Drake Seemingly Accuses Spotify Of Certifying Fake Streams Of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us"

BYGabriel Bras Nevares4.0K Views
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Wireless Festival 2021
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: (Editorial Use Only) Drake performs surprise set on Day 1 of Wireless Festival 2021 at Crystal Palace on September 10, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Joseph Okpako/WireImage/Getty Images)
While Drake is moving on musically, his Internet presence makes it very clear that he's still angry at Kendrick Lamar.

Drake is still mad at Kendrick Lamar over their beef, and he has made that very clear with his Internet presence after the battle wrapped up. While K.Dot filmed a music video and hosted a West Coast celebration as his victory lap, Drizzy's idea of a triumphant parade is shady IG stories and captions, voting in online polls about the best diss track from the feud, and most recently, some comments on Trainwrecktv's Kick stream last night. "hey pragmatic can we take it back to 2022..." he apparently wrote in chat. "can you backdoor Eddie like Spotify backdoored the streams for that one song from that one guy."

Of course, many took this to reference Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," which has faced various accusations from Drake's supporters of using bots to push fake streams. However, many of these claims have either been debunked or dismissed, as fans have brought up how the Mustard-produced banger is number one on Apple Music and how you apparently can't bot on that platform. As such, these theories remain purely speculative, although it's pretty likely that both artists benefitted from bots and fake streams to some degree. After all, even though neither MC probably ordered this, their supporters and fans can take matters into their own hands.

Drake Is Mad At Spotify For Allegedly Fake "Not Like Us" Streams

For that reason, discussions around fake streams and botting turn more innocuous by the day as it becomes clear that these songs would've been massive successes either way. Also, this whole thing doesn't really matter as much as the beef itself, and both Drake and Kendrick Lamar are finding it hard to move on from it. The 6ix God just released two summer bangers that even one of his biggest haters proclaimed as smash hits. But it seems like it's not enough for him.

Nevertheless, we can't really know how this situation will conclude, or to what extent bots and fake streams assisted "Not Like Us" or a track like "Family Matters." Drake will likely continue to engage in some social media shots against his opponent, and Kendrick Lamar... Well, we have no idea. There are album rumors that could manifest or come and go with the wind. Will we still see botting accusations if it drops?

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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