Future’s ‘Wait for U’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart
The rapper's smash hit takes the title from Kodak Black's "Super Gremlin."
Just five months after Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” broke a 12-year-old record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, the song cedes its title to Future’s “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems, which clocks an unprecedented 14th week at the summit. The coronation comes on the list dated Oct. 9, as “Wait” reigns (again) as the most-played song on U.S. monitored R&B/hip-hop radio stations in the week ending Oct. 2, according to Luminate (up 2% in plays).
As “Wait” ascends the leaderboard, here’s a look at the longest-leading No. 1 songs on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart since its 1993 launch:
Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist, Date Reached No. 1
- 14, “Wait for U,” Future featuring Drake & Tems, July 2, 2022
- 13, “Super Gremlin,” Kodak Black, Feb. 26, 2022
- 12, “Blame It,” Jamie Foxx featuring T-Pain, March 7, 2009
- 11, “No Scrubs,” TLC, March 20, 1999
- 11, “Adorn,” Miguel, Sept. 22, 2012
- 11, “The Box,” Roddy Ricch, Feb. 22, 2020
- 11, “Laugh Now Cry Later,” Drake featuring Lil Durk, Oct. 3, 2020
In its record-setting tenure, “Wait” has forced five different songs to settle for a No. 2 peak on the radio chart: Lil Durk’s “What Happened to Virgil,” featuring Gunna (one week), Lil Baby’s “In a Minute” (two), Tems’ “Free Mind” (four), Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” (one) and Cardi B, Ye and Lil Durk’s “Hot Shit” (one). In fact, since “Wait” first claimed the No. 1 rank in July, only one song has temporarily toppled its run – HitKidd and GloRilla’s “F.N.F. (Let Go),” which snuck in for a one-week rule in August.
Notably, in the above list, with Tems’ own “Free Mind” in the runner-up slot for four weeks, she became the 13th act to simultaneously occupy Nos. 1 and 2 in the chart’s 29-year history. She’s also only the third woman, after Nicki Minaj did so for one week in 2015 and Cardi B managed two such weeks in 2019.
As “Wait” seeks a 15th week on top, Burna Boy’s “Last Last” poses the next challenge. The Afrobeats hitmaker’s single rallies 6-2, improves 19% in weekly plays and takes the weekly Greatest Gainer title among the chart’s 40 titles.
Elsewhere, the “Wait” reign endures on other radio charts. The single posts a ninth week in charge of Rap Airplay (up 1% in weekly audience) and a 12th frame atop R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (a 2% gain).
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