DDG Encourages More YouTubers and Streamers to Pursue Music Careers
DDG, the YouTube star-turned-rap artist, is calling on more content creators in the YouTube and streaming space to take music seriously and venture into the industry as he has. In a new interview with XXL published on Monday (February 24), the multi-talented entertainer expressed his desire to see more creators making the leap.
“I hate being the only artist that’s doing both,” he said. “If it was more people that do that same thing as me, taking music serious, going on tour, doing things that artists do, we would take over.”
DDG has been one of the most successful YouTubers to transition into music, proving that digital creators can have a strong presence in the industry. With hit songs, collaborations with major artists, and a growing fanbase, he has set an example for others who might want to follow in his footsteps.
However, his journey in the rap game hasn’t been without controversy. DDG recently found himself caught in the middle of a hip-hop dispute after releasing a song with Tory Lanez on his EP Handling Business. In the track, Lanez name-drops Drake and appears to reference the ongoing feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
“I be up praying and waiting for the day that n-ggas come for me the way they did Drizzy/ I got the card in the wallet and big brodie’s problems are my problems, so f*** how you feeling about it/ Brodie gone stand on his own, but 2024, it ain’t no fair ones in Toronto,” Lanez raps.
This didn’t sit well with Kendrick Lamar affiliate Hitta J3, who took to social media to criticize both Lanez and DDG.
“Tory better chill out only person coming for him is the guard on that cell block nah but free that man,” J3 wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He also claimed that DDG avoided him at an event, saying, “DDG seen me at Rich The Kid’s party & looked like he seen a ghost & I said wassup he act like he was legally blind. The boy must really need help he got prisoners speaking up for him before his industry friends lol.”
DDG later addressed the situation on a livestream, laughing off J3’s comments and dismissing the controversy.
“I don’t even know who this is,” he said. “This how I look at it. A lot of people is getting mad at me like I rapped the verse. This is my analogy — that’s like Drake beefing with SZA because SZA f*** with Kendrick. But it’s my song so I understand, but if a n-gga sent you a verse and you put it out, what that mean? I just put it out. My verse was old.”
Despite the drama, DDG remains focused on his music and revealed to XXL that he is currently working on a new project. His passion for both YouTube and music continues to inspire other content creators, and he hopes more will take the leap into the industry.
