All-black Top 10 is a Billboard Hot 100 first

For the first time, the entire Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart belongs to black performers, further proof of how R&B; and hip-hop have taken over the radio airwaves.

“When we first noticed this, we didn’t think in racial terms -- we just realized that they were all R&B; and hip-hop records,” Billboard charts director Geoff Mayfield said Wednesday. “But in the last couple of years, there’ve been many weeks when eight or nine of the Top 10 have been R&B; and hip-hop -- ever since Top 40 radio traded out teen pop for hip-hop.”

Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles listing is determined by a combination of airplay and sales, with radio exposure being the dominant factor since many “singles” are never released commercially. Mayfield noted that one week in 1972, the first eight slots in the Top 10 were held by black musicians.

The Top 10 in Billboard’s Oct. 11 issue consists of songs by Beyonce, Nelly, P. Diddy & Murphy Lee; Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz; Chingy; Pharrell; YoungBloodZ; 50 Cent; Fabolous; Ludacris; and Black Eyed Peas.

-- Randy Lewis