Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" Becomes Longest-Charting Rap Song on Billboard Hot 100
Kendrick Lamarhas set yet another chart record with'Not Like Us.'
Chartdata reports that the diss track has logged 53 straight weeks on theBillboard Hot 100, officially making it the longest-charting rap song in history. As of writing, 'Not Like Us' sits at No. 23 on this week's Hot 100 chart.
This isn't the first time 'Not Like Us' has broken a record. It previouslydethronedDrake and Lil Baby's 'Girls Like Girls' to hold the Spotify record for the biggest single day streams of a hip-hop song, and was the fastest rap song in history tohit 300 million streamson the platform.
'Not Like Us' dropped in May 2024 and served as a diss track aimed atDrake. It was Dot's third release in less than 48 hours amidst the rap beef between him The Boy. In the track, he alleges that Drizzy has a preference for underage girls and accuses him of being a culture vulture. It went on to debut at No. 1 and take home theGRAMMYfor Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Music Video.
Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' officially breaks the record for longest charting rap song in Hot 100 history.
First to chart for over a year.pic.twitter.com/ajPlHrLNnC
— chart data (@chartdata)May 19, 2025
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CNN
12 hours ago
- CNN
The song of the summer is a bummer
The summer of 2025 is severely lacking in 'Espresso.' Gone are the sweaty days when 'Not Like Us' lit up parties nationwide, uniting Drake dissers everywhere. There are manchildren and daisies and animated anthems from 'KPop Demon Hunters,' but nothing that's made as big of a cultural dent as 'Birds of a Feather' or anything from 'Brat.' There is no song of the summer this year. And if there is, it's probably a bummer. The top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 are occupied largely by downers. At No. 1, Alex Warren's vaguely Christian ballad 'Ordinary' is best suited for a quiet study session, not a raucous party. Morgan Wallen, fresh from God's country, can't feign enthusiasm on his recent half-baked singles. Even pop prince Justin Bieber is keeping it low-key on his new album, which relies on sparse, downbeat guitars. (This, coming from one of the men behind 2017's song of the summer, 'Despacito.') And if the most popular songs in the country aren't somewhat dour or mellow to a fault, they're holdovers from 2024 (or older). This year, it seems we left pop bombast in 2024. 'We're coming off a huge wave of amazing stuff,' said Mike Errico, a songwriter and instructor at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. 'A lot of what 2025 has come out with — they're kind of down, kind of low energy. It's good, but it's not going to light up a room.' The state of the song of the summer is in crisis. There's still time to find a definitive song that unites both snobs and casual listeners — Sabrina Carpenter's new album arrives at the end of August, after all — but so far, the song of summer 2025 is one long sigh. Last summer, we met exciting new pop stars like Chappell Roan. Underdogs like Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter, who worked steadily for years as cult favorites, finally broke out. And maybe you heard that two of the most famous women in the world — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé — released projects last year? '2024 was exceptional,' Errico said. 'I don't think you see that a lot — really humongous hits, with insanely long lives on the charts.' This year's popular new music has been decidedly downbeat, with ballads and ponderous country songs topping the charts, Errico said. Even Bieber's 'Daisies,' charting high in the weeks after its release, is relatively pared back for the one-time collaborator of fiery artists like Skrillex and Quavo. 'A lot of stuff was low energy,' Errico said of this year's new music. 'It's good for dim rooms, but I don't think that's associated with the 'song of the summer.'' Ideally, a song of the summer is 'bright, poppy, upbeat,' Errico said — a celebration in miniature that's easy to dance along to. It's a song that won't grate even when you hear it one million times over one summer. This year 'did not deliver that,' he said. 'Maybe we shot our bullets in 2024 all at once,' he said. 'Do we need a song of the summer to be brand spankin' new?' Errico pondered. 'Can it be something from, oh, 10 months ago?' Release dates haven't held back some of the year's most popular songs from continuing to soar. Four of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were released in 2024, including Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy),' a scrappy, easily singable country song that's been charting for over a year, and 'Luther,' Kendrick Lamar's laid-back jam with SZA. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' 2024 dulcet duet 'Die with a Smile' has survived for nearly a year in the top 10 — meanwhile, the spiky, danceable cuts from Gaga's new album 'Mayhem' have disappeared. (There's also Teddy Swims' inexplicably popular 'Lose Control,' which is now over two years old.) 'I think it speaks to the power of 2024, that they're still on the charts in 2025,' Errico said. 'Maybe 2024 isn't over yet.' There is a type of song that makes less of a dent upon arrival but winds up defining the summer, like '360,' 'Guess' and 'Apple' from Charli XCX's 'Brat.' This year, that slot appears to be filled by PinkPantheress' 'Illegal,' which has soundtracked over a million TikToks and counting. It slid off the charts fairly quickly after its May release, but it fills the earworm quotient, and it's the rare viral hit that hasn't yet worn out its welcome. Also in contention are songs from burgeoning pop star and original TikTok idol Addison Rae and Ravyn Lenae, whose 'Love Me Not' is a rare bouncy gem in the top 10. 'You're not seeing (these songs) en masse, but maybe that's better,' Errico said of the cult hits. 'Maybe not everyone should be invited to a single party. Maybe we should have different parties with different playlists that reflect a smaller but more dedicated group of people.' It's possible that when we look back at this summer a year from now, older songs will spring to mind, Errico offered. The CEO kiss-cam meltdown at a Coldplay concert in July became one of the summer's biggest stories, and fans may remember the moment set to 'The Scientist' or 'Fix You.' Ozzy Osbourne's death has already prompted fans to revisit his greatest hits, like the karaoke barn-burner 'Crazy Train.' Or maybe, Errico suggested, the song of the summer is one that best exemplifies the quickening encroachment of AI into creative fields, like AI band Velvet Sundown's AI song, 'Dust on the Wind.' Even the title sounds like a Fleetwood Mac-inspired ChatGPT prompt. This fruitless search for the song of the summer has made Errico wonder, do we even need one this year? The songs of 2024 are already tiding us over. 'Maybe music needed this minute to chill,' he said. 'Let's let everybody digest it and come back strong next summer.' Maybe we'll get back to the good stuff in summer 2026. Or maybe late entries like Carpenter; Tyler, The Creator and Chappell Roan (whose new song is a ballad) could run away with the season — or the year. After all, Errico said: 'A good song is good for longer than the summer.'
CNN
13 hours ago
- CNN
The song of the summer is a bummer
Music MediaFacebookTweetLink Follow The summer of 2025 is severely lacking in 'Espresso.' Gone are the sweaty days when 'Not Like Us' lit up parties nationwide, uniting Drake dissers everywhere. There are manchildren and daisies and animated anthems from 'KPop Demon Hunters,' but nothing that's made as big of a cultural dent as 'Birds of a Feather' or anything from 'Brat.' There is no song of the summer this year. And if there is, it's probably a bummer. The top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 are occupied largely by downers. At No. 1, Alex Warren's vaguely Christian ballad 'Ordinary' is best suited for a quiet study session, not a raucous party. Morgan Wallen, fresh from God's country, can't feign enthusiasm on his recent half-baked singles. Even pop prince Justin Bieber is keeping it low-key on his new album, which relies on sparse, downbeat guitars. (This, coming from one of the men behind 2017's song of the summer, 'Despacito.') And if the most popular songs in the country aren't somewhat dour or mellow to a fault, they're holdovers from 2024 (or older). This year, it seems we left pop bombast in 2024. 'We're coming off a huge wave of amazing stuff,' said Mike Errico, a songwriter and instructor at New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. 'A lot of what 2025 has come out with — they're kind of down, kind of low energy. It's good, but it's not going to light up a room.' The state of the song of the summer is in crisis. There's still time to find a definitive song that unites both snobs and casual listeners — Sabrina Carpenter's new album arrives at the end of August, after all — but so far, the song of summer 2025 is one long sigh. Last summer, we met exciting new pop stars like Chappell Roan. Underdogs like Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter, who worked steadily for years as cult favorites, finally broke out. And maybe you heard that two of the most famous women in the world — Taylor Swift, Beyoncé — released projects last year? '2024 was exceptional,' Errico said. 'I don't think you see that a lot — really humongous hits, with insanely long lives on the charts.' This year's popular new music has been decidedly downbeat, with ballads and ponderous country songs topping the charts, Errico said. Even Bieber's 'Daisies,' charting high in the weeks after its release, is relatively pared back for the one-time collaborator of fiery artists like Skrillex and Quavo. 'A lot of stuff was low energy,' Errico said of this year's new music. 'It's good for dim rooms, but I don't think that's associated with the 'song of the summer.'' Ideally, a song of the summer is 'bright, poppy, upbeat,' Errico said — a celebration in miniature that's easy to dance along to. It's a song that won't grate even when you hear it one million times over one summer. This year 'did not deliver that,' he said. 'Maybe we shot our bullets in 2024 all at once,' he said. 'Do we need a song of the summer to be brand spankin' new?' Errico pondered. 'Can it be something from, oh, 10 months ago?' Release dates haven't held back some of the year's most popular songs from continuing to soar. Four of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were released in 2024, including Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy),' a scrappy, easily singable country song that's been charting for over a year, and 'Luther,' Kendrick Lamar's laid-back jam with SZA. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' 2024 dulcet duet 'Die with a Smile' has survived for nearly a year in the top 10 — meanwhile, the spiky, danceable cuts from Gaga's new album 'Mayhem' have disappeared. (There's also Teddy Swims' inexplicably popular 'Lose Control,' which is now over two years old.) 'I think it speaks to the power of 2024, that they're still on the charts in 2025,' Errico said. 'Maybe 2024 isn't over yet.' There is a type of song that makes less of a dent upon arrival but winds up defining the summer, like '360,' 'Guess' and 'Apple' from Charli XCX's 'Brat.' This year, that slot appears to be filled by PinkPantheress' 'Illegal,' which has soundtracked over a million TikToks and counting. It slid off the charts fairly quickly after its May release, but it fills the earworm quotient, and it's the rare viral hit that hasn't yet worn out its welcome. Also in contention are songs from burgeoning pop star and original TikTok idol Addison Rae and Ravyn Lenae, whose 'Love Me Not' is a rare bouncy gem in the top 10. 'You're not seeing (these songs) en masse, but maybe that's better,' Errico said of the cult hits. 'Maybe not everyone should be invited to a single party. Maybe we should have different parties with different playlists that reflect a smaller but more dedicated group of people.' It's possible that when we look back at this summer a year from now, older songs will spring to mind, Errico offered. The CEO kiss-cam meltdown at a Coldplay concert in July became one of the summer's biggest stories, and fans may remember the moment set to 'The Scientist' or 'Fix You.' Ozzy Osbourne's death has already prompted fans to revisit his greatest hits, like the karaoke barn-burner 'Crazy Train.' Or maybe, Errico suggested, the song of the summer is one that best exemplifies the quickening encroachment of AI into creative fields, like AI band Velvet Sundown's AI song, 'Dust on the Wind.' Even the title sounds like a Fleetwood Mac-inspired ChatGPT prompt. This fruitless search for the song of the summer has made Errico wonder, do we even need one this year? The songs of 2024 are already tiding us over. 'Maybe music needed this minute to chill,' he said. 'Let's let everybody digest it and come back strong next summer.' Maybe we'll get back to the good stuff in summer 2026. Or maybe late entries like Carpenter; Tyler, The Creator and Chappell Roan (whose new song is a ballad) could run away with the season — or the year. After all, Errico said: 'A good song is good for longer than the summer.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Everyone is listening to secular praise music. Yes, even you.
Artists like Benson Boone, Teddy Swims and Alex Warren have tapped into a genre of music that sounds religious, but isn't. It's working. 'They say, 'The holy water's watered down, and this town's lost its faith,'' a man sings soulfully. This is not a religious condemnation of the terrible things that have happened on Earth. It's a tune that follows you as it plays on car radios, blasts from the grimy speakers in dive bars and rears its head in countless Spotify playlists. You can't escape it — the deep-voiced crooning of a former TikToker who finally cracked mass virality with a hit that sounds religious but isn't. Those words are the opening lyrics to 'Ordinary,' Alex Warren's 2025 breakout hit, which has now spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's just a love song. And it's everywhere. If its sheer ubiquity hasn't given it away, there's a strong chance 'Ordinary' could become 2025's song of summer, according to Billboard's annual chart. Even when the speed and mood of the song pick up, it stays borderline religious. Warren sings about 'the angels up in the clouds,' the 'hopeless hallelujah on this side of Heaven's gate' and 'at your altar, I will pray, you're the sculptor, I'm the clay.' He references the Bible frequently, but he's talking about his real-life, present-day wife. It sounds religious, but 'Ordinary' is part of a growing genre of secular praise music. 'Close their eyes, lift their hands and transcend the moment' As someone who grew up playing music in church, Americana artist Nate Currin has seen the way religious music gets a physical reaction in its audiences. There's something 'inherently emotional about praise and worship music,' he tells Yahoo, that 'invites people to close their eyes, lift their hands and transcend the moment.' Secular praise music takes that feeling and emotion, harnesses those elements and markets it to both religious and nonreligious audiences. It's a trend now, but it's been around forever. 'Artists have long wrestled with themes of God, heaven, mystery and meaning. Some call it 'Christian' or 'worship,' but to me, it's simply a poetic exploration of the universe and what might lie beyond,' Currin says, citing U2 as an example. 'The continued connection people feel to this kind of music reveals something deeply human — a curiosity, a longing, a hope — that maybe there's more to all of this than what we can see.' So, how do you know if a song is secular praise music? For starters, it sounds like something that might be performed by a band in a church, when the congregation is asked to stand and sing along as they worship God. It's a common occurrence for many Americans — 62% of U.S. adults describe themselves as Christians, according to the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study from Pew Research Center. Those who go to church are listening to many of the same songs — ones that are trending among other members of their denominations and timeless classics — but the sound of worship music has pervaded even nonreligious airwaves. There are at least four other songs like 'Ordinary' on the Billboard Hot 100 right now, including 'Lose Control' by Teddy Swims (No. 9), 'Beautiful Things' by Benson Boone (No. 16), 'Good News' by Shaboozey (No. 24) and 'Backup Plan' by Bailey Zimmerman featuring Luke Combs (No. 44). Take me to church Secular praise songs like these include poetic verses that build to a striking, emotional chorus that singers belt at the top of their lungs. The lyrics appeal to members of a community or to someone powerful — a woman, a family member or the concept of a better time — and when they mention God, it's usually as part of a familiar phrase rather than an actual appeal to a spiritual being. Elements of stomping and clapping in the background — or even the addition of a backing choir — only add to the praise song vibe. Tero Potila, a music producer and composer, tells Yahoo that streaming has shaped this format, because now, 'songs must grab the listener's attention quickly and deliver a strong emotional payoff to keep them engaged.' 'From a producer's perspective, the use of reverb, gospel-like chord progressions and dynamic builds all help create a church-like experience — something that uplifts and draws listeners in,' he says. 'Artists like U2 and Coldplay have done this for years, but what's different now is how emotionally raw and direct this style has become.' Take 'Ordinary,' for instance. Mentions of angels and altars distract from the fact Warren is clearly singing about his wife, who's featured in the song's music video. 'You got me kissin' thе ground of your sanctuary. Shatter me with your touch, oh, Lord, return mе to dust,' he sings. His passion borders on sexually suggestive without going explicit. That means it's fine for the radio. One of the biggest radio hits of all time, Teddy Swims's 'Lose Control' has been on the Billboard charts for a whopping 100 weeks — the first song to crack that milestone. It came out in 2023, when Taylor Swift's 'Cruel Summer' and Morgan Wallen's 'Last Night' were ruling the airwaves, and it's still unavoidable. He sings about his desire for the presence of a woman he loves, saying 'I lose control when you're not next to me,' after crooning that 'the devil's knockin' at my door' when he's left alone. He admonishes himself for acting like an 'addict' and giving into 'bad habits' — admitting his flaws and begging for forgiveness — two common elements in worship songs, sung in that context to God rather than a nameless woman. The religious elements of these two songs make them sound vaguely like they could be played in church. They aren't overtly explicit, so you could play them on a loudspeaker in mixed company. They're slow with repetitive choruses that are easy to memorize, led by smooth, easily digestible voices. All those elements make it easy for them to become radio hits. And once a song is in a radio station's rotation, it's hard for it to get out — just look at 'Lose Control' and Benson Boone's 'Beautiful Things,' which has been on the Billboard Hot 100 for 77 weeks and is still No. 16. That makes it a mainstay on the chart and feeds into its streaming success. These are artists that the music industry sees as culture-making budding superstars — it's no coincidence that Teddy Swims, Benson Boone and Shaboozey were all Best New Artist nominees at the 2025 Grammys. 'Big, cathartic hooks' Though secular praise music is clearly a huge trend at the moment, it's not a new phenomenon. In addition to Coldplay and U2's use of praise music sound in rock, alternative artists like Florence + The Machine, Hozier and Mumford & Sons ushered us into a secular praise music era 10 years ago, music consultant and founder of the artistic development program Music Industry Mentor Atlanta Cobb tells Yahoo. 'This trend in big anthemic production and layered choir-like vocals that sounds like it was made from the church is simply coming back around again 10 years later,' she says. 'What's different now is how listeners use music.' Cobb believes that secular praise songs are still the soundtracks of people's big life moments, and we see that a lot with influencers and content creators. They'll record and upload videos of breakups, breakthroughs and gym sessions and edit them down to mini-cinematic masterpieces, backed by songs like 'Ordinary' and 'Beautiful Things.' The millions of viewers who watch those videos feel particularly emotional with those powerful songs in the background. 'And worship-style production works perfectly for these apps that need music with strong builds, releases and certain lyrical hooks, which work for social media usage,' she says. 'It also performs well on streaming. Slower intros give you space to lean in. Big, cathartic hooks get replayed. It's a clever style of writing.' There are a number of bona fide religious songs on the Hot 100 right now, including 'Your Way's Better' by Christian artist Forrest Frank and 'Hard Fought Hallelujah' by Jelly Roll and pastor/singer Brandon Lake, though they haven't found the same success as secular artists emulating religious songs. However, they are appealing to an untapped market for religious bro music and crafting a new genre which musicologist Kelsey McGinnis calls 'barstool conversion rock.' Those songs include heavy doses of masculinity, faith and party culture, though they're undeniably religious. They're borrowing elements from mainstream songs to elevate Christian messages, whereas secular praise music is borrowing elements from Christian music. Crossing over benefits both sides of the aisle. 'Labels are so desperate for community' There's a reason mainstream artists might want to emulate what church bands and Christian artists are doing. Chad Gerber, a Christian musician who first started playing in church bands when he was 6, has a hunch that members of the mainstream music industry may have noticed how religious artists have maintained audiences. 'Churches do not have to chase listeners because their audiences are already part of the community,' he says. 'Labels no longer get that kind of reliable connection from clubs or festivals because everything else is oversaturated and constantly competing with new forms of media.' He explains that praise music has always been functional — it's written to aid worship rather than to simply be listened to. 'Labels are desperate for community because selling community is the only way they make money now,' Gerber says. 'They see the community, the emotional connection and the numbers, so they copy the sound, the feeling and sometimes even the overall aesthetic.' Praise music is meant to be simple so that 'weekend musicians,' or people who play music as a hobby, can easily pick up the songs and perform them for large congregations without extensive rehearsal. 'The formula now is to simplify the song, repeat the chorus to help people engage in worship and repeat that pattern,' he says. 'The congregations respond most to this, so worship pastors give them more of it.' 'Deeply personal, massively shared' With secular praise music, we're going through that same phase. 'Lose Control' and 'Beautiful Things' haven't fallen off the charts as most songs naturally do, which helps to elevate newer, similar-sounding songs like 'Ordinary.' Though these songs walk the line between pop and rock, it's happening in country music as well, as Shaboozey's 'Good News' and Bailey Zimmerman's 'Backup Plan' also hold firm. Unlike their pop-rock counterparts, they're less about women and more about overcoming bad behavior and bad circumstances to achieve something more in life. Keith Urban tells my colleague Taryn Ryder that it's understandable that country songs have become part of the secular praise trend. 'So much of country music is the existence between a hellacious Saturday night and a redemptive Sunday morning pew,' says the country star, who's currently on his High and Alive tour, says. 'That's so much of where country resides is in those dualities of the human experience.' Secular praise music genres transcend country too, according to Amani Roberts, a music professor at Cal State Fullerton who also works as a DJ. She tells Yahoo that in the 1970s, the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire weren't technically gospel artists, but they were spiritual. R&B groups in the 1990s like Boyz II Men ('A Song for Mama'), Jodeci ('Forever My Lady') and En Vogue ('Don't Let Go (Love)') used 'gospel-rooted vocals and lyrical arcs of devotion and redemption.' 'These were secular love songs that hit like sermons,' she says. 'What's different now is how genre-blending and streaming culture have made these songs feel both deeply personal and massively shared. We're in a moment where vulnerability isn't just accepted, it's expected.' So, releasing songs with vague religious elements, as well as memorable, anthemic choruses and family-friendly lyrics can unite listeners across the country despite how we're fractured in other ways by algorithms and political tension. 'Musical tastes are cyclical, and this format is resonating right now because people are craving emotional release,' Roberts says. 'We're living in a time where everything feels loud — digitally, socially, politically. These songs slow things down, pull you in gently and then give you that euphoric burst in the chorus. It's a structure that mimics the arc of a personal breakthrough.' Amen.
