Who Are Industry Plants in Rap? | Everyday Struggle

On today's #EverydayStruggle, Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks broke down the definition of industry plants in rap and who are some artists that might fit the criteria.
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[@sunrah4469]

It sounds like an "industry plant" is an artist backed by a label on the low but fronting like they are independant.

[@phuphroo]

On point. Kendrick on interscope....

[@grimeydadiamond4378]

No an idustry plant is placed by CIA like Eminem to bring the same affliction upon white suburban areas and Emimem brought drugs inside the industry way worse he was one of the first. Dre, Emimem, 50 Cent etc. The first plants were NWA then Tupac.

[@slicerx56]

Ik I’m a year late but basically an industry plant is someone who isn’t really big at all and hasn’t built a following then some company flows money into them and tries to push them into the mainstream

[@mikaelmontalvo7867]

2 years late but I'm here. An industry plant is someone who is placed in a position that they themselves would not have done if it wasn't for their relationship with people in power. Example my dad is a CEO at interscope. Suddenly I'm signed to interscope and my music is directed towards radio stations/billboards/ venues/big artists in the industry.

[@lyricsnwhatnot]

NO ... a industry plant is a new WACK ASS ARTIST that is GAY or SOFT and DUMB AF that gets a deal and the label gives his project a MARKETING BUDGET like he is WU TANG and the MEDIA is PAID my the LABEL to give him mad love and this artist is pushing DEATH, DESTRUCTION, SEX and DRUGS ...THAT IS A PLANT! 80% of your artists are PLANTS! They are not ARTISTS they are EMPLOYEES with the JOB title ARTISTS!

[@austinhamilton5732]

chances dad worked for obama, and someone in his family has connections with common, that alone would leave you with connections the average rapper would never have... what do u think grew out of that

[@Meowblivion]

also Kanye gave him a bit of clout

[@Hunterjaroundtheway]

A plant!

[@LeonardoNarco]

obama and common dont have the power to blow someone up in the music industry unorganically which is an industry plant

[@austenmeza5813]

Does not make him a plant.....His dad and Common aren't Labels. they are just connections it would be very stupid to not use those connections

[@darkfutureleft596]

Didn’t he have artists in his family????

[@_travieee]

If you follow an artist for years and you see them come up you know their grind. Chance from 10 day to Chance 3, from in Chicago public libraries and poetry readings to performing at Lolla and sold out world tour, That's a grind. Joe hit it on the head when he said just because you don't know that person's background and grind doesn't mean they just came out of no where.

[@gemirsaysno382]

travis Dopson That's exactly what it is. People be hating on Chance without even knowing about how this dude was been grinding for the past 6+ years to get to being the top 5 rappers in the game rn. It pissed me off how Ak kept calling Chance an industry plant just bc the dude is a good role model, stays indie, and gives back to community. Smfh good guys can't win.

[@_travieee]

afbosslife Ak doesn't do as much homework on the artists he claims he knows. Of course when you just see an artist for the first time it seems like they came out of no where but you have to look them up and see their background. Chance literally has sooo many videos of him performing in little venues, showcases, talent shows, and listening parties. The grind is documented.

[@shotbynolan1705]

travis Dopson super facts. ppl find reasons to discredit meanwhile they weren't paying attention to the work being done. akademiks forms all of his opinion from message boards like kanyetothe and boxden.

[@adrianf4601]

Akademiks is a Mc Donald's plant 🙃

[@mokeish]

mcnugget buddy

[@bogdan86100]

W

[@SecondTake123]

Chance made the right connections and hooked up with Bieber years ago so that is why he is poppin! It's all about who you know in this industry.

[@terrezharris5262]

Second Take That and got a MAJOR co-sign from Kanye West, a rapper from Chicago. Chicago rappers are known for putting people on from their city.

[@tyrn25]

Second Take Man,Chance had both Obama's on the sky pager out the womb!!!!

[@theuniqueoneable]

and his uncle is spike lee as well

[@tylersauls3557]

Second Take Basically hit it on the head doesn't mean you an industry plant just means you had a better connections...clearly chance I had connections...had ab soul and Bronson on acid rap unless they already knew him...and had great producers on acid rap to me it's all cool if you got it use it lol

[@lyricsnwhatnot]

chance IS THE biggest PLANT! His FATHER worked for OBAMA for YEARS! WHY YOU THINK OBAMA SPEECHES WAS PART OF HIS SHOWS!

[@kobyarthur5451]

Chance's pops was cool with folks with the government (he worked with Obama back in the day) and his mentor who ran a poetry slam group in Chicago is, I'm assuming, very well connected in the Chicago art scene. Also, Chance was tight with Vic Mensa and Social Experiment the latter of which has provided backing instrumentals for several industry musicians. I'm sure there are some other behind the scenes stuff going on but seems to me, Chance was a clean cut guy who knew how to finesse the industry better than other up and comers.

[@youngbossman7995]

Only rapper that i can think of is ... Designerr lol nigga got a deal wit kanye and xxl spot off 1 song 🤔🤔

[@610smoke]

troll king designer had a lot of songs before panda. most of them were deleted.

[@phromdapharsyde3099]

610 Smoke my nigga said 1 song not his only song

[@canniswavy]

610 Smoke But Panda was the only song he made (besides Tiimmy Turner) that caused him to blow up. When someone mentions Desiigner, Panda is one of the first things that come to mind

[@Ray-wf8mo]

Lmfao facts but some other rappers got signed over 1 song too

[@youngbossman7995]

Young God ik but they don't get signed TO KANYE WEST LIKE HE DID they usually sign to epic or Atlantic , .

[@musicdreams7066]

Nav started off as a producer he makes beats for other artists if u didn't know nav made the beat for Drake-back to back

[@NEEMProdcutions]

Y'all act like Chance the rapper just came in the game last year and got a Grammy

[@Eyegetdeep]

Jordan Faniel sooooooooo many deserving rappers don't have a Grammy...

[@Meowblivion]

he did....

[@michaelguadian3865]

NEEM THE MARTIAN fr they don’t know

[@onmyRNS38]

Didn't take long at all

[@aronreyes6375]

Kyubi nah u prob just listen to whatevers trending when they start poppin .. been listenin to chance since his 10 day tape shits fire

[@meankrandel]

How is we not talking about KAMAIYAH she got a xxl spot and a sprite sponsor (some summer thing) off of one yg feature that barely cracked the top 40

[@BlackTrunksPodcast]

meankrandel Interesting.

[@tripset9086]

She is a failed industry plant

[@stackshmd510]

Lmao she’s been grinding since I was in high school in 2010, try again dude.

[@tripset9086]

Stack Sandoval Doesn’t matter how long or how hard they’ve been working. She definitely didn’t have the library or the fanbase to be in the position she was put in. Especially with hundreds of artists who are straight up better and marketable than she is. Industry plants still have to grind cause you can’t just make people like you, but they’re given a lot of advantages by labels that they don’t deserve

[@stackshmd510]

Tripset 908 she might not have a catalog or huge fan base but she had the connections. If you live outside Oakland, California I wouldn’t expect you to know that. Sure XXL was reaching for a female when they put her on the list but she has the co-sign from Too Short, E40, Snoop, YG, pretty much every major artist in California. Plus the machine isn’t behind her in the slightest, features and production aren’t close to what an industry artist receives

[@byAshh]

I think Amine was an industry plant. First song, boom. blew up. No background, nothing. I enjoy his music but it’s suspicious af

[@habesha2935]

Ash he had 2 mixtapes before that, republic signed him then he dropped Caroline.

[@theul6775]

An industry plant is someone of dubious origin that has image that pertains to a specific trend and seem disenguine as they have little to no history in the genre they perform jn

[@MrFara0]

The one thing I hate about Wayno is that he never engages in conversations. Joe and Ak bounced points beautifully off each other. Whether they disagree or agree with each other.

[@0nMeth]

Don't let this distract you from the fact that ak said carter 3 isn't a classic...

[@korruptnovellst4751]

But it ain't

[@torymason5143]

It’s not

[@ozzyozbornntv203]

Crazy

[@TheDominicKellmanPodcast]

@@korruptnovellst4751 it is man looool you deaf ? 🤣

[@magic369z]

Why nadeska looks like shes Andre 3000 daughter

[@MERCFourOhEight]

Marc Martinez she got the hey ya haircut

[@darkfutureleft596]

Ahhh lolz

[@KAMTBIC]

Chance had 10Day that was his first mixtape stop saying Acid Rap was. No most people who are Chance fans know him from 10Day

[@ajjosh8264]

Jimmi Tv exactly chance been rappin way before he got that new artist grammy shit

[@Eyegetdeep]

That's a cold blooded lie

[@destin3942]

Anthony Green true he been raping and grinding btw ten day fuego.That was dropped on my birthday

[@dubem6671]

actually his first mixtape was back to school pack, 10 day is technically his third mixtape

[@kndhrty]

Good Enough IGHHHAAA! know yo shit!

[@nonamenolast4648]

joe budden is the absolute best at contradicting himself lol. about 4 times each 15 minutes lol

[@shotbynolan1705]

Noname Nolast He does it in every discussion he makes good points then backpedals

[@MrGetownedLP]

Damn, Everyday Struggle was the shit summer 2017, thanks for organizing the quality show, Complex

[@KasaiLifeTV]

Theories aside, rappers who just talk about doing drugs and partying and have no substance..feel like they could be industry plants.... especially when they gave the cloned super trendy beats

[@priscillabecton9406]

facts

[@robertrixey8447]

*CHANCE JUST DONATED 2MILLION towards helping people caught up in that hurricane that hit Texas last week👍🏾*

[@connorfiles2904]

Get off chance's nuts. Acid Rap isn't even his first 'project'.

[@kndhrty]

That's true but 10 Day is better than Acid Rap. Anyway, his only bad mixtape was his his first project, Good Enough, and a few songs like somewhere nowhere USA and Hometown are actually incredible. Is blowing up arguably too fast? I'd agree. But still he's incredibly talented! His popularity, ability, and networking have him projecting to be a GOAT contender. So put some respek on his name fr fr!!

[@DillonH]

@@kndhrty let's just.. forget that this comment happened then lul

[@kndhrty]

@@DillonH wait y?

[@DillonH]

@@kndhrty the big day was utter ass

[@kndhrty]

@@DillonH ok?

[@michael0988]

You know Damn well these 3 be sneak dissin each other off camera

[@allaroundwinner]

Plant The Rapper

[@isaiahcalhoun8256]

instead of the term industry Plant. How about we look at the grind a lot of these artist go through and celebrate them and be happy for them instead of making up conspiracy theories🤔🤔

[@anthonymalcolmcalan]

Cuz some artists aren't grinding. Desiigner is a plant without a doubt, he got signed almost simultaneously with his first song. But Chance was grinding, I remember when acid rap dropped.

[@Chidulo]

Remember chance met obama through his parents, before he started rapping commercially. So chance had the main hookup. Oh and he was a member of the Jewish Student Union at his high school, soooo we all know who can hook u up with things in the music industry.

[@louielakes10]

The jews basically own universal music records

[@FindleyMusician]

As an independent musician, "Industry Plants" make everyone question the Music Business and teaches people that all it takes is a label like UMG, Warner, or Sony Music snatching up an artist and investing millions of dollars into them to blow up overnight. In most cases, acts need to fill a music venue, get millions of streams on Spotify, and have a large, engaged fanbase before any contracts are signed. There's a lot of work required to build a career in music, and it starts with treating LPs, EPs, & singles as a business strategy & music itself as an advertisement to sell merchandise & seats at shows.

[@JohnBrown-gi8pj]

Industry Plant: every artist after AD2003...

[@streetstrikersweat9318]

I Miss This Bro My Lunchbreaks Are Trash

[@riotpoliceTRELL]

Ak defending Russ. What a time to be alive.

[@jeniseweeks671]

Joe budden is fucking smart I really feel like he's underrated sidetracked is one of my favorite songs I've cried big tears halfway house 🏡..

[@j0nnY77x]

nav was producing and that obviously got him connections he helped produced back to back for drake so he already knew all the bigger artists before.

[@swagmasterwax7439]

Joe you won this battle

[@pete2389]

"That sound like hatin" lmfao I was thinking the same thing

[@dieselworldreactions8795]

Cardi B I question

[@unculturedwhitetrash4283]

No

[@HenryPerez_royal_hp]

DJ ak one of them prickly plants, a cactus is it? yeah he one of those

[@LpCruz11937]

Really like how Joe presents his arguments. He should be doing something more visible with his broadcast talent

[@jermaine6005]

Wasn’t Nav in the OvO sweat shop wayyy before his come up

[@ItsTheGordons]

how they industry plants... when there aint ever any leaves nowhere?

[@jesussalas2407]

What message board did this term industry plant come from?

[@larrylo2985]

Lets talk about independent label plants and artist management plants

[@coolidge2010colts]

joe said real shit at the end 16:50

[@kevonalves7916]

Nav produced drake's back to back beat, signed to the weeknd, had one of his songs on Kylie Jenner snapchat ( that may sound insignificant but she does have a lot of fans), had a break out song with travis scott, and had a strong SoundCloud following I don't believe he is industry planned

[@daniel_najar]

I love this show but by the end of this video I still don't understand what an industry plant is lol

[@mikeillgaming4224]

Refuse To Lose Records lol hell yeah

[@TheDominicKellmanPodcast]

I still don’t understand it haha

[@riotpoliceTRELL]

Russ is out there Writing a Joe budden diss and fighting the air

[@johnkeem103]

One more vid about "industry plants" and I'm out.

[@forevayung2369]

johnkeem103 who won't be missed

[@Scobie905]

johnkeem103 better leave now then

[@twocentzzz]

It's an interesting topic

[@TBELL-qk8hj]

johnkeem103 lmao

[@adenmartinez270]

Nav has been making bangers followed by his success in music how r they gonna say how can we track his success

[@jonathanlara4935]

Nav has been growing. Even before his nav mixtape he slowly grew his fanbase.

[@cacklefritz6686]

There's really a Wolf is seriously a top 3 albums 2017 no lie Joe needs to listen to it and respect the bars and how how Russ gets down he'd really enjoy it

[@jorgegutierrezfreshglock423]

I saw joe budden jamming out on periscope lol very rare

[@kevvdiggidy2171]

AKADEMICS,,,I MUST ADMIT,,I DIDNT CARE FOR YOUR COMMENTS AT FIRST,,,BUT I SEE AND HEAR GROWTH,,,GOD BLESS A TRUE HIPHOP FOLLOWER,,,I FUKS WIT U,,,,,GOOD SHOW,,,I FUKS WIT U,,,,SEND ME LINKS TO ANYTHING THAT U DO

[@69aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

question for everyone, how are we ever going to find out who actual industry plants are..im writing a paper on industry plants and xxl freshmen

[@m.c4847]

WE GET IT AK YOU DONT LIKE CHANCE YOU CAN STOP BRINGING IT UP NOW GODDAMNIT

[@trill4177]

Anyone from love and hip hop that's not a washed up rapper looking for a check.

[@omgdefault9968]

I’m so high and this shit fried my brain

[@COOLGOLDEN101]

Bro nav been popping in Canada for 1 or 2 years, he might not have been big the u.s but he been known in Canada that's why y'all prolly didn't hear about him first.

[@p.m3163]

Did chance do anything before 10 day? Cause that put him on the xxfreshman I’m pretty sure

[@teechauntv5291]

I miss this dynamic

[@markk6151]

10 day mixtape was big. Caught the attention of Childish Gambino, bunch a producers, social media presence. Thats how he got connections with people for Acid Rap, which obviously blew up in the streets and everywhere. And the rest is history.

[@thetademys2651]

Complex Y'all need to check out Lecrae

[@jonathancompost1379]

and now 3 years later chance has put out a straight up belongs-in-the-trash "debut", he went from caring about real world issues to trying to be a clickbait social media rapper for soccer moms and we know his dad is tight with Obama. Sure cid rap was good but he never actually stood for the shit he pretended to be about!

[@michaelbanks7803]

Russ told the truth Complex needed Akademiks stop getting tight about it!!!

[@meezytalk]

How chance was opening for eminem in Paris off that acid rap mixtape is crazy there must be some truth to it

[@pabbloesccobrar2106]

nadeska shld leave nd emily oberg to replace her

pabblo esccobrar or beija

[@meezytalk]

seconded

[@NoSpillsChills]

Faaacts

[@youngbossman7995]

Joshua Martinez beija would bring way more views niggas already sweat her when she makes appearances on complex

troll king yup, and she for the culture wit her fine gay ass 😫

[@mikemccomb2704]

To sum it up a little cleaner than akademiks. An industry plant is a rapper who is being presented by a major label as solo and unsigned. Everything they do is a calculated move by the record label team/machine and is presented as coming from that artist directly.

[@malikmandingo8777]

DJ Lackademiks is one

[@Sweatshirtshoot]

Jimmi Tv bro i swear you need to shut the fuck up

[@jussjones2025]

EXACTLY !!!!!!

[@trill4177]

Cardi B...

[@thewhiteguyatthecookout4480]

Based Trill "Industry plant" and "stripper" same thing

[@alotsometimesoften]

Nah, her instagram videos going viral helped her come-up.

[@sizzle3207]

You're confused.

[@tjduval7550]

I agree with Joe's definition of Industry plant and that better describes People like Lil Yachty and Uzi Vert also Future for the same reason Wayne was allowed to be on top for so long and why record labels would put out trap music but give someone like Lupe a hard time putting out his music. so to me that says the industry supports drug dealing music and also music that is all about doing molly or prescription drugs. these same record labels execs have money invested in Prisons so they make money from the Music,Putting you in prison for trying to replicate what you've heard in the music and people you've been exposed to he most promote gangs,drugs and all the fuck shit that has taken all my friends. and I am one of the main people who grew up listening to this and not trying to blame hip hop at all but I am saying the record labels will push these guys and People like Tupac who have a message and stand for something will be killed or never have their music on the radio.

tj duval industry wants to support shit that sells.

[@ArianBehzadian]

I'm toronto born and raised and I dont even like navs music but he's not plant I promise you that

[@luc1503]

Nfs chance just been grinding, a few years ago you'll hear a few people here and there talk about him but now almost everyone has heard of chance. Let him rock and get his money damm

[@stillakilla]

Desiigner is to blame. Two fucking songs to his name. TWO!

[@aramismcginty918]

Chances first project wasn't acid rap. He was Poppin in the Midwest off the 10day jawn.

[@Skaz1hiphop]

1000th like. Ur welcome.

[@l3san393]

Akademiks neck look like a roll of biscuits done bust

[@nightfighter7452]

Bye💀💀💀

[@ignaciobarrios7036]

what's is a industry plant? tell me all the information

[@nightfighter7452]

An industry plant is an artist who has Major/Indie Label backing their movement but presents themselves as a "home grown start up" label to create a pseudo organic following. They act as if things are miraculously happening for them based on their talent (via blog coverage, media coverage, mtv playing their vids, etc.) The reality is a low risk/high reward situation for labels looking to build the next "new star"

[@HoldOntoYourButts]

Not even sure what the take away was here lol.

[@Abdulv1]

7.02 ak face be like huhhhhhhhhhh Lmfao

[@helsinki]

So Channo being a nice guy which means people like him more and want to network with him more means that he's an industry plant? lol

[@jman360co]

lil yahty obv

[@jman360co]

i mean the follow up, i dont see X having the same rise up

[@djjellylee]

j gg because yachty is more kid friendly and their is a lot of kids more than their is x fans and x also did some dumb shit that gives him bad press so that's another reason why x never got as big as yachty even though x is 1000x better than him.

[@jman360co]

i mean didn't lil yahty album flop, like there people up there doing maneuvers to sell him to a wider audience, compared to lets say denzel curry ect ect

[@TEBEATS]

j gg Nice.. Check Out My Page For Free Beats!🔥💯

[@djjellylee]

j gg no one is buying yachtys shit music not even the kids. He is successful in a sense of branding him self with nautica, sprite etc. So that's how he got around much faster than x. X relay's on his music to push him only yachty did a bunch of shit

[@m.c4847]

Before I watch the video I'm guessing Ak is just gonna hate on chance for a few minutes

[@louielakes10]

Every perspective from the indistry tells me it's no good for your soul...it's like it's made for a certain type of person.

[@Slownut]

Current industry plants today: Lil pump, blueface, jumex (youll know who he is in a year or 2) these are rappers that get attention to themselves with out people listening to their music and thats what leads to people listening to their music. Mainly based off hate or controversy but even when someone is hated people still pay attention and that’s what labels are taking advantage of. Example- blueface came out of no where, people hate him because hes off beat thats what draws in the views and people actually enjoy the music. So its a low risk high reward for labels.

[@Fahimbkt]

Like jme said " get rid of views and likes "

[@nathanboolin4944]

Why didn't anyone bring up Lil Boat being an industry plant? But they bring up Nav?

[@antsandthanks1348]

Joe got no socks on

[@AlejandroDeLaRosa05]

The reason why Chance is so popular is because he got other artists to advertise his music on Twitter and he has the whole Pastor Chance act going on

[@digitalindustries6697]

I know one thing is that before social media EVERY artist was an industry plant.

[@jacobp5761]

Russ watching this mad as shit. Deadass like "I made my bed this morning byMYSELF NO LABEL NO HELP, ya know what I'm sayin"

[@kevvdiggidy2171]

DJ AKADEMICS,,,U THE REALESY NIGGA ALIVE,,,I SWEAR

[@duanemckissick4423]

Lol at 34 sec mark

[@MFBOOM100]

Ak got IMplants lmao

[@ImBenjiRich]

Love how everyone’s acting like Acid Rap was Chances first mixtape😂 10 Day wasn’t even Chance’s first mixtape. He had Back to School and Good Enough before that and neither blew up, then there was also a rap group he was in called “Instrumentality” which didn’t go anywhere.

[@m.c4847]

Chance got famous from his 10 day mixtape and he was with his group the social experiment for a while. He got mentored by Kanye and got connections with DJ khaled Lil Wayne Justin Bieber etc. He grew his fan base even more by doing shows like Ellen and shit.

[@xavierjenkins3938]

An industry plant is an artist created by industry heads and put into the game as to still focus from real artists, and keep them focused on the crap that the industry wants you to focus on. Space i. E: drugs, jail, infidelity, etc

[@OfficialPrinceEd3n]

Chances first mix tape was 10 Day

[@selfishstockton6123]

Yes but he didn’t get major buzz till acid rap

[@sugafree2700]

akademiks said he didn't see chance come up

[@tonil951]

Russ 🔥

[@noahthebanshee]

Joe Budden Always reminding people he's a rapper

[@SoulofPimpC]

Who is Russ?

[@DarkWebTrappin]

6ix9ine was the first industry plant that got exposed lol

[@kevindelaet6001]

Chance is an agent

[@Alr1ghtyThen]

As a citizen of Chicago I can say Chance is probably not an industry plant. I been knowing of him since the 10 Day project (his first project) and his fan base grew exponentially to Acid Rap and then to Coloring Book. If he is a plant then he was planted from the go. His dad is a politician so he probably just has strong connections.