Song “Killing in the Name”, by Rage Against the Machine, reaches 1 billion streams on Spotify

The billions club Spotify has just gained another member. THE Rage Against the Machine reached the celebrated brand of reproductions on the platform for the first time with “Killing in the Name”his first and biggest hit.

The track appears on the group’s eponymous debut album, released in 1992. The album, one of the most influential of the 1990s, accumulates multiple platinum certifications in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, recording more 4 million copies sold worldwide.

Tom Morelloguitarist and one of the song’s composers, praised the achievement in a publication in X/Twitter. Through the social network, he declared:

“‘KILLING IN THE NAME’ just reached 1 billion streams on Spotify! Thank you to everyone who listened: those who loved it, those who hated it and those who liked it without understanding. Fair proof that rebellious music and irony are alive and well.”

“KILLING IN THE NAME” just hit 1 billion streams on Spotify! Thanks to all those who listened to it: those who love it, those who hate it, and those who have enjoyed it without understanding it. Righteous proof that rebel music and irony are alive and well.

—Tom Morello (@tmorello) January 11, 2025

Among other songs that reached the 1 billion reproduction mark on Spotify in recent days are “Where is My Mind?” (Pixies), “Take Me Out” (Franz Ferdinand), “…Baby One More Time” (Britney Spears), “Power” (Kanye West) and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love” (Usher feat. Pitbull). The platform has more than 840 tracks covered by the brand.

Rage Against the Machine and “Killing in the Name”

“Killing in the Name” served as the first single from the band’s debut album Rage Against the Machine. The track in promotional format was made available on the same day as the album: November 2, 1992, by Epic. The band itself signs the production alongside Garth “GGGarth” Richardson (Mudvayne, Melvins, Kitty, Biffy Clyro).

Although timeless, the lyrics protest against police brutality are inspired by a much discussed topic at the time: the beating of Rodney King by four agents in 1991, and the related riots in Los Angeles the following year. The melodic part is driven by a riff created by Tom Morello while he was giving a guitar lesson — more specifically about drop-Da tuning that leaves the lowest string (mizona) one tone lower than the others, generating a heavy sound that is widely used by heavy metal bands.

Due to its controversial and profanity-filled lyrics, “Killing in the Name” it didn’t receive as much attention on American radio at the time. In other places in Europe and New Zealand, it was quite successful. Today, it is the group’s best-known song.

In 2009, the track prompted an online campaign: fans wanted to put it at the top of the UK Christmas charts to prevent talent show winners from The X Factor achieved this feat. The initiative was supported by names such as Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney and Prodigy. It worked: it reached first place in the ranking in question and also led to an entry into the Guinness Bookthe record book, as the fastest-selling digital song in the UK, with 502,672 paid downloads in one week.