“Not Like Us” Sets Yet Another Streaming Record

by John Austine | Jan 12, 2025 | Hip-Hop News |

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Reaching number one twice, being named the Top Rap Song of 2024, and being the best-selling and most-streamed song on Apple Music last year, now seems to be bygones.

Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss song “Not Like Us” recently achieved yet another accolade: it reached the billion-stream milestone on Spotify.

NFR Podcast, which Drake has allegedly accused of receiving payment from Universal Music Group to promote K.Dot, claims that this makes “Not Like Us” the first diss song to reach that milestone.

As of this writing, Kendrick’s record-breaking song has 1,002,438,426 streams on Spotify, a number it attained in near-record speed, having only been released last May.

“Not Like Us” got even more attention recently following Drake’s surprise legal filings against Universal Music Group.

The Controversy Over Streaming Manipulation and Defamation Allegations

At the center of the controversy is the number one diss song, which Drizzy claims UMG artificially increased in popularity by using payola and streaming bots.

He has also asserted that he was defamed by UMG, the parent company of his label Republic and the longtime home of Kendrick’s Interscope, who knowingly released a song accusing him of pedophilia.

“Not Like Us” has had a 20 percent spike in streaming and a startling 440 percent boost in revenues after he filed the petitions last November, according to Talk of the Charts.

In two “pre-action” papers against Universal Music Group (UMG), the Canadian superstar requested depositions and discovery in preparation for possible future litigation.

These are requests seeking additional information before a lawsuit is filed; they are not lawsuits in and of themselves. Drake is not required by law to file a lawsuit, even if he is able to obtain the information he wants.

According to Drizzy’s first filing, UMG, the parent company of both his label Republic and Kendrick’s longtime home of Interscope, utilized payola and bots to increase “Not Like Us’s” popularity on radio and streaming sites, guaranteeing that it would become a mega-hit.

Drake’s Legal Strategies Likely to Flop

It will take a very complicated legal process for Drake to “identify appropriate defendants” and launch a lawsuit alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as New York’s Deceptive Business Act and False Advertising Act.

The court will require proof and properly investigate “whether, and how, UMG funneled payments to iHeartRadio and its radio stations” to promote “Not Like Us.”

In a response, Universal Music Group strongly refuted the allegations, stating: “It is offensive and false to imply that UMG would take any action to discredit any of its artists”.

“Our marketing and advertising initiatives utilize the most ethical techniques. Fans choose the music they want to hear, and this pre-action submission’s fabricated and ridiculous legal reasons cannot change that”.

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