NBA YoungBoy is undeniably one of the most influential rappers of his generation, and collaborating with him doesn’t come cheap. During a recent livestream, DJ Akademiks revealed that 6ix9ine once approached YoungBoy’s team about a collaboration. 6ix9ine had been promoting YoungBoy’s features on Instagram for around $300K, so he assumed that would be the cost. To his surprise, YoungBoy’s label asked for $1 million.
Akademiks suggested the high price reflected the potential career boost for 6ix9ine, especially after his infamous legal controversies. Reports say 6ix9ine’s label initially agreed to pay $1 million, but when YoungBoy’s team responded, they increased the price to $2 million.
“You’ve got to imagine how someone’s feeling,” Akademiks commented in a clip shared by Akademiks TV. “You don’t even feel like a person. You post on Instagram that it’s $300K for a feature. 6ix9ine comes through, and you’re like, ‘It’s $1 million.'”
https://twitter.com/AkademiksTV/
Ultimately, the collaboration fell through over creative differences. The song in question, titled GINÉ, was later released as a single in 2022. That same year, YoungBoy spoke with Akademiks on Clubhouse, expressing that he remains open to working with 6ix9ine despite public opinion.
“I’ll do a song with 6ix9ine before I do a song with half of these py a n**as, ya hear me?” YoungBoy said. Akademiks warned, “The industry gon’ kill you for that.”
YoungBoy didn’t hold back in response: “The industry can suck my dck. I ain’t got sht … ain’t got nothin’ against him. That sht ain’t gon’ do nuthin’ to me. Half of these py a n**as talkin’ don’t know what they’d do if they were in his situation. What the fck does that have to do with me or anybody else?”
