DJ Akademiks

Livingston Allen (born: ), better known online as DJ Akademiks, is a Jamaican-American podcaster, internet personality and live streamer. 
==History==
Livingston Allen was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, on May 17, 1990. He has one brother. His father was a school principal and is stated to have had many extramarital affairs due to his affluent status in Jamaican society. Allen did not appreciate his father's character of being away from his family, engaging in extramarital affairs and eventually starting another family. Allen mainly grew up under the care of his mother and his grandmother. Allen's mother left him and his brother back in Jamaica and migrated to the United States, lived in sub-par conditions, and eventually paid an American man $20,000 USD to marry her so she could legally become a US citizen as quickly as possible. In 2001, Allen and his brother were invited over to the US by their mother. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSbNSM6G0GQ 
Allen has a bachelor's degree in biomathematics from Rutgers University. https://twitter.com/Akademiks/status/1282587159762022401 He was a disc jockey for the Rutgers University radio station WRSU-FM until 2013, when he was kicked out for his commentary and selection of music. https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.70536/title.meet-akademiks-the-jamaica-born-rutgers-university-graduate-who-built-his-own-empire# As evident from a Crime Alert flyer issued by the Rutgers University Campus Police in June 2011, Akademiks and another accomplice were wanted for stealing computers from fellow students on campus. https://www.hiphoplately.com/dj-akademiks-use-to-steal-computers-in-college/
In April 2018, Allen launched his rapper alter-ego Lil AK, by posting a music video for his song "Blues Clues", which included a cameo from rapper 6ix9ine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHUYNVA6hF4 
In August 2021, Allen launched his podcast, Off the Record with DJ Akademiks, in partnership with Spotify. It releases three episodes per week that center around roundtable discussions, and interviews with various Hip-Hop/Rap musicians and media personalities. https://open.spotify.com/show/0u8NBMvWajLvc66r9NsJJs
In April 2023, Allen announced he would begin live-streaming on the platform Rumble. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/akademiks-rumble-far-right-platform-hip-hop-1234713809/ He said his intention to begin streaming exclusively on Rumble was due to the monetary offer he was provided and also for their lax moderation policies surrounding speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97BqDOFGMDw 
==Controversies==
===Sexist===
In July 2020, Allen was suspended from Complex for insulting model Chrissy Teigen while livestreaming on Twitch. https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.56631/title.akademiks-suspended-from-complex-news-for-chrissy-teigen-bitch-comments Allen later apologized, stating "I think I definitely went over the line when I was disrespecting women." https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.56631/title.akademiks-suspended-from-complex-news-for-chrissy-teigen-bitch-comments 
===Megan Thee Stallion & Tory Lanez===
In February 2022, Allen confronted rapper Megan Thee Stallion on Twitter, claiming that her allegation that she had been shot by rapper Tory Lanez was not supported by DNA evidence. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/megan-thee-stallion-tory-lanez-dj-akademiks-lawsuit-b2022104.html
In May 2022, Allen used an outdated social media post of an LAPD police report from before bullet fragments were discovered in Megan Thee Stallion's feet during surgery, showing the singer wasn't shot at all. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/tory-lanez-trial-bloggers-gossip-megan-thee-stallion-rcna61600
===Feud with Rappers===
In September 2022, podcast host and former rapper Joe Budden called out Allen for sharing a video clip of rapper PnB Rock, speaking about being a potential robbery target, several days after PnB Rock had been shot to death in a robbery attempt. https://news.yahoo.com/joe-budden-blasts-dj-akademiks-190435288.html 
That same month, Allen was criticized by hip-hop pioneers LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Russell Simmons, and Spice 1 for calling older rappers "dusty". https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/ll-cool-j-responds-dj-akademiks-calling-hip-hop-pioneers-dusty-1235143073/https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/433951-russell-simmons-to-akademiks-how-many-people-have-you-made-rich-news 
Akademiks is known for being a huge fan of Drake, often presenting news about him in a positive light. This often leads to mockery, with many people accuse him of being a "dickrider". 
=== Fauziya Abashe ===
On May 14, 2024, a lawsuit was filed by Fauziya "Ziya" Abashe in the Superior Court of New Jersey against Allen accusing him of rape, sexual assault, and defamation stemming from a July 2022 incident at Allen's home. https://www.complex.com/music/a/markelibert/dj-akademiks-accused-rape-sexual-assault-defamationhttps://www.stereogum.com/2263593/dj-akademiks-sued-for-rape-and-defamation/news/ 
Abashe mentioned she was met by two men when she arrived at Allen's house, who she did not expect to be there. Abashe claims the two men drugged her drink and plied her with alcohol before assaulting and raping her on Allen’s pool deck. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dj-akademiks-sued-rape-defamation-ziya-abashe-1235019646/
== Channels==
===DJ Akademiks===
Allen's first YouTube channel titled DJ Akademiks was created on October 13, 2012, initially highlighting his university disc jockey sessions, interviews, and Hip-Hop/Rap opinions. Over time, he began posting the latest breaking news in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre. During this time, he operated a website titled Late Night Creep, which centered around Hip-Hop/Rap news. https://www.youtube.com/c/LateNightCreep/about
In July 2015, Allen uploaded a video to his first self-titled YouTube channel, stating that his channel had been suspended and that he was moving to a new channel, also titled DJ Akademiks where he continued posting Hip-Hop/Rap related news. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFU0I4U2-bY
===Crime Fails===
On May 3, 2014, Allen created a YouTube channel titled Crime Fails, which highlighted crimes committed by criminals during or after their criminal deeds. https://www.youtube.com/user/WorstCrimes/videos 
===The War in Chiraq===
On June 24, 2014, Allen created a YouTube channel titled The War in Chiraq, which mainly centred around the coverage of the gang conflicts in Chicago and the various drill artists encompassing these conflicts. The channel played a substantial role in rendering the early Chicago drill music scene accessible to a wider audience. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rap-drill-music-america-racial-problem-juan-williamshttps://www.youtube.com/c/ChiraqWar/about 
===King Akademiks===
On February 8, 2015, Allen created a YouTube channel titled King Akademiks, where he solely posted highlight clips from his latest Twitch livestreams and began live streaming on in 2022. https://www.youtube.com/c/KingAkademiks/videos 
===Akademiks TV===
On March 13, 2015, Allen created a YouTube channel titled Akademiks TV, where he posted noteworthy footage obtained from various musicians in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre. https://www.youtube.com/c/DJAkademiksMediaHub/videos 
===The Akademy===
On August 18, 2015, Allen created a YouTube channel titled DJ Akademiks TV2 – The Negrotiator, which served as a backup for his newly created and now main channel DJ Akademiks, posting the same type of content but with a more critical and opinion-based touch. 
Since February 2023, this channel was primarily used to host and preserve full-length YouTube livestreams by DJ Akademiks and in September 2023, it was renamed to "The Akademy". https://www.youtube.com/@TheAkademyHQ?feature=shared 
=== Lil AK ===
DJ Akademiks created a separate YouTube channel for his rapper alter-ego, titled Lil AK on October 21, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLkDShdJKu2RkWUYzSYyPJA/videos
==References==
Category:One million subscribers
Category:Two million subscribers
Category:One billion views
Category:Commentary YouTubers
Category:Music YouTubers
Category:Vlogging YouTubers
Category:American YouTubers
Category:Jamaican YouTubers