Photo Credit: Kendrick Lamar by Kenny Sun / CC by 2.0
Kendrick Lamar’s hit single ‘Not Like Us’ has surpassed 2Pac’s ‘Hit ‘Em Up’ to become the most streamed diss track in Spotify history.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” released in May as part of Ken’s back-and-forth with Drake, has quickly become the hottest rap song of 2024. But it’s also achieved a new accolade, becoming the most-streamed diss track in Spotify history, surpassing 2Pac’s legendary “Hit ‘Em Up.”
Though the news doesn’t confirm from which platform the data was gathered, a post on Instagram dated August 11 showed Lamar’s track surpassing 647 million streams, about six million more than 2Pac’s hit.
Produced by Mustard, the track features Compton-native Kendrick verbally assaulting Drake’s credibility, accusing him of being a sexual predator. Interestingly, the song also includes reference to Drake’s so-called “disrespect” of 2Pac, whose iconic crown ring he purchased at auction in 2023 — and whose voice he used in AI form in a song during his beef with Lamar.
Of course, “Hit ‘Em Up,” released in 1996, came out at a time that significantly predates Spotify. The track saw 2Pac taking aim at The Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy Records, and others at the peak of the East and West Coast rap wars. It has been widely recognized as the greatest and most scathing diss track of all time. While continuing to receive admirable airplay nearly 30 years after its release.
But it speaks to the acclaim of Kendrick Lamar’s track that it could so quickly overtake 2Pac’s classic. “Not Like Us” received overwhelming fanfare since its release, breaking several charting and streaming records, and crowning Lamar the victor in his battle with Drake. The song also broke the record for the most Spotify streams in a single day, which surpassed Drake’s previous record with his 2021 single, “Girls Want Girls.”
Not only has “Not Like Us” become the best-selling song of 2024 in the US, but the track reached over a million equivalent units in less than two weeks after its release, surpassing two million sales the following month. Despite this, it has still yet to be certified by the RIAA.
