George Floyd protests: NWA's 'F**k tha Police' sees 272% increase in streams amid outrage
NWA's classic 'F**k tha Police' is witnessing a surge in popularity of late. The 1988 track, which has a theme of anti-police brutality, is off their 'Straight Outta Compton' LP. The song saw an increase in streams since the news of George Floyd's death broke out, which was followed by Black Lives Matter protests throughout the nation.
A go-to anthem for recent protests, 'F**k tha Police' has seen a 272% percent increase in on-demand audio streams from May 27 through June 1 compared to the five days before Floyd’s death, according to Alpha Data, the data analytics provider that powers the Rolling Stone charts. On May 31 (Sunday) and June 1 (Monday), the song increased in popularity with 765,000 on-demand audio streams over those two days. It is nearly five times the streams the song was seeing before the protests. A similar surge happened in August 2015 when the song was played amid protests in Ferguson, a year after the shooting of Michael Brown. But even then, the daily streams on May 31 and June 1 this year were double the number they were in 2015.
The song protests police brutality and racial profiling with lyrics such as: "Comin straight from the underground. Young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown. And not the other color so police think. They have the authority to kill a minority. F**k that shit, 'cause I ain't tha one. For a punk muthaf***** with a badge and a gun. To be beatin on, and throwin in jail. We could go toe to toe in the middle of a cell." The song was ranked number 425 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time back in 2011.
NWA’s 'F**k tha Police' is just one of several protest songs that have seen a resurgence in streams over the last week as anti-police brutality protests continue to surge throughout the nation more than a week after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' has been a viral soundtrack on TikTok for the past month. Teens began incorporating the song in TikTok videos about racial inequality when charges were filed in the Ahmaud Arbery's case. Gambino's 2018 song picked up by 149% in streams over the same time period as 'F**k tha Police'. Also witnessing an increase were Kendrick Lamar’s 'Alright' (+71%), Public Enemy’s 'Fight the Power' (+89%), D’Angelo and the Vanguard’s 'The Charade' (+122%) and Beyoncé’s 'Freedom' (+70%), according to Rolling Stone.
Decades-old classics have also received large spikes in streams, including James Brown’s 'Say It Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud' and Nina Simone's 'I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free'. The theory that time is an illusion may have some relevance after all as aged lyrics still hold strong meaning for listeners today.