Were people paid to boost Kendrick Lamar’s streams?
The battle between Drake and Kendrick Lamar sent hip-hop fans crazy and polarised the culture as people sought to name the winner. However, DJ Akademiks has dropped a new nugget of information on fans, as during one of his videos, an allegation that people were paid to boost Kendrick Lamar’s streams surfaced.
During a Twitch livestream, DJ Akademiks invited a guest to discuss the beef between the two superstars, and they both agreed that Lamar won. However, the unnamed guest claimed that he was paid by Kendrick Lamar’s manager, Anthony Saleh, to boost streaming numbers.
The guest, who appeared under the pseudonym ‘Epic’, insisted that the number of streams of Lamar’s number-one single ‘Not Like Us’ were purposefully inflated. He even showed the Akademiks how he did it.
The guest quickly exited the stream but, prior to leaving, stated, “I’m crashing out! This is for my safety. This is how I feel… [Saleh] is who paid me.” Epic highlighted how, although he has never met with Saleh, the pgLang manager paid him to boost streams.
Addressing the numbers, Epic detailed, “I wasn’t in direct contact with him, that’s just the name that was on the account I got paid by. They wanted me to do 30 million [streams] early.” He added, “I have payment proof, and I will DM that to you as long as you don’t expose it on stream.”
So far, no tangible or visual proof has been delivered. However, Lamar’s streaming numbers have been a topic of discussion in recent months. Many wondered why, during the beef, the Compton rapper’s Spotify numbers were up 49% while Drake’s were down 5%.
Drake addressed Lamar’s numbers on his diss track, ‘Family Matters.’ On the track, he rhymed, “Anthony set up the plays, Kojo be chargin’ you double for nothin.” However, it is not clear whether or not the Toronto native was referring to Anthony Saleh or Lamar’s ex-manager, Anthony ‘Top Dawg’ Tiffith.
As well as working for Kendrick Lamar, Epic also alleged that he boosted streams for the Twitch personality Adin Ross to make him appear more popular.