Over the past decade, hip hop has continued to evolve and grow in popularity, becoming one of the biggest pop culture forces in the world.
From its humble beginnings in the 1970s where MCs and DJs would play beats and kick rhymes in park jams, the culture has transformed into the dominant music genre. Today, rap music is the biggest and most influential music genre, with some of the biggest hits over the past decade coming from or being inspired from the world of hip hop.
From Drake’s “One Dance” to Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams” and XXXTentacion’s “Sad!,” here are the top 20 most streamed hip hop songs of all time.
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1. Drake ft. Wizkid and Kyla – “One Dance”
Released: April 5, 2016
Label: Young Money, Cash Money, Republic
Album: Views
Streams: 2.5 billion
“One Dance” did what “Hotline Bling” (released a year earlier) couldn’t do – it became Drake’s first number one single as a lead artist. Not only that, the single became a runaway global smash, topping the charts in 15 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. Following Rihanna’s “Work,” which dropped the same year, “One Dance” capitalised on the peak of the dancehall craze of 2016 and has since become of the most streamed hip hop song of all time.
2. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams”
Released: May 4, 2018
Label: Grade A, Interscope
Album: Goodbye & Good Riddance
Streams: 2.128 billion
Taking a sample of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart,” also used notably in Nas’ “The Message,” Juice Wrld’s “Lucid Dreams” turned the budding SoundCloud rapper into a global superstar. Even with Sting owning 85% of the song’s rights, the tradeoff was worth it because Juice quickly became one of the biggest rappers in the game off the strength of it.
3. Drake – “God’s Plan”
Released: January 19, 2018
Label: Young Money, Cash Money, Republic
Album: Scorpion
Streams: 2.086 billion
From a music standpoint, there’s nothing too special about “God’s Plan.” In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s one of Drake’s most generic songs that does nothing but pander to the mainstream. But the Toronto superstar understands the social media game better than almost anyone else, so when the music video for “God’s Plan” went viral and the song quickly became one of his biggest ever, it was like he had it planned all along.
4. XXXTentacion – “Sad!”
Released: March 2, 2018
Label: Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline
Album: ?
Streams: 1.954 billion
Released a few months before XXXTentacion’s untimely death, “Sad!” captured the troubled Florida artist at his best artistically. A masterpiece of the emo hip hop aesthetic, the production and melodies that XXXTentacion rides on this track do a great job of showcasing his depth of talent. Following his murder on June 18, 2018 at the young age of 20, the track jumped up to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first lead artist to earn a chart-topping single since The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems” in 1997.
5. Travis Scott ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Goosebumps”
Released: September 2, 2016
Label: Grand Hustle, Epic
Album: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
Streams: 1.871 billion
Released at the peak of Kendrick Lamar’s superstardom, and just after Travis Scott became a household name thanks to Rodeo, there was no way “goosebumps” wouldn’t become a hit single. Even though the track only performed moderately on the charts (it peaked at 32 on the Billboard Hot 100), it has since become a fan favourite and streamed close to 2 billion times.
6. XXXTentacion – “Jocelyn Flores”
Released: October 31, 2017
Label: Bad Vibes Forever, Empire
Album: 17
Streams: 1.868 billion
Dedicated to Jocelyn Amparo Flores, a 16-year-old native of The Bronx, who tragically passed away in 2017, “Jocelyn Flores” is one of XXXTentacion’s most iconic songs. Produced by Potsu, known for his dreamy, atmospheric instrumentals, the song is built around a sample of “I’m Closing My Eyes,” it’s a poignant track that deals with themes of loss grief.
7. Lil Uzi Vert – “XO Tour Llif3”
Released: February 26, 2017
Label: Generation Now, Atlantic
Album: Luv Is Rage 2
Streams: 1.814 billion
“XO TOUR Llif3” is a triumph of trap production and emotive lyricism, and was the song that cemented Lil Uzi Vert as one of the leading artists of his generation. The Philly rapper bares his soul on this track, detailing the struggles of heartbreak, addiction, and mental health. Upon its release, “XO TOUR Llif3” became one of the biggest hits of 2017, reaching the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 and was Uzi’s biggest single until the release of “Futsal Shuffle 2020” in 2019.
8. Kendrick Lamar – “Humble”
Released: March 30, 2017
Label: TDE, Aftermath, Interscope
Album: DAMN.
Streams: 1.77 billion
9. Travis Scott ft. Drake – “Sicko Mode”
Released: August 3, 2018
Label: Cactus Jack, Grand Hustle, Epic
Album: Astroworld
Streams: 1.762 billion
10. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton – “Can’t Hold Us”
Released: January 19, 2013
Label: Macklemore LLC, Elektra
Album: The Heist
Streams: 1.715 billion
11. Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow – “Industry Baby”
Released: July 23, 2021
Label: Columbia
Album: Montero
Streams: 1.631 billion
12. Eminem – “Lose Yourself”
Released: October 28, 2002
Label: Shady, Interscope
Album: 8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
Streams: 1.616 billion
13. Lil Nas X – “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)”
Released: March 26, 2021
Label: Columbia
Album: Montero
Streams: 1.601 billion
14. French Montana ft. Swae Lee – “Unforgettable”
Released: April 7, 2017
Label: Epic, Bad Boy, Coke Boys
Album: Jungle Rules
Streams: 1.582 billion
15. XXXTentacion – “Moonlight”
Released: March 16, 2018
Label: Bad Vibes Forever, Caroline
Album: ?
Streams: 1.566 billion
16. Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Released: December 6, 2019
Label: Atlantic, Bird Vision
Album: Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial
Streams: 1.556 billion
17. Eminem ft. Nate Dogg – “‘Till I Collapse”
Released: May 26, 2002
Label: Aftermath, Shady, Interscope
Album: The Eminem Show
Streams: 1.524 billion
18. J. Cole – “No Role Modelz”
Released: December 9, 2014
Label: Dreamville, Roc Nation, Columbia
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
Streams: 1.513 billion
19. Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Released: March 10, 2015
Label: Atlantic
Album: Furious 7
Streams: 1.506 billion
20. DaBaby ft. Roddy Ricch – “Rockstar”
Released: April 17, 2020
Label: Interscope, SCMG
Album: Blame It on Baby
Streams: 1.482 billion
