Overview
- Posting on X and expanding on a livestream, DJ Akademiks said the internet has stripped rappers of mystique and that he would forbid signed artists from appearing on streamer platforms.
- Soulja Boy answered with a profane livestream rebuttal defending streaming as legitimate and claimed he was the first rapper on Twitch through its precursor Justin.tv.
- Akademiks later said he did not have Soulja Boy in mind and cited Playboi Carti and NBA YoungBoy as examples of artists who avoid livestreams to protect their image.
- He maintained that rappers are competing with streamers and argued that collaborations primarily boosted creators such as Kai Cenat, Adin Ross, and N3on.
- The exchange remains an unresolved public back-and-forth with no label or industry response, reflecting a broader tension between accessibility and mystique in the streaming era.