dj akademiks

Ebro Claps Back After Akademiks Accuses Him Of Blackballing DaBaby

by

Ebro finally responded after Akademiks accused him of blackballing DaBaby, among other artists in the genre.

LONG BEACH, CA – NOVEMBER 03: DJ Akademiks attends 2018 ComplexCon-Day 1 at Long Beach Convention Center on November 3, 2018 in Long Beach, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Getty Images)

Akademiks charged at industry executives in the past week in the wake of his comments towards hip-hop’s pioneers. Ak said Ebro was gatekeeping at Apple Music. As a result, Ak claimed Ebro prevents some of the most notable figures in rap from getting playlist placements.

“Da Baby’s last project in 2020, Blame it on Baby, sold 124K first week. His new project after being blackballed by Ebro, Apple Music is scheduled to do less than 20K,” DJ Akademiks tweeted on Wednesday. “Now yall understand my Ebro convo… DSPs control who is hot and who is not. Fall out of favor with them… UR DONE.”

In response to Akademiks’s comments, Ebro noted that Apple Music isn’t the only platform. He also called out the inconsistent argument that radio, DJs and platforms are to blame when an artist loses their momentum.

“Funny shit when artists get hot it is always how they built this themselves and the fans. When shit slows down it is radio, DJs, platforms, and the label. #BlameEbro is back for a whole new generation,” Ebro responded.

Ebro added that DaBaby should be able to get a few looks from Spotify, a platform that hosts Ak’s Off The Record podcast.

“Apple Music is not the only platform,” he continued. “Based on this dummy’s logic, Da Baby should be doing well on the platform HE works for. Is it?”

Finally, Ebro pointed out that Hot 97 allowed DaBaby to perform at Summer Jam, despite the controversy. Then, he added that he’s catching heat from the same people who’ve accused him of being irrelevant.

“Im confused… Im old and irrelevant. No one listens to my shows. But why am I always being brought up by people who are “more powerful” and “doing more for the culture” as the reason things don’t perform? Somebody lying!!

Still, Akademiks pushed back against Ebro. “If you weren’t the Global Head of Hip Hop and R&B for Apple nobody would mention u breh… It aint like n***as is reacting to u for shit u say or ur radio show. U just dont like that now ppl can c beyond the veil of these playlists esp at apple.. & u the n***a responsible for it,” he added.

“I gotta loud this issue up now.. it aint bout one artist… I remember when ppl use to say .. man its only 69 we dont like him anyway.. . then it was oh… its only Tory.. we dont fw him either.. now its YB, etc and the list keep getting longer. Stop the Blackballing,” he added, clarifying that he isn’t loyal to any one artist.

The Internet Suspects That Jamie Foxx Took Shots At DJ Akademiks In Rant About Podcasters

by
Jamie Foxx Inks Feature Film Producing Deal With Sony

Jamie Foxx has a bone to pick with a podcaster, and the internet is trying to figure out who the multi-talented actor, comedian, and musician is talking about.

Foxx took to his IG stories yesterday where he posted a message to an unknown podcaster, or to the podcast community.

“Just cause they got a podcast…don’t make them a philosopher,” Foxx wrote in his first IG story. “Just cause they gotta loud fcking mouth… don’t make them the voice of the people,” he said in the next.

This left many people confused as to who this message was directed to if anybody.

However, someone in the comments section thought that the Grammy and Academy Award winner was talking about DJ Akademiks, who has been under fire recently by the hip hop community for calling pioneers of the genre “dusty” and “broke.” Among those who called Ak out on his comments were Scorpio from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5, The Sugarhill Gang’s Hen Dogg, and even LL Cool J who delievered a scathing nearly 6 minute long response to Akademiks.

“It came to my attention that a DJ — and I’m not gonna say any names ’cause I don’t think it’s necessary — a DJ basically said that a lot of the pioneers in Hip Hop, they’re dusty or how can they be the person that invented Hip Hop if they don’t have a lot of money, or if they don’t represent like they have a lot of dough,” LL Cool J said.

Ak recently responded to LL Cool J, and agreed to have a sit down conversation with him.

“I feel like the last generation — multiple generations of Hip Hop artists — has failed the new generation,” he said. “That’s why I think it’s the blind leading the blind. That’s why I don’t think older artists should be criticizing or really have any leg to stand on even if y’all call yourself pioneers to criticize how new artists are moving.”

The post The Internet Suspects That Jamie Foxx Took Shots At DJ Akademiks In Rant About Podcasters appeared first on The Source.

DJ Akademiks Accuses Ebro Of Blackballing DaBaby 

by

DJ Akademiks has made headlines all month long for offending nearly every generation of Hip Hop. After getting blasted by the likes of LL Cool J, Russell Simmons and Michael Rappaport for claiming that pioneers of the genre were “dusty” and bad with money, the Youtuber stopped by the Power 105.1’s the Breakfast Club to clarify his statements while issuing the vets an apology. 

He even atoned for his remarks against Lil Wayne’s daughter Reginae after being called out by her mom, Toya Wright, and “Uncle” T.I. for seemingly referring to her as a b****. “If she’s taking it in that sense offensively, I do apologize,” Ak stated. Despite his apology tour, the 31-year old media personality is still standing on his remarks about Hot 97 host Ebro. Last week, Akademiks called the radio host out for trying to “politic me out the game” while accusing the morning show host of blackballing certain artists. 

Ebro Darden

On Wednesday (September 28), Ak doubled down on his claims, suggesting that Ebro blackballed DaBaby and is “using Apple Music as a weapon for ur personal issues.” “Da Baby last project in 2020 ‘Blame it on Baby’ sold 124K first week,” the Off The Record podcast host tweeted. “His new project after being blackballed by Ebro, Apple Music is scheduled to do less than 20K. Now yall understand my Ebro convo. DSPs control who is hot and who is not. Fall out of favor with them.. UR DONE”

While Ebro has yet to address DaBaby claims, he did call out Akadmiks for his “dusty” comments earlier this week, tweeting, “You’re drunk. I told people I had jobs for you. You’d rather be drunk and disrespectful to women and align with scumbags. Do you boo boo!” 

Share your thoughts below. 

Jamie Foxx Calls Out Podcasters, Says They’re Not “Philosophers”

by

Jamie Foxx shared a rant about podcasters and people who have a “loud fcking [sic] mouth” on his Instagram Story, Tuesday, prompting fans to theorize who he could have him so upset. One popular suggestion was DJ Akademiks, whose recent comments on older rappers and Reginae Carter have had countless people upset with him as of late.

“Just cause they got a podcast…don’t make them a philosopher,” the actor wrote. “Just cause they gotta loud fcking mouth… don’t make them the voice of the people.”

(Photo by Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images)

“He talking about you fam,” one user commented on a repost of the story by Akademiks, while many others shared the same sentiment.

As for what has had DJ Akademiks be the target of so much hate, he recently said that older rappers are “dusty,” comments he has since said were taken out of context. He also controversially discussed the dating life of Reginae Carter, the daughter of Lil Wayne.

One podcaster Foxx likely isn’t upset with is Joe Budden, considering that the rapper-turned-podcaster recently called Foxx “the most talented man on the planet.”

Foxx recently starred in the Netflix film, Day Shift, which was released last month. He’s also expected to star alongside Will Ferrell in the 2023 film, Strays.

Check out Jamie Foxx’s recent Instagram Story below.

[Via]

DJ Akademiks And LL Cool J Go Back And Forth On Social Media After Akademiks Calls Hip-Hop’s Pioneers ‘Dusty’

by
DJ Akademiks ComplexCon 2018
Getty Image

DJ Akademiks has built his social media platform off of trying to be friends with certain artists and dissing others. He often spews unpopular hot takes that have landed him in hot water, whether it be in person with guests back when he hosted Everyday Struggle on Complex, or through the internet. Recently, the music critic, for lack of a better word, drew the ire of many when he made disparaging comments about hip-hop’s pioneers. One person in particular who deemed it necessary to respond was actor and hip-hop legend LL Cool J.

In what appears to be one of his live streams this week, the New Jersey personality asked his viewers “Have you ever seen any of those old rappers who they be like ‘Oh, they’re the foundation of hip-hop’ really living good? Them n****s be looking really dusty, I kid you not,” and later said “Every time there be an old old n**** talking about hip-hop, you be like ‘Yo bro, are you sure you invented this? Cause everybody is living better than you.’”

As the clip made its rounds on social media, evidently LL Cool J was inspired to speak up on his peers’ behalf yesterday (September 21). In the video below, LL first acknowledged that he hadn’t gone live on Instagram since the pandemic began before responding to Akademiks’s comments.

“Let me explain something to you: don’t think just because somebody knows how to get money — or fails to get money — that they didn’t make a contribution to the culture. No one discusses Miles Davis’s bank account. We don’t talk about John Coltrane’s bank account. A lot of even rock musicians, a lot of great country artists, we don’t talk about their bank accounts.”

The “Luv U Better” artist added, “This idea that you have to have money or else you don’t have any value is a bad idea and it’s a misinformed way of looking at the world and the culture.” He continued on by saying that today’s artists, whom he loves, benefitted from the work that the rappers who came before them put in. He pointed out how managers, accountants, and teams focused on an artist’s success weren’t a thing early on.

“So just because [these pioneers] didn’t get rich, just because they weren’t able to pile up millions or billions of dollars, does not mean that they didn’t make a contribution to this culture. They created an industry that we all ate off of! They created an industry that you eat off of!” LL Cool J’s response received love from other rappers such as Busta Rhymes, Royce Da 5’9″, Lloyd Banks, and more.

Of course, DJ Akademiks could not learn his lesson and go quietly. He fired back at LL Cool J passionately today (September 22) in the clip above, saying “A lot of n****s grew up watching you and they all signed the same f*cked up deal 10, 15 years old after you did. What the f*ck did you do, my n****? It’s not that I don’t respect older artists, it’s that I know that when it comes to business, y’all didn’t do nothing.”

It seems DJ Akademiks has no interest in backing down and blames the flaws of the industry today on those who were there in its inception as it pertains to hip-hop. LL Cool J’s words may have fallen on deaf ears when it comes to Ak, but the hip-hop community is thankful for his thoughtful reply.

Check out the back and forth above.

Funk Flex Wants LL Cool J And DJ Akademiks To Have A Sit Down Over Ak’s “Dusty” Hip Hop Pioneer Comments

by
music funkmaster flex

DJ Akademiks has ruffled the feathers of the hip hop community following his remarks on hip hop pioneers, calling them “broke” and “dusty” and equating their influence to the amount of money they made during their career. LL Cool J called out Ak for his remarks, telling him that the state of rap was different years ago and that early rappers set the foundation for the culture that many profit off of today.

Following LL Cool J’s remarks, Funk Flex entered himself into the conversation, calling for a sit down between the hip hop legend and the podcaster.

funk flex ll cool j akademiks

“@LLCOOL J BREAKS DOWN THE CULTURE THEN AND NOW IN AMAZING FORM! PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING WORDS OF THE YEAR!” Flex said. “@AKADEMIKS LOVE MY BROTHER! I DIDN’T POST YOUR COMMENTARY BECAUSE I FELL IT WOULD BE MISS UNDERSTOOD!”

“YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION! I AM A FAN OF YOUR PERSPECTIVE! I KNOW THAT SOME (NOT ALL) OF THE MORE ESTABLISHED VETERAN RAPPERS HAVE NOT EMBRACED U LIKE THEY SHOULD! LETS CHANGE THAT!”

Funk Flex continued, calling Ak the “voice of the youth” and invited him and LL Cool J to have a “non-confrontational” convo on his radio show or Akademik’s podcast.

“U ARE THE VOICE OF THE YOUTH! WE COULD LEARN FROM U AND U COULD LEARN FROM US! WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN ARTIST LIKE AN ALL OR ONE U CHOOSE TO HAVE A GREAT NON-CONFRONTATIONAL CONVO ON YOUR PLATFORM OR MINE!”

“WHICH EVER MAKES U COMFORTABLE…U FROM THE TOWN. YOUR VERY INFLUENTIAL. CANT HURT. IF THAT DOESNT WORK FOR U I UNDERSTAND! IF ME AND @WHOISCONWAY CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.”

Akademiks is not only under fire from LL Cool J because of his comments, but many veretan members of the hip hop community have an issue with Ak’s remarks as well. When talking to HipHopDX, Scorpio from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5 said he was very upset with Akademik’s remarks.

“It was so disrespectful and on top of it, to say, ‘Don’t come for me ’cause I don’t fuck with y’all’? It’s like, ‘OK, well, why don’t you fuck with us? What did we do to make you not want to fuck with us?’ You tryin’ to make it like we’re bums and shit, when we really built this industry.’”

You can check out Ak’s remarks in the clip below.

The post Funk Flex Wants LL Cool J And DJ Akademiks To Have A Sit Down Over Ak’s “Dusty” Hip Hop Pioneer Comments appeared first on The Source.

LL Cool J Claps Back At DJ Akademiks For Calling The Pioneers Of Hip Hop “Dusty” and “Broke”

by
LL Cool J

DJ Akademiks has a history of being loud and wrong and angering many artists in the rap world. It looks like he’s ruffled the feathers of LL Cool J with his remarks on the pioneers of hip-hop being “broke” and “dusty.”

LL took to Instagram to respond to Ak, calling him out for relating the amount of money hip-hop pioneers made to their impact on the culture.

“It came to my attention that a DJ — and I’m not gonna say any names ’cause I don’t think it’s necessary — a DJ basically said that a lot of the pioneers in Hip Hop, they’re dusty or how can they be the person that invented Hip Hop if they don’t have a lot of money, or if they don’t represent like they have a lot of dough,” LL Cool J began.

He continued, saying “Let me explain something to you: don’t think just because somebody knows how to get money — or fails to get money — that they didn’t make a contribution to the culture. No one discusses Miles Davis’ bank account. We don’t talk about John Coltrane’s bank account. A lot of even rock musicians … a lot of great country artists, we don’t talk about their bank accounts.”

“This idea that you have to have money or else you don’t have any value is a bad idea and it’s a misinformed way of looking at the world and the culture.”

He went on to say how Ak was “misinformed” and spoke on how the state of hip hop was different back then compared to now.

“Today, you can come up with your five-year plan, your 10-year plan, your 20-year plan. You can go find a manager, you can find an accountant, you can find a team that helps your career go to the next level,” he said.

“When Hip Hop first started, there were no managers, there were no accountants that believed in it. Record companies didn’t even believe in it! Nobody believed in it. How can you make a five-year plan or a 10-year plan on something that doesn’t even exist yet?”

LL concluded by saying: “So just because [these pioneers] didn’t get rich, just because they weren’t able to pile up millions or billions of dollars, does not mean that they didn’t make a contribution to this culture. They created an industry that we all ate off of! They created an industry that you eat off of!”

You can check out his full message below.

The post LL Cool J Claps Back At DJ Akademiks For Calling The Pioneers Of Hip Hop “Dusty” and “Broke” appeared first on The Source.

PnB Rock Said Rapper Robberies Were ‘Common’ Just Weeks Before He Was Shot In One

by
PNB rock
Getty Image

Just weeks before he was shot to death in an apparent robbery attempt, PnB Rock said rappers being robbed was “common” and described a confrontation with LA gangbangers. Appearing on DJ Akademiks’ Off The Record podcast, Rock and Akademiks discussed what some have called a trend of rappers being murdered in LA, including Nipsey Hussle in 2019, Pop Smoke in 2020, and Drakeo The Ruler in 2021. “It’s more than three [rappers getting robbed],” he asserted. “N****s be gettin’ their sh*t took. It don’t be spoken about… now it’s so common.”

PnB Rock was killed on Monday when a man reportedly accosted him while dining at Roscoe’s Chicken House Of Chicken And Waffles in South Central, demanding he hand over his jewelry while brandishing a gun. Police say there was a struggle, and at the end of it, PnB Rock had been shot. He was pronounced dead less than an hour after the initial shooting was confirmed by credible sources. His passing brought a wave of mourning from the hip-hop community.

In a bitter twist, PnB Rock had told Akademiks during their interview, “I never got robbed, ever in my life. I ain’t gonna say ‘never’ because I don’t like saying ‘never’ — I’m not superstitious — but I haven’t been robbed.”

You can watch the full interview above.