How the chart is scored

Every week, each eligible record gets a score out of 49. Half of it comes from one careful listen. The rest comes from documented evidence that the record is alive, and from how recently it came out. Streams, follower counts and label budgets never enter it.

Who can chart

The main artist must be of African birth, descent or diaspora connection, and the record must be active on The Good Playlist 2026 and released on or before the reference date, seven days before the drop. Language of composition is never a factor.

A record that has never charted can make its first appearance only within 120 days of release. A record that has charted before can return at any age, as long as it hasn't been archived.

The Audit, 25 points

The curator listens once and scores hook, lyric, production, vocal and rootedness from 1 to 5 against written descriptors. A record needs 17 or more to qualify. The score never changes afterwards; a full remix or re-recording is treated as a new record.

Momentum, 10 points

Every record starts at 5. Gatekeeper decisions about the song, like an editorial playlist add, a radio add or another chart listing, add 3. Broader signals like adds from three independent curators or documented church adoption add 2. Routine press can lift a record by one, to no higher than 6. A score moves at most 3 points a week. In a quiet week it drifts one point back toward 5 and stops there; only documented decline takes it lower.

Currency, 9 points

A record starts at 9 and loses a point every 14 days from its release date, stopping at 4. Age alone can't push a well-made record off the chart.

Moment, 5 points

Usually 0. Points are given only for a documented event this week, such as an award nomination or a landmark first, and scores of 3 or more are published with a written justification.

Structure

No artist holds more than 3 positions, or more than 2 in the Top 10. At least 12 of the 40 positions go to artists with no other entry. There is no limit on new entries.

Ties are broken by Audit score, then momentum, rootedness, last week's position, and finally the older record holds. A record that leaves the chart can return the following week; after two absences in a row it is archived for good.

Where each number comes from

Every score on the chart carries a letter. C is the curator's listen, E is logged evidence with a source, M is arithmetic, and D means no input was available and the neutral value applied.

Ruleset in force: Edition 2.0 + RC-33 to RC-36.