A post on X claims Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's "Can't Hold Us" holds the record for the most-streamed hip-hop song on Spotify, at 3.4 billion plays, HotNewHipHop reported on August 14. Fans reacted with surprise to the figure, with several noting how frequently the song played at events during its peak years.
The song, featuring Ray Dalton and released in 2011, was a sleeper hit that built its audience gradually and was named Spotify's most-streamed song of 2013. "This song got played at every family event, sports game, school event you name it," one fan commented, while another said they had never encountered the song at all despite years of following hip-hop.
HotNewHipHop frames the reaction as tied to how differently Macklemore's career is remembered now compared to its commercial peak: a run that made him a genuine chart giant even as much of the audience outside his original fanbase looks back on his catalog without much nostalgia.
The figure comes from a social media post rather than an official Spotify list, and it trails the streaming totals for Drake's "One Dance" (4.407 billion, though not classified as a rap song) and Post Malone and Swae Lee's "Sunflower" (4.376 billion, a pop record). Neither Macklemore nor Spotify has confirmed the tally as an official hip-hop record.
The facts
- 'Can't Hold Us' is credited to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Ray Dalton
- A post on X reported it as the most-streamed hip-hop song on Spotify
- The figure given is 3.4 billion streams
- The song was released in 2011
- It was Spotify's most-streamed song of 2013
- The figure has not been confirmed by Spotify directly, per HotNewHipHop
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