DJ Akademiks Claims Kendrick Lamar's Camp Told Him About Stream Botters

BYGabriel Bras Nevares4.9K Views
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2018 BET Experience STAPLES Center Concert Sponsored by COCA-COLA - Night 2
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 22: Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Staples Center Concert, sponsored by COCA-COLA, at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ser Baffo/Getty Images for BET)
Speculation on whether or not Kendrick Lamar and Drake's diss tracks streams were bots has run rampant as of late.

A lot of ink, stream time, and podcasting hours have been dedicated to stream botting accusations against both Kendrick Lamar and Drake amid their beef and diss track exchanges. Moreover, DJ Akademiks is one of the main people pushing this narrative against the Compton lyricist, although he stands by his sources. In fact, he recently claimed that K.Dot's own camp was the one who came forward with these accusations, or at least, that Ak found this connection through that group. Of course, this is all highly speculative and largely unconfirmed in a truly verifiable manner, but there are deeper things to address.

For one, no accusations of stream botting can be attributed directly to Kendrick Lamar or Drake at press time. It's the Internet: pretty much every engagement opportunity will fall victim to at least some fake streams or overzealous Twitter bots. But it's impossible to pin these on either artist, and the more likely scenario is that this is the result of obsessive fans trying to send their GOAT to the top. Whether or not we ever get a final word on this debate, it's clear that it's an un-winnable battle either way.

DJ Akademiks Speaks On Kendrick Lamar Stream Bot Accusations

Furthermore, a lot of folks think that the battle is already over no matter what, and don't really care about stream bots either way. After all, Kendrick Lamar will drop his "Not Like Us" music video soon, and Drake will deliver a few summer bops on Camila Cabello's upcoming album. Both MCs will likely move on to their next endeavors after this while fans continue to debate and fight. But the warring Stanbases are fighting for their own dignity, pride, and credibility, and are no longer fighting for their leaders.

Meanwhile, these next moves from two of "The Big Three" should be very exciting nonetheless, and we're ready to speak on them outside of the beef's context. Kendrick Lamar and Drake are two generational titans that, stream bots or not, would still be making massive numbers with their releases. What remains is whether or not either artist will dare to speak on these or other allegations at some point. That might be the only way in which we can all finally shut up about this kerfuffle once and for all.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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