LL Cool J advises Akademiks not to confuse raking up checks and contributing to the culture
New York legend LL Cool J is not happy with DJ Akademiks’ recent remarks on Twitch that Hip Hop pioneers are “dusty” despite being the founders of the industry.
“It came to my attention that a DJ — and I’m not gonna say any names ’cause I don’t think it’s necessary — a DJ basically said that a lot of the pioneers in Hip Hop, they’re dusty or how can they be the person that invented Hip Hop if they don’t have a lot of money, or if they don’t represent like they have a lot of dough,” Cool J said during an Instagram live stream.
“Let me explain something to you: don’t think just because somebody knows how to get money — or fails to get money — that they didn’t make a contribution to the culture.”
He went on to explain that old school rappers did not have the same opportunities today’s artists enjoy. “Today, you can come up with your five-year plan, your 10-year plan, your 20-year plan. You can go find a manager, you can find an accountant, you can find a team that helps your career go to the next level,” he added.
“When Hip Hop first started, there were no managers, there were no accountants that believed in it. Record companies didn’t even believe in it! Nobody believed in it. How can you make a five-year plan or a 10-year plan on something that doesn’t even exist yet?”
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer continued: “So just because [these pioneers] didn’t get rich, just because they weren’t able to pile up millions or billions of dollars, does not mean that they didn’t make a contribution to this culture. They created an industry that we all ate off of! They created an industry that you eat off of!”
