A battle rapper, a certified rager, and a few frenemies dominate the most-streamed rappers list.
TOP 5 MOST PLAYED RAPPERS IN SPOTIFY HISTORY
5. Kendrick Lamar (54.6B)
There’s a strong case that Kendrick Lamar would rank as the second most-streamed rapper ever if he released music more frequently. Despite a relatively small catalog, he maximizes impact, with standout records naturally breaking through from his carefully curated projects. Tracks like “Swimming Pools (Drank)” and “Money Trees” weren’t designed to be obvious streaming hits, yet both crossed the billion mark.
More recently, Kendrick boosted his standing with gnx, which includes heavily played cuts like “tv off” and “luther.” Overall, his position feels earned, driven by demand rather than oversaturation.
Most-Streamed Track: “All The Stars”
4. Kanye West (62.2B)
People don’t talk enough about how dominant Kanye West’s prime really was. Even though his recent releases have been less frequent and haven’t always captured massive attention, his earlier catalog still does the heavy lifting like a seasoned workhorse that refuses to retire.
Records like “All Falls Down” laid the foundation, while Graduation keeps the momentum alive years later.
That album alone is stacked with streaming giants, including “Stronger,” “Flashing Lights,” “Homecoming,” and “I Wonder,” all crossing the billion mark, with “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” right on their heels. At a certain point, it stops being nostalgia and becomes dominance that simply aged too well to fade. All in all, Ye’s catalog is just too strong to ignore, even when he’s not actively adding to it.
Most-Streamed Track: “Heartless”
3. Eminem (62.9B)
Much like the artist right behind him on this list, most of Eminem’s streams are powered by his earlier work. Tracks like “Lose Yourself” and “Without Me” continue to dominate, while a more recent standout like “Godzilla” shows he can still generate major numbers today.
What makes his position so interesting is that his music isn’t exactly built for easy, repeat listening across all audiences. A large portion of his catalog leans into dark, controversial themes that can be polarizing. Still, his connection with his core audience is undeniable. He resonates strongly with listeners across Middle America, a large white fanbase, underground rap circles, and even those drawn to his fascination with serial killers.
Most-Streamed Track: “Without Me”
2. Travis Scott (63.3B)
Travis Scott makes the kind of music engineered for stadiums full of crowds going wild. His sound is larger than life, and naturally, that translates into massive streaming numbers.
One of his biggest strengths is how his albums pull you in like a bag of Lays; once you indulge in one track, you gotta have another and another and another. Projects like ASTROWORLD and UTOPIA have deep cuts that outperform most artists’ biggest hits, while tracks like “FE!N” and “SICKO MODE” continue to rack up huge numbers. If Travis dropped more consistently (much like Kendrick), he’d be right in the conversation for the top spot. Still, being near the top isn’t a bad place to be.
Most-Streamed Track: “goosebumps”
1. Drake (130 Billion)
It’s not ridiculous to say Drake may never be touched at number one. He’s sitting so comfortably at the top it feels like he’s got furniture up there. Right now, everything is hitting for him, from older albums like Take Care, to mixtapes like So Far Gone, to less-celebrated releases like Dark Lane Demo Tapes, and even newer projects like Certified Lover Boy. When it’s all said and done, Drake is like the Super Bowl: it doesn’t matter what he puts out, people are going to tune in. With ICEMAN, possibly his most anticipated album yet, on the horizon, he might extend his lead even further.
Most-Streamed Track: “One Dance”
Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.
Discover more from RGM
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
