Kendrick Lamar’s chart-smashing diss track Not Like Us has achieved yet another milestone, becoming the first diss track to surpass one billion streams on Spotify.
The record-breaking feat adds to an impressive list of accolades, including being crowned Top Rap Song of 2024 and becoming last year’s best-selling and most-streamed song on Apple Music.
The track has 1,002,438,426 streams on Spotify, an achievement reached in near-record time since its release in May 2024. This news comes amid a heated legal dispute involving Drake, who claims Universal Music Group (UMG) artificially inflated the song’s success.
Drake has accused UMG, the parent company of his label, Republic Records, and Kendrick’s home, Interscope Records, of using bots and payola to manipulate the popularity of ‘Not Like Us.’ He further alleges that the song, which accuses him of being a pedophile, constitutes defamation and that UMG knowingly allowed its release.
These claims were detailed in two legal filings submitted by the Canadian rapper last November. The first seeks access to records from UMG and Spotify to identify potential defendants for a future lawsuit. This filing alleges violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and deceptive advertising practices.
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The second filing focuses on defamation, claiming UMG could have prevented the song’s release. It also aims to uncover whether the company funneled payments to iHeartRadio stations to promote the track. Drake’s legal team is seeking pre-action discovery, allowing them to gather evidence without committing to a lawsuit.
According to industry data, since the filings were made public, Not Like Us has seen a staggering 440% increase in sales and a 20% spike in streams.
UMG has strongly denied the allegations, asserting that its marketing practices adhere to the highest ethical standards. The company maintains that the song’s success reflects genuine fan interest rather than manipulation.
