YG and the late Nipsey Hussle created one of the definitive protest anthems in 2016 with “FDT (Fuck Donald Trump).” During the 2020 Election, it has only gained in appreciation.
Four years later, the song is getting new life following the laborious 2020 presidential race. On Election Day (Nov. 3), “FDT” tripled in sales as the country came out in record numbers to cast their ballots. According to Billboard, the track experienced a 221 percent jump in sales compared to November 2, while streams increased from 240,000 to 1,050,000, a 338 percent rise.
.@YG and Nipsey Hussle’s “FDT” has reached #1 on US iTunes.
— chart data (@chartdata) November 7, 2020
In 2018, Nipsey broke down how the monumental collaboration with YG came to be. In a conversation with Big Boy on Big Boy’s Neighborhood, he referred to YG as a genius. “I think protest music is important,” Nip said. “Even how the song came up, we was just in the studio doing a collab mixtape. He asked me, ‘What you think about this Donald Trump shit?’ I’m like, ‘I thought it was a joke!’ I didn’t really think he could secure a Republican endorsement or even win. I didn’t think that was possible. The way the song came out it was really like some movie shit.”
CNN exiting to commercial while FDT plays in the background 💀 pic.twitter.com/6qemjKgiFa
— ben. (@benhomme_) November 7, 2020
“FDT” continues to be played across the United States. The anthem even played out during CNN’s coverage of Election 2020, not long after Biden’s victory was announced.
Revisit the song below.