Kendrick Lamar breaks new streaming record with ‘Not Like Us’
Kendrick Lamar‘s hit single ‘Not Like Us’ has reached another major milestone. The song recently surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, becoming the first diss track to reach that number of streams.
‘Not Like Us’ was released last May as part of Kendrick’s feud with Drake. Produced by Mustard, the song peaked at number one on the Hot 100 and received nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
During a conversation for Harper’s Bazaar last year, Kendrick explained what ‘Not Like Us’ means to him. “‘Not Like Us’ is the energy of who I am, the type of man I represent,” he said. “Now, if you identify with the man that I represent. This man has morals, he has values, he believes in something, he stands on something. He’s not pandering.”
Lamar continued: “He’s a man who can recognise his mistakes and not be afraid to share the mistakes and can dig deep down into fear-based ideologies or experiences to be able to express them without feeling like he’s less of a man.”
He added, “If I’m thinking of ‘Not Like Us,’ I’m thinking of me and whoever identifies with that. “And my awareness of that allows me to react to things but not identify with them as who I am. Just allowing them to exist and allowing them to flow through me. That’s what I believe.”
‘Not Like Us‘ finds Kendrick making allegations of paedophilia and sexual misconduct against Drake with lines such as, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified paedophiles,” and the memorable, “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”
In November, Drake went down the legal route over ‘Not Like Us’ by filing a pre-action disclosure against Universal Music Group and Spotify, accusing them of illegally boosting streams. The filings by Drizzy’s Frozen Moments company claimed bots, undisclosed payments and biased recommendations were used in the alleged practice.
‘Not Like Us’ is the longest-running solo chart-topper of Kendrick’s career following ‘Humble’ in 2017, which appeared on his DAMN album. It’s also the first rap song to top the Hot 100 after just a five-day tracking week.