The Metric That's Ruining Hip-Hop..

[@PuffinPass]

Immortal Technique said it best way back in 2003, "So if your message ain’t shit, fuck the records you sold! 'Cause if you go platinum, it's got nothing to do with luck It just means that a million people are stupid as fuck" Taken from "Industrial Revolution"

[@Jeaux333]

Yessirrr!!!!!

[@SolomonButton]

Facts 💯

[@x_VineM_x]

💯

[@Childish_Gambigballs]

immortal technique is a legendary lyricist, i wish i heard his name get brought up more often

[@askellpositive]

Nope no one wants to hear that government and conspiracy theorists bs technique raps about

[@jeffreybuffkin9108]

THANK YOUUU. I can’t believe how many times I have to tell people that numbers aren’t the same as good music. Making the most predictable decisions waters down creativity and substance

[@JoshuaKhosa]

The amount of people that care about numbers when It comes to music and other art makes me sick.

[@tommurphy4770]

It’s so weird cos you never see it with any other media or art form. If a movie flops but is still great people say will still give it its praise. If a video game makes massive numbers on first release but still sucks people will shit on it.

[@WanderingEarthling2093]

​@@JoshuaKhosa we're talking about popular art hear. If no one wants to listen to your music, it has objectively failed as popular art

[@jerrymiyahtylerious2847]

Money is an idol in modern times, and honestly has been through out many eras preceding us. This is exactly what happens when you idolize something that isn’t real. Money is great, the system can help us better ourselves and provide for the community and world, but when we become infatuated with it, it blinds us to all the other things that matter. Money is great, but does being wealthy excuse immoral behaviour? Money is great, but does it mean I have to suspend relationships, friendships, and business ties to acquire more of it? It’s a slippery slope that you can’t really notice until you honestly take a step back and consciously look at.

[@alephmale3171]

@@WanderingEarthling2093 Y'all act like McDonalds must be the pinnacle of cuisine just because they push the most edible matter and have the most money. Popularity has nothing to do with quality.

[@SyteJackson]

The reason is we let lames like Akademiks determine whats success

[@bsmi1361]

Akademiks is who MC's are trying to impress now 😂😂😂😂

[@SyteJackson]

@@bsmi1361 and that is a damn shame. Because he’s not for the culture. He’s very biased when it comes to rappers and whatever rapper he hears that caters to his lame way of life he will put on a pedestal

[@jalepezo]

yeah, fucking nerds he belongs to accounting not to poetry departament

[@uyoyoogbalor9184]

Don’t disrespect my boy like that gang

[@bsmi1361]

@@SyteJackson He only cares about album sales

[@KurtHoorah]

I’m not gonna lie, I only learned about Ak after the Kendrick vs Aubrey beef. And after a month, I’m just sitting here think ‘how the fuck this clown has a career?!’

[@craxyman9025]

He was the first content Creator to talk about Chicago drill consistently before it became mainstream. And bruh is funny...a clown but funny at times.

[@theofficialoni8321]

Same here What confuses me that someone like him is so confident about not getting in trouble that he "allegedly" attacked a women on cam and have lot of shady rumors about him Wonder how many of his kinds are in hip hop industry hiding behind people like drizzy

[@marseanbostic3377]

By working hard instead of commenting on a video questioning other people success.

[@AnthonyCheeseborough]

@@theofficialoni8321 He didn't get in trouble for that because it was a bullshit accusation, but I get it, people who hate him will still ride with the rumors or whatever cause they don't like him.

[@Dio_Corleone]

​@@marseanbostic3377ah yes drinking every stream and glazing drake is definitely getting it out the mud.🤡

[@pmarcusb]

The fact that AK is considered an important voice in hip hop just shows how corny the fans are becoming

[@Dii552]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💯

[@iranakom]

Facts

[@Beefytiing]

some of y'all can't tell your thumb from your ass and think you have a relevant opinion on hiphop lol

[@SkypieOBS]

Thank you, I really thought no one seen it… Being an "important voice in hip hop" but also being unable to break down bars has always been a weird to me… as weird as rappers freestyle lyrics they wrote before hand…

[@AveMcree]

preach

[@riss3690]

Sells was one of Drake's main justifications for saying that Kendrick fell off but people who really support Kendrick are willing to wait and excited when he drops because we know thats what we're getting quality music; a piece of art. When I listen to GKMC, it takes me back to when I was young running around with my homies; it makes you feel something. Music is not about the numbers, its about the art. Certian art pieces may be popular but that is not directly tied to the impact that they have on culture. There are many pieces of art that were criticized at the time they were created but are celebrated for their beauty today.

[@Pricy-n5y]

Nobody reading all this shii pal

[@LSmithAfrica]

I'm reading fam... And I fully agree👌

[@Hotbox-Igoos]

Well doesn't matter anymore Drake career is over

[@askellpositive]

@@Hotbox-Igoos200 million records in 14 years he’s good

[@Hotbox-Igoos]

@@askellpositive he was just called a pedo by Kendrick on a song that everyone is still jamming out too; only way he going stay relevant is if he can convince people that under age dating is ok I mean in America wherr i live there trying to make under age dating legal so I could see him coming back

[@boldie4828]

DJ Akademiks is the biggest clown in the hiphop field and I am surprsied that people actually watch this guy

[@dysonspheretxi]

Clowns can be entertaining I guess. 🤣

[@YouTubeaddictt]

Not as bad as poetic flakko

[@ProfesorJoan]

You forgot Dj Khaled

[@mangaaddict3056]

​@@ProfesorJoan DJ Khalid might be the biggest leech in hip-hop, not necessarily the biggest clown doe.

[@arthurswanson3285]

He's a living warning against how alcohol abuse can turn you into a morbidly obese teletubby. So he serves a purpose.

[@EazyIzzy]

It was Definetly 50 Cent who started the obession with First Week Sales. He did it with purpose but it accidently created this effect around the fans who buy these albums thinking they are getting this inside scoop of how the industry that they will probably never enter (Or have tried and failed) into. It makes the people feel involved but in reality, we should be studying whos selling AFTER THE FIRST WEEK. Doja Cats album "Scarlett" sold 60K last year & Yeats album sold around the same but their projects are on steriods. This goes around because people have been listening PAST THE FIRST WEEK.

[@peanutpablo9596]

Literally never understood why artists were so obsessed with getting number ones, when neither I nor no one that I know will judge how good an artist is based off of how many number ones they got

[@Stealth86651]

It's sad how much hip hop has moved away from lyricism. I know there's still some artists who are literate, but it's honestly amazing how much average talent has regressed, even middling songs from the past blow a lot of new stuff out of the water, easily.

[@finished6267]

it's weaponized programming. duhhh

[@shanel4294]

It breaks my heart ngl, the amount of artists that don’t write and can’t write a song. The songs from back in the day they hold wayyyy more weight.

[@Braylon1997]

Back then ppl didn’t care about the first week sales as long as they get to listen to the new music they put out. Now they’re more worried about the sales and chart placement rather than enjoying the music.

[@zeldawrldd]

No one cares about yo comment

[@jaysouthmusic8230]

That is so true

[@Lxrzo]

​@haladiftyo its actually pretty good keep going

[@steezybeatz]

I’m glad this conversation is happening because the industry is eating its own tail and it doesn’t just impact famous artists. Talented locals and newcomers get rejected regardless of talent over numbers. The days of signing a talented nobody and putting them on are over. If you’re not viral it’s gonna be hard as an artist. Kanye said it best, “the industry will change when the people change”. Judging songs, artists and KZbin videos based on how many plays, likes and followers they have created this problem. The public told the industry that only the most hyper viral artists matter so that became the standard, not actual talent and song quality.

[@Linfindores]

I completely agree for all the shitty artists that are in the mainstream for going viral there are countless of diamonds in the rough in multiple collectives & scenes that could do major damage but won’t get the opportunity because their social media isn’t big enough or viral vids or whatever the hell. Hell I pay to see bands & artists where their shows cost $10 & they give a better show than 90% of the mainstream artists even in a band myself that follows that same example.

[@Dodong716]

First week sales is far from everything. Michael Jackson’s Thriller didn’t sell too much at first and didn’t really start kicking off until his videos on mtv.

[@happyfohg222]

Although Ak isn't the only one who pushed numbers over substance, he takes the majority of the blame. He's even admitted that many artists use bots and streaming farms or purposely make tick-tock dances for numbers yet still argues that they are the deciding factor. One reason why no one takes his opinion seriously when it comes to a good rap album

[@Acegamez98]

Akademiks helped ruin hip hop

[@fredronknowles4200]

Cuz he reports the sales?? Not the actual artist putting out garbage?

[@magniwalterbutnotwaltermag1479]

​@@fredronknowles4200you should check put the multitude of videos about Ak. There's a reason everyone has been dissing him for the past few years

[@shanel4294]

@@fredronknowles4200no his existence as a whole is the problem

[@hardcorekai1]

No it's not, it's the so called 'fans' of hiphop and the label owners that are the ones at fault! but more on us as consumers, because guess what? when you entertain BS that is what you're going to get! Smh

[@Acegamez98]

@@hardcorekai1 if you don’t think Ak has played a huge role in the current state of hip hop then you must be delusional

[@christopherespinoza-darnel8514]

This day and age is embarrassing and most of these "artists" ain't even realizing it until its too late and the future is making fun of them.

[@beatsbuba]

deep

[@Rascofresco11]

Does anyone remember how hip hop went from Don’t join a gang & don’t do drugs> I gotta hustle on the block to feed the fam> I’m the plug> I’m the plug and the patient > bragging about how much of an addict they are> I’m so high I can barely rap> NBA Young Boy & Ice Spice?

[@Pinkpompoms591]

Literally every single message in your comment has been portrayed in rap songs this year. Just stop listening to only mainstream rappers and you'll be amazed.

[@turtleanton6539]

Faxx 😅

[@enoschfrancis6641]

Big facts man people need to just enjoy the music why u caring about first week sales

[@jaysouthmusic8230]

I know right I remember when it was strictly about the music itself now people care too much about first week sales instead of making an impact. Just because an album or an artists single that went number one is “hot in the moment “, doesn’t mean it will be played the next decade and remembered like music from the early 2000s that we still play to this day because of the impact that music made

[@Pinkpompoms591]

It's because they're also being funded and supported by big labels that only care about making a profit. A lot of independent artists care about the quality of their sound but with no money to fund their career, they don't get the same amount of push and less people discover their music

[@SOKRATEEZ76]

One thing rappers did it back in the day 80s and 90s.They made music from the heart.And that's what made people buy it because they felt it in narrow white.When you make a music just to be light, you just don't make whatever you think.People like instead of what you're truly feeling your heart

[@citypopradioFM]

Sadly this extends to every medium of art sold to the masses. Hollywood films aren't much different. When art becomes a mass market commodity, it becomes a corporate product and ceases to be art. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, but these shifts have been painfully occurring since the last century. Then you have shifts like the auteur film era of the 1970s which is why so many of those flicks are all-time celebrated classics. At the end of the day, consumers are equally if not more to blame because you inevitably vote with your dollars. If corporate entities see the most money in selling recycled crap over works with artistic merit, they're going to go with the former every single time.

[@MJGhost]

Can we talk about how Drake literally ruined a classic outta desperation 🤦🏽‍♂️ Edit: y'all can have yall opinions on Hey There Deliah *Respectfully IDGAF*

[@TOPSTARrap]

wag wan delilah know i’m late cause it’s bare traffic i just showed my dawg your gram he said he knows a man that slapped it i’m so cheeeeeeeessed… 🔥🔥🔥🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@RAIDINGFRIDGES]

Exactly.

[@zeldawrldd]

No one cares about yo comment

[@joshingram071]

Classic is a reach

[@AngeBiampandou]

​@@joshingram071The song is literally a classic

[@BrookEngland-do3uh]

The main reason Drake is #1 is bc he knows how to ride others waves whether it’s new artists or the best songwriters.

[@Mrzombieman]

i never pay attention to sales since like 2016, numbers are phoney a lot of the time and inflated like a mug. For me its what sounds hard and im sure a lot feel the same and thats why they most likely think folks like Ak are clowns who dont know what it is that actually makes rap "art"

[@Health33570]

AK gotta get off his knees for Aubrey he must be on his payroll, There’s no passion for the art anymore it’s only NUMERICAL COMPETITION it’s all been watered down 👎🏾

[@Dopesickgypsy]

Sway is a goat interviewer. He knew how to talk to baby. Hustling backwards was exactly what birdman was trying to say.

[@shanel4294]

Sway always had the answers

[@Dopesickgypsy]

@@shanel4294 even when they say he didn't

[@ThisSteveGuy]

Great video, thank you! The worst part of the music business has always been the business, and these weird goons like Ak who celebrate the business more than the music are just parasites. They're not just ruining the music we listen to, but what our children listen to as well. They're fine with kids singing along to Sexyy Red because it dumbs down the culture, which just makes their job even easier later on. This cycle has been going on for decades and it needs to stop. The industry of hip hop should be controlled by the culture of hip hop, not some greedy outsiders.

[@DiRT_BAG_CALi]

Thank God for content creators like you 🙏 keeping it real bruh, keep it up

[@Freedareal86]

Aka is not a real hip hop source, i dont know why the people made him rich smh

[@yokaigypsy]

Actually he is. You just don’t know shit.

[@Som3Elves]

Blurring DJ Akademics face didn't hide shit, boys stomach too damn big

[@WestCoastCheeseHead]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@user-hm4tt9hy5f]

There's a few examples I can think of regarding first week sales not being the determining factor. - Kendrick's GKMC is his only major label album to NOT debut at number one (Untitled Unmastered even debuted at number one). Today, GKMC is the album with most consecutive weeks on Billboard - Lupe's Cool album debuted at number 15 (his lowest debut of his albums with Atlantic) and today, The Cool is his only album to go Platinum Not all classics have the strongest debut.

[@ByteMyNPC]

For me, it's definitely the absence of storytelling in hip hop anymore. It's all about money, sex, drugs, poppin' ass in the club and just a whole bunch of BS that I'm literally sick of hearing. Yeah, sure I have my selection of favorites from songs like this but when its repetitive and predictable it gets old. How many times can you rap about the same thing in a different way before the community and fans get sick of it?

[@jaysouthmusic8230]

You have a great point there’s no balance like it used to be

[@aze4964]

yall are lazy music listeners and like complaining more than supporting good music. Vince Staples just dropped a great album that has all of these elements. Dig more than mainstream theres so much rap for everyone now.

[@michaelskoomamacher5652]

@@aze4964 This. Every "I was born in le wrong generation" dudes won't deviate their ears from anything less mainstream, and keep exercising their mental gymnastics when someone dropped fresh new artists just because they're not Diddy Smalls.

[@deadspace297]

​@michaelskoomamacher5652 Woah woah Diddy Smalls is crazy

[@IAmInYourShadows]

The problem is that rap sounds the EXACT SAME, no different at all. Back then, people had amazing different styles. everything feels like a rehash now and it sucks

[@itzwakk335]

because as time goes on it's harder to find new sound, and all innovation comes from inspiration so it doesn't always sound super different

[@sbrooks904]

worst excuse ever. people been coming with fresh shit for decades. now they ran out of ideas?

[@goldenflower5035]

We live in a circle.

[@railroadforest30]

There’s a lot of different styles

[@ski-mask-the-slump-god]

i’d argue there was less styles back then

[@RawDaOne]

Record sales & shady business was always talked about in rap. But now record labels pay people to slander artists to bring their price down.

[@blackfairchild2155]

They don’t make a dime off album sales. They make money off shows and endorsements/investments the record sales are for the label and used to be an effective tool in drawing a line in the mainstream

[@Anne.411]

This lets you know the industry cutting him a check too

[@nomad_wm]

This one really gave me some much needed perspective, as an artist I’ve always let the numbers get to me. This one’s got me really looking back at my catalogue and excited to get back to what I need to be doing.

[@imnotwhitebutimwhite]

Mr. Morale is a classic and I will die on this hill.

[@YayRaven]

Exactly. Some songs didn’t place well on release but over time the quality of the song gave it longevity and became more popular over time. So which is better? Recognition of quality over long time or immediate marketing in the short time?

[@jaymca730]

This is why you have rappers like Earthgang, Joyner, Kenny Mason, JID...they can flow but dont have nearly the buzz cause they dont sell a ton of albums.

[@pachho808]

Denzel Curry had the (second) best rap album of 2022 and is sold 15k first week, but MMESYF will still be a Florida or maybe even Southern rap classic for years

[@R0m0n3]

Ak isn't good on speaking about the substance of music. Fantano is much better compared to him but even his breakdowns are a little lacking. There is room for a proper unbiased music critic online.

[@seikoellis17]

Dead end hip hop is still hanging on even though they are older guys.

[@R0m0n3]

@@seikoellis17 never checked them out. Will see what they have to offer.

[@thelaw2348]

Fantano Is a culture Vulture

[@QueenSamiyah]

It's always been this way with most classic forms of entertainment. When they first come out some people like it some people don't but over time they prove to be cult classics, that's the real test of its quality. Movies, music, etc .What stands the test of time isn't always recognized initially. Great analysis

[@realmotos6024]

Ngl, AK saying “15 times plastic” and “double styrofoam” caught me out😂😂

[@MrVad3r]

i never heard of mr morale or older kendrick albums before this drake fued. now this album is on repeat on my phone wherever i go. good music will eventually find the audience.

[@PressureLV]

People who are obsessed with numbers aren’t artist their clout chasers nothing left to be said

[@user50852]

my thing about first week sales and the sales metric in general is that its outdated nobody is buying music anymore. it doesn’t accurately show how many people are really listening and tuned it.

[@Tiny21]

this whole week ive been binge watching your videos on a car ride to San Francisco

[@lemonke7456]

I feel like numbers and TikTok streams have ruined the creativity of albums because you can see that after the 2020 cycle of rap albums that the most popular albums were rappers post-death records (Juice world and pop smoke), and the sad thing is with this new drive for virality, people don't actually care about the quality anymore, but tbh less and less people are actually listening to music which is also an interesting case and doesn't even have anything to do with artists making good music either. There definitely is good material, out there but artists are generally prioritizing streamablility, and the cycle continues, until rappers finally realize they need to make music so good that people will find anyway to listen to it.

[@cluelessguyy]

AK catching strays on every video. WELL DESERVED!

[@Ayogenius67]

Bruh I love ur story telling.its so indulging ❤

[@BrookEngland-do3uh]

The thing is most artists don’t have the budget to get a #1 it cost around 150k to work ONE RECORD. (Even more for pop records.)

[@Donja.z]

This is how people are who follow any hype, anything that's popular or 'in' (doesn't matter if it's music, technology or fashion). People who never walked on that path and just listened and bought what they really liked continued to do so.

[@SoccerBallerZ-home]

“Triple plastic”🤣🤣

[@gregorymason4819]

Finally someone speaks on this!! Thank you!!!

[@euryvices]

bro, the "hey there delilah" redo was so bad, my dog started vomiting

[@Aeistheticism]

@@zeldawrlddyou like your own comments since you're the only drake defender here 😂😂😂😂

[@CobiOnTheRocks]

Views being considered to be better than to pimp a butterfly is a wild take in my opinion

[@KestraBeatz]

when people found it funny when Drake Said Kendrick is doing Lyrical Gymnastics i was confused bcz i thought Rap was about lyricism

[@Youraveragedemon-n3r]

Old school started the gangsta rap, then everyone followed, then trap came out and everyone followed, then drill took it to the next level and everyone followed, then emo rap came out and everyone followed, now the focus is back to drake, Kendrick, jcole etc. Guess we'll see what's next lol.

[@Devondavis-fm2dz]

W vid This is big facts i don't why its like that in hip hop today 😭

[@VBO.Pro510]

Ppl need to remember DJ Akademiks is a reporter, man got popular covering Rap drama and gang beef related to rap. Man is glorified microphone and not an actual DJ and doesn’t conceptualize his own work and doesn’t understand what he says now has impact which makes him a real clown when he is trying to chase views and popularity.

[@DraeDiamond]

I couldn’t agree more. For City Girls, 6k-8k first week is crazy though 😂 It is fast food music though so 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@phantasmo9446]

Hip hop has always had a competitive edge to it. But I think the numbers war was mostly pumped up by the media and the general social climate we’re in today. How many followers you got, how many likes, views, etc. Most of the hip hop I listen to doesn’t even chart nor are the artists driven by that stuff. In a sense I feel like that fosters a more intimate bond between artist and fan. Plus my ears aren’t overly bombarded with their music every where I go whether that be the club, the mall, whatever- which I really appreciate.

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

“That’s great sales!” AK is VLAD with street cred, it’s just cause AK is an OG and everybody & every baddie listen to him, that’s why he calls himself the Hood Tele

[@LawrenceAgueleJr]

This is not only a great job, it is a very useful and meaningful project. Great job man.

[@YouTubeaddictt]

The only reason why drake is the biggest "rapper " is because he doesn't just make rap

[@jfraz1992]

No he knows how to make hits

[@kingace6186]

He's not a rap artist. He's a scam artist (with hopes of being expected). He rocks Tommy Hilfiger but never FUBU.

[@kingace6186]

@@jfraz1992 Nope. He knows how to steal flows, appropriate accents, and colonize Atlanta.

[@999celticsfan]

@@kingace6186brother what

[@moeski17]

@@jfraz1992 Most of his biggest hits aren’t even rap songs lol

[@scullymills]

Once they tie up merchandise with record sales, you know numbers don’t mean anything anymore.

[@erbreddaa]

okay, for this topic we have to go back to the Hih-hop's origins. We can say this genre was born in the middle of the 70's, it's a younger type of music if we compare it to the rock/jazz/blues/funk/disco etc. While these (and others) genres had been absorbed by the public of that time, for example Miles Davis was the mainstream during the 50's, it wasn't the same for the hip hop, and basically there are two reasons. The first one is that hip hop didn't and couldn't have singers; the second reason is that hip hop comes from the black culture, which had been slaved, segregated, fed with hunger and poverty, you know all the story. So the first step for the rapper was to make himself understood, emphathisable, before being accepted. That's why the lyrics were so important at that time, and also you had, especially in the 90's (the golden age of hip hop) a lot of different styles to rap, from Rakim to Nas, Nwa, Wu tang, Big, Mf Doom etc. Throughout the years, hip hop consolidated itself, mixing itself with other genres, reaching the mainstream because people understood the language. And that's why the trap had gained this massive success in the last decade, because the artist doesn't need to explain something or just being accepted, he wants to get paid. This is a punk vision to make music and Biggy was the first one to anticipate this concept, Juicy and Big Poppa are good examples. The difference between Biggy and the nowadays rappers is that Notorious B.i.g was post punk, his rapstyle was soul/funky,, this new dudes are almost homolagated to eachother. They just yelling about being paid, but they ain't showing anything which can be musically original. They just flex this and that because they're legitimated by someone else who did the same in the past. But in the past flexing something was a social revenge, it was like saying: "oh man i did it, i took that motherfucker big deal. Now I can live a good life with my dares, I can give a hand to the community I come from". Now the flexing attitude is consumistic and it's meant to provoque jealousy and exlusion for those who can't afford the flexing staff. Of course social media brainwashed the way to look at the numbers, they have a really big negative impact on people's attention and critical spirit, but especially for the artists, who are pushed to the labels to make more records because they would be kicked out of the fast food trend by someone else. Fortunately there are some dudes who evolved this genre: Kdot is one of them, Tyler, Jpegmafia, Freddie Gibbs, Death Grips, Denzel Curry in his small audience, Yachty who gained my respect as he wanted, but also producers like Madlib, The Alchemist, Terrance Martin, Dj Harrison, Kenny Beats... These industry plants are being ruined by the same audience who support them. Remember: the fan evolves while the artist evolves.

[@Jeaux333]

Bro 😎 this is spot on. People are waking tf up. Hip hop ain’t it. Period.. pivot to soul music

[@whattheysayk9558]

What makes America different from Canada is that America is actually not proud of the negative Trap music but you go to Canada it’s people that work for the government that know about all these different Canadian a$$ drill rappers I watched the interviews. I watched all these business people talk about the mafia bs drake acts like he does and they looked proud America different The black community is trying to get rid of this sh*t

[@ThePubstersForever]

Songs used to be 3 full verses, albums had skits and themes from track 1 thru, remember hidden songs at the end of a track.. ? Album cover art used to unfold to lyrics to each song, these are things that vanished and was very appreciated...

[@aapki21]

Sorry honey, ill feed the cat in 17 minutes Louaista just dropped

[@zeldawrldd]

Corny rider

[@Jacksonmahomeisgay]

​@@zeldawrlddur a npc

[@NottoriousGG]

That's why I mostly listen to youtube mix-tapes of 80, 90 and 00's hip hop. Sh*t gotta mature before it can be part of the culture.

[@onekebakile3443]

smart move,,Ak is going to react to this and run up your numbers

[@ryanjavierortega8513]

Is that the guy that told Yak that he wasn’t going to be told what to talk about on his show & that his audience card about whether the moon landing was just a NASA finesse? When AK talks about how much money he makes it really helps to make his point

[@cbjamboii]

Bro has a beef with AK 🤣

[@marylander3798]

This is how hip hop is colonized. When I grew up, record sales was not the most important measure of an artist. if anything being mainstream wasn't a goal, it was an indicator that you were lame.

[@Dialloreese]

Hip hop media needs to stop reporting sales and it’s all jay z fault

[@DeadricSummoner]

I’ve been saying this for the longest. The obsession with metrics kills the longevity of music. In other genres this isn’t an issue because they put their art as close to the business as close as possible.

[@TOPSTARrap]

Next Video: “Hip Hop Is RUINED”

[@bizzy051]

​@@zeldawrldd🤡

[@kalistreet171]

😂😂

[@kalistreet171]

@@zeldawrldd He has a point though

[@GuidedMinistries]

As a 30 year old who grew up on hip hop, now that I'm grown, I hate hip hop and everything it stands for, from tupac to today nothing but a bunch of fake gangsters rapping about fake shit looking like a clown with 20 chains, pathetic I use to look up to these people 😂😂😂

[@Iam_inevitabIe]

"auto-tune man" is one of the funniest diss of all time😂

[@WiindyStorm]

Travis Scott and his “bundle deals” is why there’s rules on what counts as album vs Nicki is the reason streams count towards sales… like if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So it’s makes sense why she did bundles later and why EVERYBODY does them. Once 1 artist skews the numbers everybody has to follow.

[@sbrooks904]

blame 50 cent. it 100% started with him

[@DomeStik-he2gn]

Right There.

[@mildlymoon]

How?

[@MissSimone02]

​@@mildlymoonHe said it on the video. 50 was trying to compete with Ye over the Curtis album vs. The College Dropout, and he said whoever sells more won. Kanye won by selling more records. Since then, people have been paying more attention to how many sales they got vs. the content of the music.

[@mildlymoon]

@@MissSimone02 I didn’t finish watching the video, thank you for clarifying that 🙏🏾.

[@showdaKOs]

as said in the video, it's a trend that started in the 90s. it was a match made in heaven between greedy corporations and hungry niggas who loved flexxing. 50 is symptom not the ilness. And I say that as a 50 hater from the 2000s.

[@freedomm]

Kendrick Lamar's very beautiful and groundbreaking album, Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, suffered the same criticism based on comparatively lower first week sales. Drake even used that angle in their beef.

[@detroitmidunkin2138]

Sexy Trash and all these signing rappers destroying hip hop

[@A.M.T.E]

Man I wish the actual talented singer and Emcee (Lauryn Hill) was dropping instead of Ugly Red 😢

[@elvispussley8887]

"you worry bout critic? That ain't protocol" dot said it best

[@KevinGarcia-sk3hj]

That AK slander is crazy

[@citypopradioFM]

It isn't slander if it's true.

[@EikshaBisht]

It's the truth..... don't tell me there are AK F.A.Ns as well 🤮

[@O.G.LIL-MAN]

Sales numbers just didnt start yesterday...Billboard and Platinum,Gold and Silver record awards have always been around since forever

[@keejay12]

Hey Lou can i share these videos on my IG page? Ill credit you no doubt

[@zeldawrldd]

No one cares rider

[@keejay12]

​@@zeldawrlddDid the video hurt your feelings snowflake? Need some ice cream?

[@keejay12]

​@@zeldawrlddlmao snowflake hurt

[@zahvage1204]

This is a high school popularity contest, sad to see hip hop go down this path

[@Lil_Puzzle]

I can never understand why some people take akademics opinion in consideration, he talking is like a fly beeping for me, i ain't hearing shitt

[@ELGUAPOIV]

I immediately don't take anyone seriously when they lead with streaming numbers or analytics to judge music.

[@HazmatCrowl54454]

Yes the first week sales ruined hip hop BUT so did streaming. And no one wants to change that.

[@dub718bx]

Biggest fact I remember being a kid going word for word bar for bar to decide the best

[@superduper8795]

Bro milking drake for these thumbnails

[@bingusbungus4765]

I appreciate that you arent uploading lazy ai content 👏

[@toastyyuri6042]

14 views in 1 min, fell off

[@zeldawrldd]

No one laughed

[@Shiswd]

This is the more annoying “first” because 5 year olds get it to be top comment

[@EikshaBisht]

That was so funny....😑

[@adamwebb1987]

Never understood why people wouldn't listen/watch something due to the number of sales/viewers on any form of media.

[@incomprehensiblegaming2923]

Bro using every chance he gets to use a drake thumbnail for views

[@Antonio-hb8rd]

Numbers are what kids focus on, when you get older you only care about a vibe

[@afroteddybear]

They are treating albums like films. A films first two or three weeks in the box office shows how successful they are. The difference is films can release twice, in cinemas then home distribution. Music doesn't have the same rule set. It should be best to look at a combination of album sales/streams over the first month against budget, and tour sales against budget. It would be a better marker for success.

[@alterego5550]

This is Fire an honestly didn't even need the Drake Thumbnail. Keep up the good work 🫡