Everyday Struggle co-hosts Akademiks, Nadeska Alexis and Wayno announced the popular Complex video series was coming to end during Monday’s (November 30) episode. Following the announcement, Akademiks hopped on Twitch and explained why the show had dissolved.
While he praised former co-host Joe Budden for his contribution to the show, that’s where the pleasantries ended. Around the 15-minute mark, he began to ridicule The Joe Budden Podcast co-hosts Rory and Mal, claiming they’re nowhere near his level of success.
“Sometimes we’ve been guilty of staying at the party too long,” he said. “Nine months in, Joe left. Joe kind of offered an invitation to come to REVOLT. I’m gonna be honest with you, I wasn’t with it. If y’all not talking to me … I’m not Rory and I’m not that Mini Mal, OK?
“It should be very evident in what I built, because those bum ass niggas are struggling. Facts. I’m gonna be a’ight. You know what I like about what Joe did? Joe making millions, he don’t care. You see them little bum ass niggas Rory and Mini Mal, them niggas is living like check to check. That was never me.”
Akademiks went on to explain he never needed the Complex gig to make financial ends meets — he was already making good money with his YouTube channel.
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“Ask Joe when I pulled up to his crib the very first time,” he continued. “I pulled up to his crib in a $180,000 car, G-Wagon. Facts. I got that from YouTube. I was doing really well. I was making $100,000 a month. We went to Complex, they were giving us $10,000 for … it was supposed to be a weekly show.
“Joe and his ambition — Joe is a good creative, he’s a great creative actually — he said, ‘Fuck a weekly show. We need to do this daily.’ So we accepted the terms of a daily show. Again, I was never there for money. I didn’t collect a check from them for six months. I’m good already. I wanted to be a mainstream name — not just a YouTube guy.”
Everyday Struggle first aired in 2017 but seemed to lose its steam when Budden walked away the following year. As Ak insinuated in the YouTube video, the split from the media company was congenial, however he did mention calling Chrissy Teigen a “bitch” and getting into it with Freddie Gibbs online could’ve played a role in the show’s demise.
“The ‘why’ of why the show is ending, I think me and Complex are going in different directions,” he said. “At least how we see Everyday Struggle. Mainly my employment for Everyday Struggle as how we see my brand and how they see me as someone who’s worked there for a while … I will say overall I have nothing bad to say about Complex.
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“Yes, it was a very weird moment with the Chrissy Teigen thing, but it wasn’t only that. I received calls from them about other content that they felt I probably shouldn’t been engaged in. I specifically told them, ‘Listen, while you may look at me as the ‘guy’ on your show, I have a whole different brand to run.’ When Freddie Gibbs was on his thing … remember I got suspended for my little Twitch thing and I referred to Chrissy Teigen … whatever, whatever.”
Akademiks Explains ‘Everyday Struggle’ Demise, Cites Freddie Gibbs & Chrissy Teigen As Factors
He added, “But I remember saying to them, ‘If you guys are going to police what I do off of your platform’ — not realizing I have to defend my own platform that I’m building — ‘I never came here to be an employee, you should also keep the same energy!’ I felt like it was a spit in the face when Complex while trying to tell me I should ‘shut the fuck up’ almost … you said something about Chrissy Teigen that’s not OK and they awarded — I mean literally couple days after — some sort of award to Freddie Gibbs, even though he was saying he couldn’t wait ’til I die so he could spit on my casket.”
Whatever the case, the last episode of Everyday Struggle will air on December 17.
