Is Ye Having a Comeback Moment? "I Can't Wait" With Ms. Lauryn Hill Hits #1 at Urban Radio

Ye is back at the top. "I Can't Wait," his collaboration with Ms. Lauryn Hill, reached number one on the Mediabase urban radio chart for the tracking week of August 2 through 8, 2026, pulling in approximately 5,404 spins. That is a jump of roughly 1,588 spins from the prior week, and it was enough to push past Drake's "2 Hard 4 The Radio," which fell all the way from first to seventh in the same period. For anyone who has been watching Ye's trajectory over the past year, this feels significant.

EntertainmentBy J. MendezAugust 10, 20263 min read

Last updated: August 18, 2026, 1:16 AM

Kanye West and Lauryn Hill performing “All Falls Down”

The Chart in Full

The complete top five for the August 2-8 tracking week, as originally reported by Brian Cantor:

1. Ye ft. Ms. Lauryn Hill - "I Can't Wait" (~5,404 spins)

2. Yung Miami - "Spend Dat"

3. Tems - "What You Need"

4. Chris Brown ft. Bryson Tiller - "It Depends"

5. Kehlani - "Folded"

Drake's single dropping seven spots in a single week tells you everything about the kind of momentum "I Can't Wait" generated. Nearly 1,600 additional spins in one tracking period is not a slow build. It is a statement.

Where "I Can't Wait" Came From

The Lauryn Hill collaboration was not part of the original Bully album. It arrived on a deluxe edition, one of several additions that kept the project alive in the cultural conversation well past its initial release window. That strategy clearly worked at radio. Pairing Ye with Ms. Lauryn Hill, one of the most respected voices in hip-hop history, gave the track an intergenerational weight that resonated with programmers and listeners alike. The combination of Ye's production instincts and Hill's vocal presence is the kind of artistic matchup that does not need a hard sell.

What Bully Means to Ye

Ye has been candid about how much this album cycle means to him personally. In his own words, the success of Bully means "even more" to him than previous commercial peaks. That framing matters. A number one at urban radio is always meaningful, but when the artist has publicly tied the project to something deeper, the milestone carries extra weight.

The Bigger Momentum Picture

The radio chart win does not exist in isolation. Ye's Bully era has been building across multiple fronts, including a stadium show in Madrid during this same period that added a live dimension to the album's momentum. Stadium performances in Europe, a deluxe release generating chart-topping singles, and a collaboration with Ms. Lauryn Hill all point in the same direction. Whether you call it a comeback or simply a return to form, the numbers support the narrative.

Why This Moment Matters for Hip-Hop Radio

Urban radio has not always been the first format to embrace Ye's more experimental work. A number one with nearly 5,400 spins in a single week suggests "I Can't Wait" found the balance between artistic ambition and broad accessibility that radio rewards. For the format itself, having Ye and Ms. Lauryn Hill share a chart-topping single in 2026 is a reminder that legacy artists can still move the needle when the material is right. The top five this week, with Tems, Kehlani, Yung Miami, and Chris Brown also represented, reflects a format in strong shape with room for both new voices and established ones. The spin increase was organic. The audience found this song and kept requesting it.

J. Mendez

Writer

J. Mendez is a writer with a decade of experience covering the full spectrum from politics to entertainment. Holding a degree in political science, Mendez brings analytical depth to reporting on government, policy, and public affairs while also delivering sharp, engaging coverage of film, television, music, and celebrity culture. Over ten years in the field, their work has spanned hard news, cultural analysis, and feature writing, consistently connecting the political and the popular for a broad audience.

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