Lost Factor vs. Throwback Hip-Hop & R&B

In the mid-to-late ‘90s, WQHT (Hot 97) was New York’s phenomenal radio station. From driving the industry trend toward celebrity morning hosts to ending the era where all but a few mainstream Hip-Hop titles were dayparted until after 6 p.m., it was also one of the era’s most influential stations. Now, that influence is creating ripples in the market again.

When Country WNSH (94.7 The Block) flipped to Hip-Hop and R&B throwbacks last week, Hot 97 morning co-host Ed Lover was the voice of the changeover. Four of the first five artists were New York rappers who had been Hot 97’s core acts — Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G, 50 Cent, and Nas.  

As Ross on Radio’s Lost Factor series moves into the mid-to-late ‘90s, many of the Hip-Hop and R&B hits of that era have been very present on the radio in 2020-21. In the mid-‘90s, those were often the truest hits, particularly with Top 40’s influence diminished. Many R&B hits and even some adult-friendly Hip-Hop titles have resurfaced as the center of the Adult R&B format. A few (“No Scrubs,” “Family Affair”) have even become playable Mainstream AC songs. 

New York has always been an obvious candidate for Throwback Hip-Hop and R&B. When the hype around the format’s mid-‘10s building boom quieted, so did the prospects for a local outlet. But Classic Hip-Hop remains a steady presence, as evidenced by this look at the state of the format from June. It’s hard to imagine WNSH not maintaining a WBQT (Hot 96.9) Boston level of sustainability, even if the initial excitement peaks.

When The Block launched, I wondered how many of the songs associated with Hot 97 were already available on radio in 2021. As a variant on our “Lost Factor” look at Billboard’s Top 100 of a given year, I took the top 10 songs from Hot 97 for four different years in the throwback era: 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2003. I measured those against BDSRadio monitored airplay for all U.S. stations over the last seven days, four-and-a-half of which include WNSH airplay.

You wouldn’t necessarily expect New York records to be reflected in national airplay for Classic Hip-Hop that includes Phoenix, Seattle, and Chicago. But WQHT’s heritage does reflect in those songs that made it to Adult R&B sister WBLS as well as Boston’s Hot 96.9. As with any station known for a strong regional flavor, it seems likely that a handful, but not all, of Hot’s mid-‘90s signature records will emerge as the format grows in the market.  

Here are Hot 97’s most-played songs for those years according to BDSRadio as published at the time in radio trade publication Airplay Monitor. In parentheses are the number of monitored U.S. spins those songs received for the previous week according to BDSRadio. 

Those songs heard on The Block in its first five days are asterisked. Those songs that could be declared “lost” based on their New York year-end placing vs. airplay anywhere are italicized. With 100 points assigned to each No. 1 song, and 90 points for a No. 10, any song with fewer spins in the previous week would have a Lost Factor of greater than 1.0, usually our dividing line for enduring songs. (For some years, I’ve gone deeper than 10 titles, particularly if there was a song I was interested in tracking.)

In 1996, dance and pop music were just beginning a comeback because of WKTU and the subsequent return to Top 40 of WHTZ (Z100). When that happened, Hot 97 remained influential because Hip-Hop titles had somewhere to go. Even so, many of the Hip-Hop titles in Hot 97’s top 10 had no other outlet for market airplay, including some songs on The Block’s launch list that are thought of as “crossover” today. By 2000-01, harder Hip-Hop had become more of a presence at CHR. By 2003, iHeart had launched WWPR (Power 105) in hopes of diluting Hot 97 and protecting Z100. 

1996

1. Total, “Kissin’ You” (weekly spins 103)
2. 112, “Only You” (237)
3. Fugees, “Killing Me Softly” (1163)*
4. Gina Thompson, “The Things That You Do” (47)
5. Toni Braxton, “You’re Makin’ Me High” (104)
6. Fugees, “Ready or Not” (454)*
7. LL Cool J, “Loungin” (227)
8. Joe, “All the Things (Your Man Won’t Do)” (133)
9. Jay-Z f/Foxxy Brown, “Ain’t No …” (7)
10. R. Kelly, “Down Low” (4)
11. Nas, “If I Ruled the World” (306)*
12. Busta Rhymes, “Woo-Ha! Got You All in Check” (13) 

1997

1. Dru Hill, “In My Bed” (267)
2. Notorious B.I.G., “Mo Money, Mo Problems” (609)*
3. Puff Daddy, “It’s All About the Benjamins” (84)
4. Dru Hill, “Never Make a Promise” (28)
5. Blackstreet, “Don’t Leave Me” (336)*
6. Notorious B.I.G., “Hypnotize” (575)*
7. Heavy D., “Big Daddy” (10)
8. SWV, “Can We” (29)
9. Mary J. Blige, “I Can Love You” (105)
10. Lil’ Kim, “Crush on You” (114)

2000

1. Method Man & Redman, “Da Rockwilder” (13)
2. Jay-Z f/Beanie Sigel & Amil, “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)” (6)
3. Black Rob, “Whoa” (36)
4. Big Punisher f/Donell Jones, “It’s So Hard” (39)
5. Sisqo, “Thong Song” (122)
6. Jagged Edge, “Let’s Get Married” (419)
7. Nas, “You Owe Me” (40)
8. Montell Jordan, “Get It On Tonite” (170)
9. Notorious B.I.G., “Notorious B.I.G.” (9)
10. Aaliyah, “Try Again” (434)*

2003

1. Sean Paul, “Get Busy” (245)*
2. 50 Cent, “In da Club” (725)*
3. 50 Cent, “P.I.M.P.” (154)
4. Nas, “Made You Look” (7)
5. 50 Cent, “What Up Gangsta” (6)
6. 50 Cent, “Real …” (1)
7. Beyoncé, “Crazy in Love” (1013)*
8. Pharrell f/Jay-Z, “Frontin’” (87)
9. Beyoncé, “Baby Boy” (340)*
10. Fabolous f/Lil Mo & Mike Shorey, “Can’t Let You Go” (79)
11. Sean Paul, “Like Glue” (20)
12. Lumidee, “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh) (43)