Akademiks thinks the rap world’s obsession with streaming stats has played a major role in the rise of internet streamers.
Speaking during a recent livestream, the media personality broke down why he believes “rappers are competing with streamers” now more than ever. He pointed to the massive popularity of creators like Kai Cenat, Adin Ross, and N3on, many of whom have welcomed major rap stars onto their platforms.
“Rappers made a huge mistake in the last two years,” Akademiks said in the clip. “When they were chasing numbers, they all went to streamers. You’ve got to understand, the rapper collab with the streamers is what got these guys to record levels of clout.”
Akademiks went on to point out Tory Lanez’s appearance on an Adin Ross livestream back in 2021, years before Lanez was sentenced to a 10-year prison term.
“These streamers, on their path to whatever level of clout they reach, they work with rappers,” Ak said. “But in the end, it helped the streamers way more than it helped the rappers.”
With younger audiences now leaning more toward streamers than artists dropping three-minute songs that can be “hit-or-miss,” Akademiks believes hip-hop stars have essentially “handed their audience over” to streamers.
“I really think streamers have done an amazing job pulling attention away from rappers and potential fans,” he added. “Now rappers have to pull up to a streamer’s bedroom just to try to get that attention back, and fans are being forced to choose.”
He wrapped up by saying audiences are now investing more in personality than image or inconsistent music. “We’re buying into personality over the cool factor and music that’s hit-or-miss.”
Some rappers are already exploring the streaming space themselves, including Drake, who occasionally streams on Kick, and Polo G, who has openly talked about wanting to make money through live content.
