Music

Macklemore's "Thrift Shop" declared the top rap song ever

by Tyler Munro

Is “Thrift Shop” the top rap song ever?

Short answer: No. But Billboard has recently tossed together a top 100 track list of its Hot Rap Songs chart to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and sorry, hip-hop heads, but the Macklemore & Ryan Lewis smash hit has topped ’em all.

Worse, it’s one of two of their songs—”Can’t Hold Us,” not “Same Love”—in the list’s top 5, and it only gets weirder from there. “Tootsee Roll” by the 69 Boyz is inexplicably second, while Waka Flocka Flame’s “No Hands” somehow managed to slip into the top 10. We’ve long pondered that Billboard is a little out of touch with reality. This list proves it.

Of course, Billboard doesn’t play the credibility game—of which, among rap fans, Macklemore’s is questionable. They track the popularity of tracks, and it’s undeniable that “Thrift Shop” was a smash hit. But this leads us back to the controversy that swirled around the singer-rapper during the Grammys: Is Macklemore a rapper in the first place, or should he be considered a pop star?

But back to Billboard. They’ve compiled the entire 100-song list into a presumably jarring playlist, but since it’s on Spotify, us Canucks are being spared the experience. And when it comes to Northern pride, we can celebrate that Drake’s all over this list, with three of his own hits (“The Motto,” “Headlines,” “Best I Ever Had”) cracking the top 100, plus four tracks on which he guests.

Here are the top 10 rap songs of all time, according to Billboard.