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 music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output.
Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond.
Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C.
His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.