Kendrick Lamar, SZA’s ‘Luther’ Breaks Record on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.
After each individually holding the record, Kendrick Lamar and SZA combine forces to claim the longest-running No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as their collaboration “Luther” reaches an unprecedented 23rd week at the top. The crowning feat, on the list dated June 7, dates to the chart becoming the singular standard genre survey in October 1958.
With its 23rd week at No. 1, “Luther” breaks from the tie it set last week with Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” The Grammy-winning anthem scored 22 weeks in charge in 2024-25: 21 amid its summer 2024 run and its final frame this February following its much-discussed performance at the halftime show of Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9. Before that, SZA’s “Kill Bill” was the titleholder thanks to its 21-week domination in 2022-23.
For the historic “Luther” coronation on the multimetric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the single registered 16.5 million official United States streams in the tracking week of May 23-29, according to Luminate (down 1% from the previous week’s total), 57.5 million in airplay audience (down 5%) and 1,500 in sales downloads (up 7%).
As “Luther” rewrites the record books and Lamar and SZA claim gold, silver and bronze, here are the songs with the most weeks at No. 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart since its 1958 consolidation into a singular genre.
Most Weeks at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs:
- 23, “Luther,” Kendrick Lamar & SZA, 2024-25
- 22, “Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar, 2024-25
- 21, “Kill Bill,” SZA, 2022-23
- 20, “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus, 2019
- 18, “Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow, 2021-22
- 18, “One Dance,” Drake feat. Wizkid & Kyla, 2016
- 16, “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke feat. T.I. + Pharrell, 2013
- 15, “Be Without You,” Mary J. Blige, 2006
The record secured, “Luther” looks to a clear runway to keep extending its domination on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The track has ruled for the last 15 consecutive weeks — its last time outside the top spot was when “Not Like Us” rebounded after the Super Bowl — and has fended off the same No. 2 challenger, Drake’s “Nokia,” for the last 10 frames. Given the declining activity in all songs in the top 10 — the sole track gaining in activity this week “Not Like Us,” at No. 6 — the most plausible scenario for “Luther” surrendering the No. 1 rank soon is the strong arrival of a superstar’s new single.
Elsewhere, “Luther” rolls to a 23rd week at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs, nearing the 26-week record for “Not Like Us.” On the Billboard Hot 100, “Luther” repeats at No. 5 after having ruled the ranking for 13 weeks in March-May, the longest for any song in Lamar or SZA’s catalog. S: Billboard
