Rudest songs: Which artists drop the most expletives in hit songs?
Artists have a knack for shocking the world with their eclectic tastes and styles. From rebellious anthems of punk rock and rap, musicians often try to push boundaries, and challenge the status quo and test the limits of what is acceptable.
To shine a light on the artists who swear most often, music experts at Startle have analysed more than 5,000 songs. Researchers looked at the top artists on the Billboard 100 Artist chart, to determine the most popular recording artists in 2024. After gathering the lyrics for one hundred of each artist's most popular tracks, researchers have discovered how many common swear words were used in the songs.
Taking the podium for the most inappropriate words in their songs is American rapper, GloRilla.
The BET Hip Hop Award nominee, has included 3,785 swear words within 100 of her most popular songs, averaging 37.9 per song.
Releasing her first song “Pretty Thugz x B*tch Where” in 2018, her voice and princess street rap caught the world’s attention.
Research from Startle shows that her song with the most swear words is “You ain't sh*t” with a total of 152 swear words packed in the nearly four-minute song.
She averages over seven swear words more per song than the other Billboard 100 artists Startle analysed.
Second on the podium is the multiple Grammy award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion.
Startle’s research has identified 3,063 swear words in her top 100 songs, with an average of 30.6 swear words per song.
She went viral in 2016 after a video of her freestyling over Drake's “4PM in Calabasas” was posted on social media. She became the first female rapper signed to 300 Entertainment in 2018.
Her most explicit song is “Hiss” which may come as no surprise for her fans. With a total of 80 swear words, she explicitly expresses her feelings about her relationships, former friends, and industry enemies.
Taking third place is 21 Savage, with 3,001 total swear words found in his top 100 songs.
On average he includes 30 swear words per song.
Breaking into the music scene with ‘Red Opps’ in 2016, the Trap artist has gained significant recognition and won multiple industry-leading awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song in 2020, and the BET Hip Hop Award for Best Album of the Year in 2023.
In fourth place is Tyler, The Creator with a total of 2,757 expletives while Future comes in fifth place with 2,201 total swear words.
At the other end of the scale, artists from the study who are the least censored include ENHYPEN and Benson Boone with joint first place, keeping their songs completely clean with no swear words mentioned in them.