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DJ Akademiks

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mako001 (talk | contribs) at 12:44, 20 November 2022 (Date fixes, per MOS:DATE, MOS:BADDATE (via WP:JWB)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the streetwear clothing brand, see Akademiks.

DJ Akademiks
DJ Akademiks in May 2022
Personal information
Born
Livingston Allen[1]

(1991-05-17) May 17, 1991 (age 33)
Spanish Town, Jamaica[2]
NationalityAmerican
EducationRutgers University–New Brunswick
Occupations
  • YouTuber
  • Podcaster
  • Media personality
  • Hip-hop commentator[3]
YouTube information
Also known as
  • Akademiks, Lil AK, Big AK, AK, The Negrotiator [4]
Channel
LocationNew Jersey, United States
Years active2012–present
Subscribers
  • 2.72 million (DJ Akademiks)[5]
  • 355 thousand (King Akademiks)[6]
[7]
Total views
  • 1.32 billion (DJ Akademiks)[5]
  • 119 million (King Akademiks)[6]
[7]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers
Twitch information
Channel
Followers
  • 419 thousand
Last updated: November 06, 2022

Livingston Allen[1] (born May 17, 1991), more commonly known as DJ Akademiks or simply Akademiks, is a Jamaican-American podcaster,[8] media personality and YouTuber.[2] DJ Akademiks rose to fame for his YouTube channel which covers the latest news in the hip hop music genre, and also for being a co-host of Everyday Struggle, a daily show by Complex Networks.[9] He also hosts Off the Record with DJ Akademiks on Spotify.

Early life

DJ Akademiks was born on May 17, 1991 in Spanish Town, Jamaica and has one brother as his sibling.[10] His father was a school principal and is stated to have had many extra-marital affairs due to his affluent status in Jamaican society. [11] DJ Akademiks did not appreciate his father's character of being away from his family, engaging in extra-marital affairs, and eventually starting another family but he claims to have understood and forgiven him as he grew older. [11] As a result, DJ Akademiks mainly grew up under the care of his mother and his grandmother.[11]

Akademiks' mother left him and his brother back in Jamaica and migrated to the United States of America where she would work many jobs, live in sub-par conditions, and eventually pay an American man $20,000 USD to marry her so she could legally become a citizen of the country as quickly as possible. [11] DJ Akademiks and his brother were then invited over to the country in 2001 by their mother.[11]

Education

DJ Akademiks has a bachelor's degree in biomathematics from Rutgers University (New Brunswick Campus).[12] He was also a disc jockey for the Rutgers University radio station WRSU-FM until 2013 when he was kicked out for his commentary and selection of music.[2] As evident from a Crime Alert flyer issued by the Rutgers University Campus Police on June 3, 2011, DJ Akademiks and another accomplice were wanted for stealing computers from fellow students on campus.[13]

Career

Early career

DJ Akademiks was a regular on online hip-hop forums.[14] His first YouTube channel titled DJ Akademiks created on October 13, 2012[15] would initially highlight his university disc jockey sessions, interviews, and Hip-Hop/Rap opinions, but over time, he would begin posting the latest breaking news in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre. During this time, he also operated a website titled Late Night Creep which centred around Hip-Hop/Rap news but it is currently not operational.[16]

2014

On May 3, 2014, DJ Akademiks created a YouTube channel titled Crime Fails which would highlight the mishaps committed by criminals during or after their criminal deeds.[17]

On June 24, 2014, DJ Akademiks created a YouTube channel titled The War In Chiraq which would mainly centre around the coverage of the gang conflicts in Chicago and the various drill artists encompassing these conflicts.[18]

2015

On February 8, 2015, DJ Akademiks created a YouTube channel titled King Akademiks where he would solely post highlight clips from his latest Twitch livestreams and also begin live streaming on in 2022.[19]

On March 13, 2015, DJ Akademiks created a YouTube channel titled Akademiks TV where he would post noteworthy footage obtained from various musicians in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre.[20] This footage would not feature any of DJ Akademiks' commentary.

On July 10, 2015, DJ Akademiks would upload a video to his first self-titled YouTube channel stating that his channel has been suspended and that he is moving to a new channel also titled DJ Akademiks where he would continue posting Hip-Hop/Rap related news.[21]

On August 18, 2015, DJ Akademiks created a YouTube channel titled DJ Akademiks TV2 - The Negrotiator which would serve as a backup for his newly created and now main channel DJ Akademiks, posting the same type of content but with a more critical and opinion-based touch.[22]

2017–2020

Aside from regularly posting and growing his DJ Akademiks YouTube channel, Instagram account, and Twitter account, from April 17, 2017 to December 17, 2020,[23][24][25] DJ Akademiks co-hosted Everyday Struggle, a daily morning show for Complex, with Joe Budden (eventually replaced by Star, and finally Wayno) and Nadeska Alexis.[9][26]

On April 20, 2018, DJ Akademiks launched his rapper alter-ego Lil Ak by posting a music video for his song "Blues Clues" which would also include a cameo from rapper 6ix9ine.[27] The music video would amass 3.1 million views and DJ Akademiks would then go onto create a separate YouTube channel for his rapper alter-ego which would be titled Lil AK.[28] He would then continue to release a string of songs and music videos up until September 2020.[29]

2021-present

In August 2021, DJ Akademiks launched his podcast Off the Record with DJ Akademiks in partnership with Spotify which sees the release of three episodes per week that centre around roundtable discussions, and interviews with various Hip-Hop/Rap musicians and media personalities[30]

Controversies

On June 19, 2017, during an interview on Everyday Struggle with Vic Mensa, after DJ Akademiks asked Mensa about his feelings towards artists profiting off of Drill music without paying any attention to the violence attached to it, Mensa furiously stated, "I wanted to slap you in your face honestly. I’m just seeing you here for the first time and this is a tame environment so I am going to keep it to my words, but it’s people like you who sensationalized and made a following off of clowning situations that we go through in real life. I think niggas didn’t have no right, you specifically like you didn’t never have a right. Whatever gave you the right to have a perspective on our people dying on a daily basis. There was nothing constructive about what you were doing and to tell you the truth I really think you’re a bitch to be honest because there is a video that you put up about a person named Tre-57, making all these jokes calling him stupid, nigga this is not a video game; that’s a nigga that I grew up with that I have known since I was five-years-old. To see you clowning him on the internet with this corny ass little voice and make jokes about it, I was waiting to see you.”

On the BET Awards pre-show on June 25, 2017, DJ Akademiks and his co-hosts interviewed Atlanta rap group Migos, where tensions rose between him, his co-host Joe Budden and late Migos member Takeoff after he questioned his absence on Migos' 2016 hit single "Bad and Boujee".[31]

In September 2018, DJ Akademiks was mentioned in the Eminem song 'Fall' where he raps about Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks negatively reviewing Eminem's Revival album, "Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it. Or have his body bag get zipped. The closest thing he’s had to hits is smackin’ bitches. And don’t make me have to give it back to Akademiks. Say this shit is trash again, I’ll have you twisted." [32] DJ Akademiks responded with, "I thought it was only Joe getting dissed, I got name dropped and dissed. And I’m like, ‘the fuck did I do?"[33]

In July 2020, DJ Akademiks was suspended from Complex for crudely insulting model Chrissy Teigen while live streaming.[34]

In February 2022, DJ Akademiks confronted rapper Megan Thee Stallion on Twitter, claiming her allegation that she'd been shot by rapper Tory Lanez was not supported by DNA evidence.[35]

In June 2022, DJ Akademiks found himself being labelled a pedophile after a minor segment from a video of his from 2014 resurfaced where he states, "And to keep it real, if you think about it in the bigger scheme of things, there's not much difference between a 20 or a 17 or a 21 and a 17, just kinda means one's a minor and one's not a minor. But listen, I will say I adopted this rule which I think is fine, I said listen, 'as long as a chick got a college ID she's getting fucked.' I don't care if she 17, I don't care if she 17 and a half, I don't care if she just turned 17, and I'm 21, she gon' get this dick."[36] DJ Akademiks later took to his Twitch account and defended himself by saying that the short video was obtained from a video that was eight years old and that it was missing the context of him addressing the controversial relationship of Tyga and Kylie Jenner pertaining to their age differences.[37] He also stated that he had never slept with an underage person and was only referring specifically to the college environment, where most freshmen are 18 or about to turn 18, "I was talking about being in an institution, college or high school, where the ages are a little bit out of what is actually acceptable. Four months of college years some people are 17, and when people go to college they do not check IDs. No one says 'Hey, how old are you?' I've been to college. They're usually under the assumption that the people they are dating are of age."[37]

In September 2022, podcast host and former rapper Joe Budden criticized DJ Akademiks for sharing a video clip of rapper PnB Rock speaking of being a potential robbery target several days after PnB Rock had been shot to death in a robbery attempt.[38] That same month, DJ Akademiks was criticized by hip-hop pioneers LL Cool J,[3] MC Lyte,[39] Russell Simmons,[40] and Spice 1[41] for calling older rappers "dusty". In September 2022, Chicago rapper Chief Keef disputed a claim that DJ Akademiks had created Keef's career[42] and actress Toya Johnson disputed DJ Akademiks over his remarks on her daughter Reginae Carter.[43] Atlanta rapper T.I. also criticized DJ Akademiks' remarks about Carter.[44]

In October 2022, a video of DJ Akademiks shouting at his girlfriend and separating her from a fight surfaced online. Rapper Freddie Gibbs responded to the situation by taunting him on Twitter.[45][46] Also in October 2022, Atlanta rapper Lil Baby dissed him numerous times on his album It's Only Me[47] to which he expressed his disdain for Lil Baby and his music, and jokingly expressed his willingness to testify against the rapper should he ever get criminally charged.[48]

References

  1. ^ a b "Who Is DJ Akademiks? Rumors Claim Blogger 'Snitched' in Tekashi 6ix9ine's Racketeering Case, But They're Reportedly Wrong". Newsweek. November 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Meet Akademiks: The Rutgers University Grad Who Built His Own Empire". HipHopDX. May 25, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "LL Cool J Claps Back at DJ Akademiks for Calling Hip-Hop Pioneers 'Dusty'". Billboard. September 22, 2022.
  4. ^ "AKADEMIKS I WAS GONNA SIGN FIVIO FOREIGN!!! Ma$e Hooked Him First for $1 Mil". TMZ. September 6, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "About DJ Akademiks". YouTube. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "About King Akademiks". YouTube. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "About DJ Akademiks". YouTube.
  8. ^ "9 Things We Learned From Fetty Wap's 'Off the Record' Interview With DJ Akademiks". Complex. December 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Introducing 'Everyday Struggle' Starring Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks". Complex Networks.
  10. ^ W Son! Akademiks speaks on Helping Mommademiks Retire & all the sacrifices she made for his success, retrieved November 6, 2022
  11. ^ a b c d e W Son! Akademiks speaks on Helping Mommademiks Retire & all the sacrifices she made for his success, retrieved November 6, 2022
  12. ^ @Akademiks (July 13, 2020). "I graduated with a bachelors of science degree in Biomathemathics from Rutgers University (New Brunswick campus). Guapdad.. you are a loser. In entertainment, in life and in school. Go to sleep.. go figure out how to get a win. This my last message to ur lame ass" (Tweet). Retrieved November 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ Franklin, Benny. "DJ Akademiks Real Name Is Livingston & He Allegedly Stole Computers In College". www.hiphoplately.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "How DJ Akademiks became hip-hop's one-man TMZ". The Daily Dot. November 3, 2015.
  15. ^ "DJ Akademiks - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "DJ Akademiks - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  17. ^ "Crime Fails - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "The War In Chiraq - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  19. ^ "King Akademiks - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  20. ^ "Akademiks TV - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  21. ^ PSA: My Channel Got Suspended. Subscribe to My New Channel NOW! (Explanation), retrieved November 6, 2022
  22. ^ "DJ Akademiks TV2 - The Negrotiator - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  23. ^ Akademiks, Nadeska & Wayno Say Goodbye on the Everyday Struggle Series Finale | Everyday Struggle, retrieved October 18, 2022
  24. ^ Grant, Shawn (December 1, 2020). "COMPLEX'S 'EVERYDAY STRUGGLE' SET TO END THIS MONTH". The Source. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "AKADEMIKS, NADESKA ALEXIS & WAYNO ANNOUNCE END OF COMPLEX'S 'EVERYDAY STRUGGLE'". HipHopDx. November 30, 2020.
  26. ^ STAR Joins the Everyday Struggle Crew, Did Drake Diss Akademiks? | Everyday Struggle, retrieved November 6, 2022
  27. ^ Lil AK- Blues Clues [Official Video], retrieved November 6, 2022
  28. ^ "Lil AK - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  29. ^ Uber Eats Freestyle, September 4, 2020, retrieved November 6, 2022
  30. ^ "Off the Record with DJ Akademiks". Spotify. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  31. ^ "Migos clashes with Chris Brown, Joe Budden on BET Awards night". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  32. ^ Eminem – Fall, retrieved November 6, 2022
  33. ^ Jahmal, Karlton (September 2, 2018). "DJ Akademiks Responds To Eminem Diss: "The F**k Did I Do?"". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  34. ^ White, Roman (July 3, 2020). "DJ Akademiks Suspended by Complex For Sexist Chrissy Teigen Rant". The Source. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  35. ^ "Megan Thee Stallion and DJ Akademiks engage in a tense social media exchange amid Tory Lanez lawsuit". The Independent. February 24, 2022.
  36. ^ Singh, Esha. ""It's a special place in hell for paedophiles": DJ Akademiks slammed for comments on 17-year-old girls". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  37. ^ a b Singh, Esha. ""It's a special place in hell for paedophiles": DJ Akademiks slammed for comments on 17-year-old girls". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  38. ^ "Joe Budden Blasts DJ Akademiks For Sharing Insensitive Interview Clip Following PNB Rock's Death". Yahoo! News. September 20, 2022.
  39. ^ "MC LYTE SAYS DJ AKADEMIKS' 'DUSTY' COMMENTS ARE PROOF 'THERE'S MORE TO LEARN'". HipHopDx. September 30, 2022.
  40. ^ "Russell Simmons Stunts On Akademiks: "I Remember Signing Paperwork For Jay-Z & Kanye West"". HotNewHipHop. September 23, 2022.
  41. ^ "Spice 1 Calls Out DJ Akademiks Over Disrespectful Comments". HotNewHipHop. September 25, 2022.
  42. ^ "Chief Keef Reacts To DJ Akademiks Claiming He Made His Career". AllHipHop. September 28, 2022.
  43. ^ "Toya Johnson Goes Off On Akademiks For Calling Reginae Out Of Her Name". HotNewHipHop. September 24, 2022.
  44. ^ "T.I. Calls Out Akademiks Over Reginae Hate". HotNewHipHop. September 25, 2022.
  45. ^ "DJ Akademiks Explains Female Fight Incident, Freddie Gibbs Trolls Him". HotNewHipHop. October 15, 2022.
  46. ^ "Freddie Gibbs Reacts to Video of DJ Akademiks Yelling 'I'm the Prize' While Breaking Up Girl Fight". XXL. October 14, 2022.
  47. ^ "LIL BABY Rips Akademiks on Album ... YOU CAN BE TOUCHED, BROKE CHUMP!!!". TMZ. October 14, 2022.
  48. ^ "Kanye West Calls Out Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Akademiks, And Peter Rosenberg". Yahoo! News. October 20, 2022.
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