Adam22 has addressed the criticism he’s received for interviewing one of the people involved in Pop Smoke’s murder.
In a video shared to social media, the No Jumper personality argued that he did not conduct the Blockstar interview “because I don’t care.” Instead, per Adam, he looks at it as “an important historical record” in connection with “one of the most tragic, insane stories in rap history.”
The 40-year-old podcast host also said he has a “huge amount of respect” for the late artist, noting that he and Smoke texted “for probably a year” and at one point linked up for an on-camera segment in 2019. The Blockstar interview, he further argued, was something he thought Smoke’s friends and family might “benefit from.”
See original story below.
DJ Akademiks is calling out Adam22 for interviewing Blockstar, one of the people charged in the murder of Pop Smoke, who was fatally shot during a home robbery four years ago..
One of the suspects taken in for the killing, who goes by Blockstar, was just 15 years old at the time of the 2020 murder. Now 19, he was released from juvenile detention earlier this month after serving a four-year sentence.
In his interview on No Jumper, Blockstar expressed no remorse for the murder of Pop, (born Bashar Barakah Jackson) who was fatally shot on Feb. 19, 2020 at the age of 20. Only one of the Brooklyn rapper's murder suspects, Corey Walker, was charged in adult court, as he was 19 years old at the time of Pop's death.
“I’m not sorry about nothing,” Blockstar stated. “It should’ve never happened, but I ain’t sorry. If I could go back, I’d go back. But I ain’t sorry. People die every day. [Pop Smoke] was rapping about it. All types of stuff. So, I ain’t sorry about it."
He added, “I send my condolences to the family. I wish it never happened. But I don’t regret nothing. Growing up, my people, my family told me, ‘You ain’t sorry for nothing. Whatever you did, you did it for a reason and stand on it.’”
Over the weekend, Akademiks called out Adam 22 for setting a "dangerous precedent" with his interview.
"I wonder if he knows the repercussions of what he's doing," Akademiks said on a livestream. "You interviewed Pop Smoke's killer. You basically signal to the entire whole clout-chasing generation that if you murder someone, especially someone with a name, you have a platform to get another type of clout or career. I think that's a dangerous precedent. Very dangerous."
Akademiks concluded, "You kind've have to draw that line."
DJ Akademiks, has been criticized in the past by artists like Vic Mensa for his sensationalized coverage of violence and Chicago hip-hop.
Watch Akademiks share his thoughts on Adam 22's Blockstar interview, as well as the full No Jumper conversation, below.
