Streams of protest songs both old and new have had a huge jump in streaming numbers this week.
As protests continue to take place in the United States and throughout the world, song streams from Kendrick Lamar, James Brown, 2Pac, Childish Gambino and more have increased by 15,740%, according to Billboard’s Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The biggest jumps week-over-week were from Brown’s “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” which jumped 15,740%; Lamar’s “Alright” from To Pimp a Butterfly grew by 787%; and Killer Mike’s “Don’t Die” increased by 36,254%. The list woiuldn’t be complete without spikes in listens to both N.W.A.‘s “Fuck the Police, which grew by 655%, and Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” which saw an increase by 858%.
It’s been a week of protest in the United States. A number of musicians have spoken out or have protested in the past week, including Gorillaz, Jay-Z, Lorde, Halsey, Fiona Apple and LL Cool J among others. Meek Mill released a new protest song on Friday morning as well.
