NBA YoungBoy and 6ix9ine Collab Fell Through Amid Million-Dollar Price Tag
NBA YoungBoy is one of the most in-demand rappers of his generation, and his feature fees reflect that. During a recent livestream, DJ Akademiks revealed that 6ix9ine once reached out to YoungBoy’s team for a collaboration. According to Akademiks, 6ix9ine had been promoting NBA YoungBoy’s features on Instagram for around $300,000, leading him to assume that’s what the collab would cost.
When 6ix9ine’s team formally requested the feature, YoungBoy’s label quoted $1 million. The label later escalated the fee to $2 million, reportedly because the collaboration could significantly boost 6ix9ine’s career following his legal controversies. Akademiks explained, “You don’t even feel like a person. Like you’re posting on Instagram that it’s $300K for a feature. 6ix9ine comes through, and you’re like, ‘It’s $1 million.'”
The collaboration never happened due to creative differences. The song that was reportedly intended for the project, “GINÉ,” eventually released as a single in 2022 without 6ix9ine. Despite this, NBA YoungBoy has publicly stated he remains open to working with the controversial rapper. In a 2022 Clubhouse conversation with Akademiks, he said, “I’ll do a song with 6ix9ine before I do a song with half of these other artists.”
When Akademiks warned him that the industry might criticize him for that stance, YoungBoy responded, “The industry can suck my dck. I ain’t got sht … I ain’t got nothin’ against him. That sh*t ain’t gon nun to do with me.” He emphasized that he wasn’t involved in 6ix9ine’s legal situation and that critics wouldn’t understand what they would do in similar circumstances.
