N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police” streams surge amid Black Lives Matter protests
N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police” has seen a resurgence amidst the ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. As the Black Lives Matter movement continues, N.W.A.’s iconic track has become one of the top protest songs. So much so that “Fuck Tha Police” is seeing a massive jump on streaming charts.
Over the past week, streams of “Fuck Tha Police” have nearly quadruped. Kendrick Lamar‘s “Alright,” Childish Gambino‘s “This Is America” and YG‘s “FDT” have also seen massive leaps in streaming numbers.
Read more: ‘Star Wars’ lead John Boyega isn’t afraid to lose his career for protesting
The notorious hacker group Anonymous emerged over the weekend and are showing solidarity with protesters in various ways. Recently, they disrupted the Chicago Police Department’s radio scanner and played N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police.” This is one of many ways the song has become part of the ongoing protests.
According to Rolling Stone, Alpha Data has calculated that “Fuck Tha Police” had a 272 percent increase in on-demand audio streams from May 27 through June 1. The song saw its biggest jump on Sunday and Monday with 765,000 on-demand audio streams over those two days. This amount is nearly five times the streams “Fuck Tha Police” was seeing on a Sunday and Monday prior to the protests.
Over the years, the song has seen an increase in streams when other police brutality protests have taken place. In August 2015, “Fuck Tha Police” saw a surge in streams during the protests in Ferguson following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown at the hands of police. However, it seems as though the song is being streamed more than ever now. The data reveals the N.W.A. track is being streamed more than double what it was during the Ferguson protests.
Read more: Artists react to updated charges for police in George Floyd killing
Along with N.W.A.’s hit, there are various other songs seeing massive increases in streaming numbers. Gambino’s “This Is America” saw a 149 percent jump in streams from May 27 to June 1. During that same time period, streams of Lamar’s “Alright” increased by 71 percent, Public Enemy‘s “Fight The Power” streams increased 89 percent and Beyonce‘s “Freedom” jumped 70 percent in streams.
These songs have also seen spikes on Pandora over the last 10 days. “Fight The Power” has seen a 559 percent spike in track station adds, “This Is America” has increased 79 percent in streams and “Alright” has spiked 22 percent in streams.
Some of these songs could be seeing such an increase in plays due to the recent rise in Black Lives Matter playlists. This week, Spotify published various playlists that include music from black artists. Spotify’s Black Lives Matter playlist features “This Is America,” “Alright,” “Freedom,” “Fight The Power” and, of course, “Fuck Tha Police” among other songs.
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While music continues to play a prominent role in the ongoing protests, musicians and artists themselves are taking part in the movement. Musicians have been showing their support for the protests and the need for change in America. Halsey, YUNGBLUD, Mod Sun, Machine Gun Kelly, The Driver Era‘s Ross Lynch, FEVER 333‘s Jason Aalon Butler and so many more took part in protests this week. Many artists have also been vocalizing their support online.
Others including Set It Off, nothing,nowhere. and Emo Nite held livestreams over the weekend and raised thousands of dollars for organizations that support Black Lives Matter.
N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police” and Spotify’s Black Lives Matter playlist are available to stream below.
To show support through donations, connect with grassroots campaigns and obtain resources for allies, please refer to the links below.
Help the family of George Floyd here.
Fight for Breonna Taylor here.
Help the family of Ahmaud Arbery here.
To sign petitions for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and more, click here.
Donate to one or more community bail funds for protesters here.
Click here for more resources for protestors including pro-bono lawyers.
Visit Movement For Black Lives for additional ways you can help the cause.
Click here to connect with leaders building grassroots campaigns.
Here are some anti-racism resources for allies who want to learn more.
For other ways to donate, please head here.
