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Kendrick Lamar
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Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” is a cultural earthquake that refuses to settle. After shaking up the industry last summer, the track stormed back to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, leaping from No. 15 after the Compton emcee’s electrifying Super Bowl LIX halftime performance.
As Billboard revealed on Tuesday (Feb. 18), the Mustard-produced banger has now topped the Hot 100 three separate times, each return separated by months of speculation, discourse and renewed hype. That’s something no non-holiday song has ever accomplished. When it first debuted at No. 1 in May 2024, the track immediately became an anthem, lingering in the Top 10 for months. Lamar’s Juneteenth “The Pop Out: Ken & Friends” concert, where he performed the song five times, gave it another push, and its viral music video release on July 4 secured a second stay at the top.
Unchartered waters for Hip Hop
To put this into perspective, only two songs in the Hot 100’s 66-year history have had longer breaks between their reigns: Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” and Mariah Carey’s holiday juggernaut “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Those songs had unique circumstances — Checker’s benefiting from a full-blown dance craze revival and Carey’s returning like clockwork each December. Meanwhile, “Not Like Us” clawed its way back to the top through sheer cultural relevance.
Lamar is no stranger to the top of the charts. He currently has five No. 1 hits under his belt: “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin, “squabble up,” “HUMBLE.,” and his feature on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” To no surprise, there was also the ripple effect, as SZA’s “30 for 30,” which features Lamar, rocketed from No. 22 to No. 10 after her appearance during his halftime show.
In an era where hits are often disposable and attention spans are fleeting, Lamar has crafted a track that refuses to fade. The question isn’t just how long it will last, but what will it inspire next.
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