Afroman’s Catalog Surges Over 500% After Legal Victory
Afroman, the rapper known for his hit “Because I Got High,” has experienced a remarkable resurgence in streaming activity following a legal victory on March 18, 2023. The California artist won a jury verdict against seven Ohio police officers who claimed he defamed them by releasing music videos that mocked their failed raid on his home in 2022. This quirky lawsuit captured public attention, particularly Afroman’s assertion that his music videos were protected under the First Amendment. As a result, his catalog saw an explosive increase of over 500% in streaming activity in the week following the jury’s decision, according to data from Luminate.
Streaming Surge Following the Verdict
In the four days leading up to the trial (March 13-16), Afroman’s discography garnered 1.12 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. and just over 100 digital downloads. However, in the four days following the verdict (March 20-23), those numbers skyrocketed by 511% to 6.8 million streams and by 2,113% to over 2,500 paid digital downloads. The standout track during this period was “Lemon Pound Cake,” which saw a staggering increase of 9,353% to 2.12 million streams and a 126,300% jump in digital downloads, surpassing 1,200.
The surge in streaming wasn’t limited to Afroman’s newer tracks. His classic hit, the Grammy-nominated “High,” also benefited from the publicity, earning over 600,000 streams on the Friday following the verdict, marking a 133% increase.
The album Lemon Pound Cake, which compiles Afroman’s police-themed disses, has already climbed to No. 8 on Billboard’s Comedy Albums chart as of March 28, 2023, with potential for further gains.
Nothing But Thieves Gains Traction from Amazon Series
Meanwhile, the English alt-rock band Nothing But Thieves is experiencing renewed interest thanks to their song “If I Die Tonight,” which featured prominently in the season four premiere of Amazon Prime’s animated superhero series Invincible. Although the band has been a consistent presence on rock charts since their self-titled debut album in 2015, this track had previously gone unnoticed in terms of airplay and sales.
The inclusion of “If I Die Tonight” in the show’s opening montage has led to a significant uptick in streaming. In the first four days of the tracking week (March 13-16), the song received fewer than 17,000 streams. However, that number surged to 345,000 in the same period following the premiere (March 20-23), reflecting a 1,942% increase. This resurgence could position Nothing But Thieves for greater visibility and opportunities in the future.
TikTok Dance Trend Revives 3OH!3’s “Richman”
In another notable trend, the electro-pop duo 3OH!3 has seen a revival of their 18-year-old track “Richman,” thanks to a TikTok dance challenge that began on February 4, 2023. The trend was initiated by user @/hymnuslop, who shared an animation featuring characters inspired by My Little Pony dancing to the song. This sparked a wave of user-generated content, leading to a significant increase in streaming for “Richman.”
User @/janabananathings further propelled the trend with a post on March 2, which garnered nearly four million views and over 540,000 likes. The accompanying sound from the original animation has been used in over 52,000 TikTok posts. The official 3OH!3 TikTok account also engaged with the trend by sharing clips of the duo performing the song.
The week following @janabananathings’ video (February 27-March 5), “Richman” logged 429,000 official on-demand streams, a 193% increase from the previous week. The following week saw an even more significant rise, with streams reaching over one million, marking a 133% increase. By March 13-19, the song continued its upward trajectory, achieving 1.44 million streams, resulting in an overall increase of over 1,800% in streaming activity over four weeks.
As reported by www.billboard.com.
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Published on 2026-03-26 01:32:00 • By FAME Delivered News Desk