There are two ways to answer “what were the best rap songs of 2019,” and each has its own authority.
The first is the chart. Billboard’s year-end Hot Rap Songs ranking measures what people actually played and bought across the chart year: streams, sales and radio. The second is the Grammys. The Recording Academy’s rap categories at the 62nd Grammy Awards covered the same stretch of music, and its voters picked their own winners.
Below are both lists in full, and the six songs that made both.
The chart verdict: Billboard’s top 25 rap songs of 2019
| Rank | Song | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Town Road | Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus |
| 2 | Sunflower | Post Malone & Swae Lee |
| 3 | Wow. | Post Malone |
| 4 | Truth Hurts | Lizzo |
| 5 | Sicko Mode | Travis Scott |
| 6 | Middle Child | J. Cole |
| 7 | Going Bad | Meek Mill featuring Drake |
| 8 | Ran$om | Lil Tecca |
| 9 | Suge | DaBaby |
| 10 | Goodbyes | Post Malone featuring Young Thug |
| 11 | Zeze | Kodak Black featuring Travis Scott & Offset |
| 12 | Money in the Grave | Drake featuring Rick Ross |
| 13 | Drip Too Hard | Lil Baby & Gunna |
| 14 | Please Me | Cardi B & Bruno Mars |
| 15 | Money | Cardi B |
| 16 | A Lot | 21 Savage |
| 17 | Panini | Lil Nas X |
| 18 | Thotiana | Blueface |
| 19 | Pop Out | Polo G featuring Lil Tjay |
| 20 | Wake Up in the Sky | Gucci Mane x Bruno Mars x Kodak Black |
| 21 | Mo Bamba | Sheck Wes |
| 22 | Pure Water | Mustard & Migos |
| 23 | Look Back at It | A Boogie wit da Hoodie |
| 24 | The London | Young Thug, J. Cole & Travis Scott |
| 25 | Act Up | City Girls |
Source: Billboard, “The Year in Music 2019,” Hot Rap Songs, December 21, 2019 issue (archived PDF). Billboard’s chart year runs roughly from late October to mid-October, so a song like “Sicko Mode” (released in 2018) counts toward 2019. Artist credits are as printed by Billboard.
The top of the rap chart was also the top of pop. “Old Town Road” was No. 1 on both the year-end Hot Rap Songs chart and the year-end Hot 100, and “Sunflower” was No. 2 on both. All ten of the top ten rap songs were also in the overall Hot 100’s year-end top 30.
The Grammy verdict: the 62nd Grammy Awards’ rap categories
The 62nd Grammys were held on January 26, 2020. Winners are in bold.
Best Rap Song (a songwriters’ award)
- “A Lot” — 21 Savage featuring J. Cole
- “Bad Idea” — YBN Cordae featuring Chance the Rapper
- “Gold Roses” — Rick Ross featuring Drake
- “Racks in the Middle” — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy
- “Suge” — DaBaby
Best Rap Performance
- “Racks in the Middle” — Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch & Hit-Boy
- “Middle Child” — J. Cole
- “Suge” — DaBaby
- “Down Bad” — Dreamville featuring JID, Bas, J. Cole, EarthGang & Young Nudy
- “Clout” — Offset featuring Cardi B
Best Rap/Sung Performance
- “Higher” — DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle & John Legend
- “Drip Too Hard” — Lil Baby & Gunna
- “Panini” — Lil Nas X
- “Ballin” — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch
- “The London” — Young Thug featuring J. Cole & Travis Scott
Best Rap Album
- IGOR — Tyler, the Creator
- Revenge of the Dreamers III — Dreamville
- Championships — Meek Mill
- I Am > I Was — 21 Savage
- The Lost Boy — YBN Cordae
Nominees and winners as listed for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Where the two lists meet
The three rap song categories had 15 nomination slots and 13 different songs, since “Racks in the Middle” and “Suge” were each nominated twice. Here is where each of the 13 landed on Billboard’s year-end rap chart:
| Song | Grammy result | Billboard year-end rap rank |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Child — J. Cole | Nominee | 6 |
| Suge — DaBaby | Nominee ×2 | 9 |
| Drip Too Hard — Lil Baby & Gunna | Nominee | 13 |
| A Lot — 21 Savage featuring J. Cole | Won Best Rap Song | 16 |
| Panini — Lil Nas X | Nominee | 17 |
| The London — Young Thug, J. Cole & Travis Scott | Nominee | 24 |
| Racks in the Middle — Nipsey Hussle | Won Best Rap Performance | Not in top 25 |
| Higher — DJ Khaled | Won Best Rap/Sung Performance | Not in top 25 |
| Clout — Offset featuring Cardi B | Nominee | Not in top 25 |
| Down Bad — Dreamville | Nominee | Not in top 25 |
| Ballin — Mustard featuring Roddy Ricch | Nominee | Not in top 25 |
| Bad Idea — YBN Cordae | Nominee | Not in top 25 |
| Gold Roses — Rick Ross | Nominee | Not in top 25 |
Three patterns stand out.
- Only six of the 13 Grammy-nominated rap songs were top-25 rap hits. The other seven were nominated without being among the year’s biggest.
- Two of the three rap song awards went to songs outside the chart’s top 25. “Racks in the Middle” and “Higher” both feature Nipsey Hussle, who was killed in March 2019. “A Lot,” at No. 16, was the only winner from inside the top 25.
- The year’s two biggest rap songs won elsewhere. “Old Town Road” won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Music Video, and it and “Sunflower” were both nominated for Record of the Year. Neither was nominated in a rap category. The biggest rap hits of 2019 were also its biggest pop hits, and the Academy treated them as pop.
So the “best” rap songs of 2019 depend on whose definition you use. By the chart, it was the year of “Old Town Road” and Post Malone. By the Grammys, it was “A Lot,” Nipsey Hussle’s two winners and Tyler, the Creator’s IGOR. Six songs, led by J. Cole’s “Middle Child” and DaBaby’s “Suge,” made both lists.
For the overall picture of 2019 (Billboard’s top albums, top songs and artists of the year), see the 2019 year-end charts. For every year back to 2000, see the year-end charts archive.
Rewritten October 28, 2026. The original 2019 version of this page was a critics’-picks list. It has been replaced with the two primary sources above, so every ranking on the page can be checked.
Frequently asked questions
What was the biggest rap song of 2019? Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. It finished No. 1 on Billboard’s 2019 year-end Hot Rap Songs chart and also No. 1 on the year-end Hot 100, ahead of Post Malone and Swae Lee’s Sunflower.
What won Best Rap Song at the 2020 Grammys? A Lot by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole, written by Jermaine Cole, Dacoury Natche, 21 Savage and Anthony White. It beat Bad Idea (YBN Cordae featuring Chance the Rapper), Gold Roses (Rick Ross featuring Drake), Racks in the Middle (Nipsey Hussle featuring Roddy Ricch and Hit-Boy) and Suge (DaBaby). The ceremony was held on January 26, 2020.
What was the best rap album of 2019? At the Grammys, Tyler, the Creator’s IGOR won Best Rap Album, over Dreamville’s Revenge of the Dreamers III, Meek Mill’s Championships, 21 Savage’s I Am > I Was and YBN Cordae’s The Lost Boy.
Who had the most rap hits in 2019? Post Malone and Travis Scott each had three songs in Billboard’s 2019 year-end Hot Rap Songs top 25, counting featured credits. Post Malone’s were Sunflower, Wow and Goodbyes. Travis Scott’s were Sicko Mode, Zeze and The London.
