Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs Chart
Written by Trevor Anderson on October 7, 2024
As if the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar wasn’t already historic, the saga’s most enduring track, Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” enters the record books with an unprecedented 21st week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. The single, released on pgLang/Interscope/ICLG, surpasses Lil Nas X’s 2019 juggernaut, “Old Town Road,” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, for the most weeks atop the chart since its launch in 1989.
“Not Like Us,” released May 4 amid the height of the rappers’ feud, reaches the record through continued strong performance in the three metrics that inform the chart: streaming, sales and radio airplay.
It wins a 20th frame at No. 1 on the Rap Streaming Songs chart thanks to 17.1 million official U.S. streams in the latest tracking week (Sept. 27 – Oct. 3), according to Luminate. With its newest week on top, it matches “Old Town Road” for the third-longest command among all titles. Desiigner’s “Panda” and Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” share first place, at 23 weeks each.
For sales, “Not Like Us” registered 2,000 downloads in the tracking week. Despite a 10% decline from the prior week, it pushes 4-3 on Rap Digital Song Sales, a list it previously ruled for nine nonconsecutive weeks.
Lamar’s smash also repeats at No. 7 on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, with 45.4 million in total audience impressions, a 3% slide. (All radio airplay, regardless of genre, contributes to a song’s rank on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.) The single dominated its core format this summer, with 15 nonconsecutive weeks in charge of the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay list.
As “Not Like Us” resets the leaderboard on Hot Rap Songs, here’s a review of the songs with the most weeks at No. 1 in the chart’s 35-year history:
Weeks at No. 1, Song Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
21, “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar, May 18, 2024
20, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, April 13, 2019
19, “Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, Aug. 7, 2021
18, “Hot Boyz,” Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott featuring Nas, Eve & Q-Tip, Nov. 27, 1999
18, “Fancy,” Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX, May 3, 2014
18, “Hotline Bling,” Drake, Oct. 10, 2015
17, “Panda,” Desiigner, April 23, 2016
17, “Mood,” 24kGoldn featuring iann dior, Oct. 24, 2020
The colossal single extends Lamar’s recent near-monopoly on Hot Rap Songs, with the rapper in the No. 1 spot for 27 of the last 28 weeks. Before “Not Like Us” took the throne, the Pulitzer Prize winner, Future and Metro Boomin ruled with their collaboration “Like That,” a six-week champ. In the past six months, only Eminem’s “Houdini” interrupted the Lamar blockade, by sneaking out a one-week rule in June.
