Future returns to the No. 1 spot for the first time in five years on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart (dated July 9) with “Wait for U,” featuring Drake and Tems. The single, released on Freebandz/Epic, ascends from the runner-up rank following a 3% gain to 18.8 million in U.S. audience in the week ending June 30, according to Luminate.
The new champ ousts Jack Harlow’s “First Class” after the latter’s two weeks in charge.
“Wait” gives Future his third No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. He first reigned through a featured role on DJ Khaled’s five-week champ “Hold You Down,” also with guests Chris Brown, August Alsina and Jeremih, in 2014. In 2017, he nabbed his second leader with “Mask Off,” which ruled for three weeks.
Tems achieves her second R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay No. 1 with “Wait.” Her other chart-topper was a supporting turn on Wizkid’s “Essence,” which dominated for 27 straight weeks between September 2021 and March 2022. The nearly seven-month stint is tied for the second-longest run at No. 1 in the chart’s nearly 30-year history.
For Drake, “Wait” provides the superstar’s record-extending 28th champ on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and first since “Laugh Now Cry Later,” featuring Lil Durk, finished its six-week term in November 2020. He’s nearly doubled the count of his cloest challenger, Usher, who has 15 No. 1s.
Elsewhere, “Wait” retains the top slot on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart to earn a second overall week. It defends its title with a 1% boost in plays as the most-played song on monitored U.S. R&B/hip-hop radio stations in the week ending July 3.
The track also lands two No. 2 placements this week. First, it slides from No. 1 to the runner-up position on Rhythmic Airplay after a 4% decline in weekly plays. On Rap Airplay, the song holds at its peak position of No. 2 with an essentially equal amount of audience compared with the previous week.
On Pop Airplay, “Wait” advances 38-34 in its second week there, thanks to a 20% boost in weekly plays at mainstream top-40 stations. Through its R&B/hip-hop, rhythmic and pop standings, “Wait” is closing in on the top 10 of the all-genre Radio Songs chart. On the latest ranking, it climbs 15-11 with a 10% addition to 34.2 million in audience in the week ending July 1.
