TORONTO — Canadian rapper Powfu’s massive popularity on TikTok has translated into a streaming milestone this week.
The Vancouver-born musician’s “Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head),” which became an inescapable hook on TikTok last year, has now crossed one billion plays on Spotify.
It’s a feat that puts Powfu, born Isaiah Faber, among an exclusive group of Canadians with billion-play tracks on Spotify, including Drake, Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber and the Weeknd. Each of them have multiple songs at those heights.
Faber’s storied rise to fame is much different than the others because he was practically unknown outside his loyal internet fanbase and has experienced most of it from inside his family home.
The 22-year-old posted “Death Bed” on his SoundCloud page in early 2019 — a year before it unexpectedly took off on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faber says upon learning about his song hitting a billion plays, he “thanked God, posted on Instagram and shot some hoops.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2021.