five years after SZA’s Ctrl, which arrived in June 2017 to critical acclaim and industry praise, including five Grammy nominations, and commercial success, having remained on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart every week since its release.
Three pre-release singles also found strong reception on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, “Good Days” (No. 3), “I Hate U” (No. 1) and “Shirt” (No. 4), with the foremost pair also reaching the top 10 of the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Upon the album’s arrival, instant fan-favorite “Kill Bill” exploded into the biggest hit of SZA’s career, topping both the Hot 100 and setting a new record – 21 weeks – at No. 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Seven months after its release, the album is still spinning off hits: Current single “Snooze” hits No. 3 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week and is just outside the Hot 100’s top tier, sitting at No. 12.
They’re back! Once again, hip-hop power couple Offset and Cardi B are set to join musical forces. This time, they’re teaming up for the Atlanta rapper’s forthcoming new single, “Jealousy.” Offset announced the collaboration via Instagram on Wednesday (July 26). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In a […]
Gunna’s “Fukumean” leads Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart for the first time, jumping 4-1 on the July 29-dated list.
In the July 14-20 tracking week, “Fukumean” earned 27.4 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, up 16%.
The song leads in its fifth week on the chart. It debuted at No. 5 on the July 1-dated survey (15.2 million streams) and has increased in streams each week since.
“Fukumean” is the first song to rise to No. 1 rather than debuting there since Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola,” which spent its first of two weeks atop the list on the May 6 ranking.
Gunna now boasts two Streaming Songs rulers. The rapper first led in 2018 as a co-lead on “Drip Too Hard” with Lil Baby, making “Fukumean” Gunna’s first fully solo No. 1.
Since “Drip Too Hard,” his best had been a pair of No. 2 peaks: “Lemonade,” a co-lead with Internet Money (2020) and “Pushin P,” a co-lead with Future (2022).
“Fukumean” spends its fourth week at No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs and Rap Streaming Songs, now his longest leader on both.
Concurrently, “Fukumean” lifts 7-6, a new peak, on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100. Gunna’s all-time best, “Drip Too Hard,” peaked at No. 4. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs, he’s No. 1 for a second week.
The song has begun to receive radio airplay, peaking so far at Nos. 17, 25, 32 and 34 on Rap Airplay, Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay, respectively.
“Fukumean” is from A Gift & a Curse, Gunna’s fourth studio album. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 dated July 1 and concurrently ranks at No. 9 on the July 29 tally with 40,000 equivalent album units earned to add to its all-time total of 277,000 units.
After Live Nation debunked reports on July 18 of Travis Scott’s Utopia concert being canceled by the Egyptian government, it issued a statement on Wednesday (July 26) officially announcing the show’s cancellation due to “complex production issues.” “We regret to inform you that the Utopia show, originally scheduled for July 28th at the Pyramids of Giza in […]
Ice Cube took a drive around South Central Los Angeles with fired Fox commentator Tucker Carlson on the latest episode of the controversial host’s new Twitter (né “X”) show on Tuesday and held forth on his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines. “I never wanted to be controlled,” said the rapper born O’Shea Jackson, 54, during the chat.
“It wasn’t ready. It was six months, kind of a rush job. And I didn’t feel safe,” added Cube about the more than 670 million doses of vaccine administered to U.S citizens between Dec. 2020 and March 2023, which the CDC deemed “safe and effective,” with “rare” side effects; in fact, the CDC to date has confirmed just 9 deaths directly attributable to the COVID-19 vaccines as a result of a rare blood clot caused by the Johnson & Johnson shot. In addition, a December report from the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy claiming that through Nov. 2022 the vaccines prevented more than 18.5 million U.S. hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths, while saving the country $1.15 trillion.
The segment opened with Cube giving a smiling Carlson a driving tour through his childhood South Central neighborhood, during which the host was asked if he’d gotten vaccinated during the pandemic. “Of course not,” Carlson chuckled, noting that “they told you you were safe” in reference to the shots that were swiftly developed by the Trump administration to combat the global pandemic that killed nearly seven million people and resulted in 768 million cases of the disease.
A piece of tape rolled out in the 12-minute interview reported that Cube lost out on a $9 million payday for the film Oh Hell No because of his refusal to get the jab. “I know what they said. I heard what they said, I heard them loud and clear,” Cube said of his decision to not get vaxxed. “It’s not their decision. There is no repercussions if they are wrong. I get all the repercussions if they are wrong.” Cube said he wanted to be an example for his children and to ensure that they also declined to get vaccinated.
“Show them that I was wiling to stand on my convictions and that I was willing to lose $9 million and more,” he said in reference to the comedy he was slated to star in with Jack Black. Carlson then posited that America typically holds up people who stand by their convictions as heroes, noting that Cube was not treated that way for his stance on vaccines while rolling an SNL bit mocking the rapper for his vaxx veto.
“I never told anyone not to get vaccinated publicly,” Cube said of the shots that the New York Times reported went into the arms of more than 5.55 billion people around the world, representing nearly 72.3 percent of the global population. Actually, he added, he didn’t want anyone to know whether he’d been vaccinated or not, saying he was “pretty upset” when the information leaked. “I was going to quietly not take it and deal with the consequences as they came,” he said.
And, despite the low reported adverse reactions to the shots, Cube claimed he knows people who “suffer every day” from vaccine injuries. “It’s hard to watch,” he said without offering any details about the alleged injuries.
Cube also noted that he doesn’t give money to politicians because he doesn’t “believe” in them due to what he deemed their “hidden agendas.” He did, however, say he was “proud” that America elected Pres. Obama, before lamenting that “not much changed for people I know,” as Carlson loaded up a montage of news footage of Black Lives Matter protests and street violence.
The next episode of the conversation is slated to have the pair sitting down in Cube’s studio. Carlson was fired from his top-rated Fox News channel show in April after the network settled a massive lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million over the conservative outlet’s admission that it aired false claims about the company’s ballot-counting machines. Carlson launched his Twitter show in June with strong ratings, but Business Insider reported recently that his viewership tanked by 86% within a month.
Check out the Cube chat here.
Ice Spice’s is still dancing to her success. On Wednesday (July 26), the Bronx rapper dropped the official music video for “Deli,” a new song from the deluxe version of her Like..? EP. Flanked by a small but mighty gang of girls armed with strong twerking skills and fashion inspired by Ice Spice’s round-the-way style, […]
Doggystyle, Snoop Dogg’s landmark debut album, celebrates its 30th anniversary in just four months, but the Grammy-nominated West Coast rap legend will no longer be marking the occasion with his two previously announced Hollywood Bowl shows. On Tuesday (July 25), the rapper and actor took to Instagram to share a statement regarding the status of […]
SZA reaffirms that she’s in a league of her own in the R&B world as the hitmaking singer-songwriter replaces herself at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart as “Snooze” ousts her own “Kill Bill” on the list dated July 29.
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With “Snooze,” SZA captures her fourth Hot R&B Songs No. 1. She first led with “The Weekend,” a one-week champ in 2018, and followed with another single-week leader, “I Hate U” in 2021, and “Kill Bill,” which dominated for 30 weeks in 2022-23. Thanks to that juggernaut’s reign, SZA has ruled the Hot R&B Songs chart all but one week in 2023 thus far, when The Weeknd and Ariana Grande’s “Die for You” remix release pushed the track to the summit for the list dated March 11.
“Snooze” ascends to No. 1 as radio airplay continues to grow for the song. In the latest tracking week, July 14 – 20, “Snooze” registered 58.8 million in total audience impressions across all formats, up 4% from the prior week, according to Luminate. Thanks to the boost, the single climbs 7-6 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart. (All radio airplay, regardless of format origin, contributes to a song’s rank on the Hot R&B Songs chart.) The track is still tops on its home format, as it logs a fifth week at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and, at 19.4 million impressions, remains essentially even with the prior week’s total.
In addition to the radio strength, “Snooze” registered 10.4 million official U.S. streams, a 2% rise from the previous week, and enough to retain its No. 2 rank on R&B Streaming Songs. For song sales, the track sold another 1,000 downloads, a 3% slide from the prior frame; it holds at No. 5 on R&B Digital Song Sales, after having previously reached a No. 4 best.
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In addition to SZA, “Snooze” also brings another R&B luminary to the summit – Babyface. The legend is one of five co-writer and four co-producers on the new chart-topper: He, Khristopher van Riddick-Tynes, Leon Thomas III and Blair Ferguson all contributed in both roles, while SZA also shares writing credit. With the new champ, Babyface earns his first writing and producer No. 1s on the Hot R&B Songs chart, which began in 2012. Prior to the chart’s launch, Babyface had a hand in dozens of R&B classics, including hits such as Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” and Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).”
Elsewhere, “Snooze” advances 4-3 to a new peak on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and repeats at No. 12 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, having previously made it to No. 11.
The arrival of Travis Scott‘s newest album and a film are imminent. The “Sicko Mode” rapper took to Instagram on Tuesday (July 25) to share five album covers for Utopia, his fourth studio album, and his movie announcement. “THIS IS ONE OF THE COVERS FOR MY 4TH ALBUM UTOPIA. SHOT BY PIETER HUGO,” the rapper […]
Monica came to a fan’s defense in Detroit on Saturday (July 22) when she saw a man allegedly hit a woman in the crowd. Videos circulating social media show the R&B singer on stage shouting, “Don’t you hit her like that!” Monica then climbed off the stage at Riverfront Musical Festival to handle the situation […]
