Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige are all enjoying a major boost to their streaming stats following their Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performance on Sunday (February 13).
According to HipHop-N-More, Dr. Dre’s Spotify streams rose by 185 percent in the hour following the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
This includes a huge 270 percent increase in streams of “The Next Episode,” which opened the star-studded Hip Hop showcase, as well as a 245 percent jump in plays of “Still D.R.E.,” also from Dre’s multi-platinum album 2001.
As Chart Data reports, “Still D.R.E.” soared to No. 2 on the U.S. Spotify Chart, while “The Next Episode” climbed to No. 5 — all-time highs for both songs. “Forgot About Dre” also rose to No. 19 on the chart.
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Meanwhile, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly anthem “Alright” saw a similar 250 percent increase in streams, while Mary J. Blige’s 2001 hit “No More Drama” enjoyed a staggering 520 percent spike in spins.
Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” which was followed by the Detroit rap icon taking the knee in support of Colin Kaepernick, also cracked the top 10 of the U.S. Spotify chart for the first time. In October 2020, the Oscar-winning 8 Mile cut became the first rap song from the 2000s to surpass one billion streams on the platform.
This huge increase in streams will go some way toward compensating Dr. Dre and co., who didn’t actually get paid for performing at the Super Bowl. “We do not pay the artists,” NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter told Forbes in 2016. “We cover expenses and production costs.”
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In fact, Dr. Dre reportedly footed the bill himself and spent $7 million of his own money to fund the elaborate performance. However, as Mary J. Blige pointed out during a recent interview, the financial opportunities the Super Bowl presents are worthwhile.
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“Listen, you gonna be paid for the rest of your life off of this,” she said. “They don’t have to pay me. But if it was payin’ it would be a lot of money. But I’m good. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Eminem says that in ‘Lose Yourself,’ this is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
