'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Kick co-founder Tyler "TrainwrecksTV" was streaming himself gambling on Kick on June 30, 2023, when hip-hop musician Drake chimed in the live stream's chat and made comments about Spotify boosting the streams of "one song from that one guy". Although he did not directly name Kendrick, netizens were quick to realize that the message was directed at his adversary and his song Not Like Us.
In the chat message, the artist seemingly alleged that Kendrick Lamar had artificially boosted his Spotify streams or "backdoored" them. He also apparently stated that Pragmatic Play, the company behind many of the slot games and software used in Stake, should similarly "backdoor" Kick CEO Eddie Craven.
This comes after the recent beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which became a hot topic within not only the music industry but also among content creators across platforms. Drake wrote:
Trending
"Hey pragmatic can we take it back to 2022...can you backdoor Eddie like Spotify backdoored the streams for that one song from that one guy"
Drake makes allegations of Spotify "backdooring" streams for Kendrick Lamar on TrainwrecksTV's stream
In May 2024, the very public beef between hip-hop icons Drake and Kendrick Lamar along with the subsequent diss tracks that emerged had gripped the internet, with many content creators taking sides on the matter and discussing who was prevailing between the two in terms of their songs' popularity. For instance, well-known streamer Félix "xQc" had taken Drake's side, stating that Kendrick Lamar's diss track was a "snoozefest".
This would not be the first time such accusations of faking stream numbers have been hurled at Kendrick Lamar, with prominent hip-hop personality DJ Akademiks also stating that his diss track Meet the Grahams was being "view-botted" on YouTube and was therefore not appearing in the trending section of the website. In response to these claims, FaZe YourRage stated that DJ Akademiks was pushing a "nasty agenda".
Allegations of YouTube view-botting against Lamar were eventually refuted, as it was revealed that the song was not released through a Digital Service Provider and was just uploaded as a YouTube video, causing it to be not eligible for appearing in the Music trending section of the video-hosting website.
The criticism against Kendrick Lamar was noted by him as well, as he had name-dropped DJ Akademiks in his track 6:16 in LA. Within the track, he stated that Akademiks was looking "compromised". Akademiks reacted to this callout in a stream on Rumble.
