Despite Drake’s defamation lawsuit against UMG, Kendrick Lamar’s popular diss track is racking up streams on Spotify.

Kendrick Lamar’s battle-winning, critically acclaimed diss track, “Not Like Us” has surpassed 1 billions streams on Spotify just 9 months after its release. Even while it sits at the centre of a defamation lawsuit, filed by the track’s subject – Drake, the track’s impact and popularity shows no sign of diminishing.

The fifth instalment in a series of diss tracks released as part of a feud with Canadian rapper Drake, “Not Like Us” has been hailed one of the greatest diss tracks in history. It’s widely accepted that the track solidified the victory for Kendrick, after viciosuly taking down Drake’s character with accusations of paedophilia and involvement in sex trafficking. Its debut live performance was during The Pop Out: Ken & Friends, where Kendrick played it five times in a row. Achieving 1 billion Spotify streams in this short space of time is a first for a diss track, and highlights the feud’s significance in modern hip-hop.

The release of “Not Like Us” has resulted in the filing of two lawsuits against Universal Music Group (UMG) by Drake. Firstly, in November the rapper claimed that UMG was responsible for inflating the popularity of “Not Like Us” via illegal tactics. Secondly, Drake accused UMG of failing to block the release of the track, which he maintains features defamatory content.

Drake has since withdrawn the first lawsuit around illegal stream boosting, but his legal team are reportedly putting pressure on UMG and the NFL to keep Kendrick from performing “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl next Sunday (Feb 9th). It appears, however, that Kendrick has no intention of cutting the song from his set, and since he isn’t the one being sued it would be surprising if he did. UMG similarly don’t seem too worried, calling Drake’s assertions “ridiculous”. Fans have also criticised the rapper for initiating legal proceedings after the battle.

Kendrick Lamar’s onstage artistry, paired with the performance of a track that has quickly garnered 1 billion+ Spotify streams, could see the Super Bowl’s halftime spectacle elevated to new heights. As the lawsuit remains ongoing, and it will be interesting to see if a halftime performance of “Not Like Us” does kick Drake’s legal team into overdrive, and indeed how the rappers’ shared label – UMG – will react.