As folks across the nation and around the world take to the streets to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd's murder, it appears many are revisiting some classic protest anthems, including the aptly titled "F*ck Da Police" by N.W.A. According to Rolling Stone's data analytics provider, Alpha Data, the gangsta rap group's hit off their 1988 debut album, Straight Outta Compton, has seen a 272% percent increase in on-demand audio streams between May 27th and June 1st, in comparison to the five-day period prior to George Floyd's death on May 25th.
In particular, streams for "F*ck Da Police" increased exponentially on Sunday (May 31st) and Monday (June 1st), with a total of 765,000 on-demand audio streams over those two days. These numbers are nearly five times more than the amount of streams recorded on the previous Sunday and Monday.
A few other hip hop songs that feel especially relevant in this crucial moment have also seen a surge in streams. As we reported, Kendrick Lamar's 2015 masterpiece, To Pimp A Butterfly, recently reentered the Apple Music Charts, and one of the most politically driven songs off the album, "Alright," has alone seen a 71% increase in overall streams. Childish Gambino's "This Is America" has also jumped in streams, in large part due to its recent TikTok virality in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery's murder. "This Is America" has leaped 149% in streams, along with Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” (89%), D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s “The Charade” (122%), Killer Mike’s “Don’t Die” (542%) and Beyoncé’s “Freedom” (70%).