Billboard cover star Kai Cenat has gone from being a Twitch streamer to one of the most influential figures in the music industry. The influencer shares his journey from learning the ropes of hip-hop music to becoming a music industry commentator. He discusses his thoughts on the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, how he manages his relationships with artists, the process of inviting artists over, and his advice for those wanting to start streaming, and more!
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00I want to go to space.
00:02Like, I want to be the first streamer in space.
00:05I feel like that would be crazy.
00:06Like, going to the rocket, going up to space, saying yo chat, come back down.
00:11I feel like that would get crazy.
00:22When I started streaming, the majority of my content was, like,
00:24blowing up based off me just reacting to different songs
00:27and, like, reacting to different music when they dropped and albums when they dropped
00:31and just enjoying it for what it was.
00:32And then certain clips and certain videos from that stream would go crazy
00:36and then everybody just loved it.
00:45You've done very well for yourself.
00:47Forbes has you as the highest earning Twitch streamer.
00:51You had a hell of a 2024.
00:53Became most subscribed streamer on Twitch.
00:56Mafia Thon 2, which was incredible to watch.
00:59A feat of social engineering and just content overall.
01:03That, plus a number of other things, has you covering Billboard's annual Power 100 issue.
01:20Did you ever think you'd be on Billboard?
01:21Heck no.
01:22Billboard is insane.
01:24I grew up looking at things that, like, Billboard had posted in the past
01:27and different people that have been on Billboard already
01:29and it's definitely insane.
01:31Do you remember any of the songs back when you were still making skits?
01:35You were still in the Bronx.
01:36What music were you gravitated to and were you listening to?
01:39Nah, I was listening to...
01:41I did straight Michael Jackson up until high school.
01:43What do you mean straight Michael Jackson?
01:45Nah, I was listening to straight Michael Jackson
01:47from, like, when I discovered music all the way up until I got to high school.
01:52I had, like, a whole bunch of stuff in my closets that I would try to make it look like Michael Jackson
01:57or, like, I would just learn different dance moves and dance like him.
02:01But I used to bump him a lot.
02:02And then after, I got more into, like, the New York, whoever was out at the time in New York.
02:06So, like, I would bump, like, A Boogie a lot.
02:09That was my real transition.
02:10That was a crazy transition.
02:11Yeah, I know, I know, I know.
02:12That took me to, like, to the actual scene of rap.
02:15Like, I went from listening to A Boogie to going to, like, down in Atlanta
02:20where I heard Lil Baby, Young Thug, Gunna, everybody down south.
02:25Like, because transitioning from MJ to rap is a crazy transition.
02:30So, I had to, like, learn the ropes a little bit, you feel what I'm saying?
02:39Going back to when you first started making skits and streaming for the first time,
02:43was there any idea in your mind that you would maybe one day possibly make music?
02:49No.
02:50There was no idea of mine to get into the music field at all.
02:55Like, I didn't have no interest in making any songs.
02:57I didn't have any interest into, like, going to the studio and all this stuff.
03:01Because I just know my lane.
03:02Like, if I'm going to get at something, I'm going to just stay in that lane.
03:04I wouldn't just, like, explore with different stuff.
03:06So, nah, I didn't have no interest.
03:09Do you see yourself as a powerful figure in the music industry?
03:12A lot of artists say I am.
03:14Like, a lot of artists be like, bro, you are the front leader of this new generation.
03:18As a big figure in the music industry.
03:20And it's like, me, like, I just think it's normal for me to react to the music.
03:26But then again, it's like, all my reactions, people are listening to it.
03:29People want to see my opinion on it.
03:31When a song drops, you feel me?
03:32Everybody just wants to see it.
03:33I don't even think my opinion matters that much.
03:36It matters a lot.
03:37Because it's like, it's just my opinion.
03:38I'm in my room reacting.
03:39But promotion-wise, I think, like, a good reaction, good or bad,
03:43it is a big, like, cosign or something, you feel what I'm saying?
03:47It's definitely big in the promotion aspect of it.
03:50Do you think about that at all when you're reacting to music?
03:53I don't think about, like, if something is going to be a good promo for a song or not.
03:57Because I'm going to, regardless, be able to say my opinion.
04:01And I've had people, like, try to, like, get me to, like, do a good reaction for some money.
04:07But, like, I just, like, I don't like to lose that authenticity.
04:10Like, this past weekend, Lil Baby dropped.
04:12He did.
04:13People were talking about the album.
04:14He did.
04:15When you reacted to the album, you were playing it.
04:18That became its own trending topic on X.
04:20People talking about how you were reacting to it.
04:22But the thing about that is that I told Baby before I listened to the album,
04:26I said, hey, I'm going to be 100% honest with you.
04:29First listen.
04:33Now, the only thing that seems to go crazy every time is a negative review.
04:38That's just social media.
04:39Which is crazy.
04:40Yeah, that's just social media.
04:41Cos, like, I skimmed through everything.
04:42And, like, there was some good, there was some bad.
04:44But, like, the bad is the one that gets pushed out a lot.
04:48And then...
04:49I don't even think that reaction to Baby's album was bad.
04:52Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:53I'm going to say what I want.
04:55Yeah.
04:56As you said, you just tell the truth.
04:57You never compromise what you're trying to say.
05:00I'm curious how you're able to maintain these relationships with all these artists
05:05and do that at the same time.
05:07I tell them, like, I'm going to react to it.
05:09And if there's some bad music, I'm going to let you know there's bad.
05:12Like, I'm going to be honest.
05:13And their number one thing is, yes, be honest with me.
05:16Like, always be honest.
05:17You feel what I'm saying?
05:18But if I don't tell somebody, it's like...
05:21And they take it the wrong way.
05:22The last person that took it the wrong way was Glow Brothers.
05:24She released a song, okay?
05:25Tell them, be honest.
05:26Be honest.
05:27She released a song, right, Jet?
05:28Then I was like, I didn't like it.
05:30But we're good now.
05:31We're good friends now.
05:32And ever since I told her that one song was bad, she been making hits.
05:36I ain't going to lie.
05:38And, like, everybody agreed with me at the time.
05:40So, it's like, I just love artists who can take criticism.
05:44I feel like if you can take criticism and just understand that it's my opinion,
05:47if it's your opinion.
05:48Now, I know I got influence, 100%.
05:51I do understand that now because I used to think of it as, like,
05:53yo, I'm sitting in my new room and just reacting to music.
05:55I know I got influence.
05:56But I can't just put on a persona of me liking somebody's song
06:00if I really don't like it.
06:02I'd like to get a little into the nuts and bolts of it.
06:04Like, when you have SZA coming over, what happens?
06:07Like, walk us through...
06:08Well, I don't know.
06:09Like, the process, like, okay, so if I know who's coming over,
06:12so this is what happens.
06:13So, first things first, like, I'll just try to think of, like,
06:16what would make sense.
06:17Like, usually they hit me up or I'll just reach out to them.
06:19And then, like, we just literally just lock it in.
06:22And my process is like, damn, I don't know how they're going to act on the stream.
06:27Sometimes I'll be scared.
06:28Sometimes I'll be nervous before it.
06:29But all it's all about is just breaking that ice.
06:31Once you break that ice, it becomes comfortable.
06:33Like, you feel me?
06:34Like, I just feel like you got to be just like a,
06:37you got to just read the room and just know how to keep the conversation going.
06:41People don't see artists often on, like, what they're doing on their downtime
06:46or what they do for fun.
06:47They only see, like, their music process.
06:49And, like, they only get to see what they're going through
06:51or hear what they're going through through their music.
06:53Whereas, like, when they come over to my stream,
06:55they will be able to display whatever they want, their personality,
06:59how they act, how funny they are,
07:01how serious they may be, or who they are as a person.
07:04So when you lay down on your stomach, like, on your bed, you don't just...
07:09I don't lay down on my stomach and shake my ass.
07:11When I met Lizzo, she was so cool.
07:13And it's still cool down to this, like, day.
07:16Like, she's amazing.
07:17And, like, I was nervous for Nicki.
07:19But Nicki was great.
07:20Like, everybody was perfect.
07:23Like, when they come through, it's like, damn, like,
07:25you act like this this whole time, I just never knew.
07:28When they come to my stream, it's like anything can happen.
07:30And it's live.
07:31So that's the most important part.
07:32Like, it's live.
07:33So anything can happen at any given moment of time.
07:37And that'd be the beauty of it.
07:39So, like, I tell them all the time, just be you, have fun,
07:42and just have a good time while you're here.
07:44And it's just always amazing.
07:46All right, who's your dream guest?
07:48I'm going to say one that passed away.
07:51And I'm going to say one that's alive.
07:52So my dream guest would have been Michael Jackson.
07:54Of course.
07:55And I still feel like some way, somehow, if he was still around,
07:58I would be able to make it happen.
07:59But my dream, dream guest is either, I think it's Tobey Maguire.
08:05What?
08:06Tobey Maguire, the original Spider-Man.
08:09If I ever meet him, I feel like I'm good.
08:12Like, it's either that or the entire Avengers.
08:14I'm a big superhero person, so, like, I love Marvel.
08:30A good friend of yours, Kevin Hart.
08:31Right.
08:32Really taken to you personally and what you do here.
08:35He's been a welcome guest on your streams.
08:37Has he been pushing you to get into acting?
08:39Yeah, he's definitely been advising me.
08:41Like, he always pushes me in a direction.
08:44He thinks that I can, like, go into, like, movies and stuff like that.
08:48And a lot of people do think that, too.
08:50Because I do, I like to film a lot of trailers.
08:52And I've always had some, like, high cinema, like, videos
08:57or, like, long-form content.
09:00And it's, like, 100%, like, I would love to be in movies and stuff.
09:07Navigating something like the Drake and Kendrick beef for me and my team
09:11was tough because we work with both teams a lot.
09:13I'm curious how it was for you.
09:15Personally, doing the Kendrick and Drake beef, it's like we're streamers.
09:19So, like, it's like we're the audience as well.
09:22So, like, all of this was so fun to me.
09:25Like, it was, we'll never experience something like that again.
09:28Like, unless something else like that happens again, that was good.
09:31That was a good, like, week. That was a good week.
09:33There was a night where Kendrick dropped.
09:35And then the next day, Drake dropped.
09:37And then Kendrick dropped right after him.
09:39That night was crazy.
09:41Friday and then the Saturday.
09:42Yes, yes, that night was absolutely insane.
09:44And it was honestly fun. I'm not going to lie.
09:46For me personally, like, I had Drake tell me,
09:48yo, stay on stream tonight because, like, he was dropping.
09:50Like, he personally gave me a lot while I was on stream.
09:52Drake has just texted me.
09:54Stay on stream.
09:57I didn't know what to expect.
09:59And, man, that was a good battle.
10:01That was a good fight. I'm not going to lie.
10:03I loved it.
10:04My name was said in, like, the first song that came out.
10:11I'm cool with Drake, so, like, people would expect me to be on Drake's side.
10:14But I have already said, like, Kendrick got that.
10:17I'm not going to lie.
10:18Kendrick won that battle.
10:21And it's like, I was like, damn.
10:23It seems like the live streaming platform is a perfect place for that.
10:29What? Yes. Yes.
10:31It's the perfect place for it.
10:33Unless you're, like, the top YouTuber and you want to react to it, you're going to be late.
10:36So if you're the first and you're there to experience that moment
10:40and everybody gets to see how your reaction was live, uncut,
10:43I think it'll get no better than live.
10:45It just doesn't. I don't think so.
10:47How do you vet or choose, like, your brand partnerships?
10:52How do you...
10:53Oh, it got to make sense.
10:54It's anything I like.
10:55Yeah.
10:56And I feel like it'll be a cool crossover.
10:58Is there ever a moment where it's just too big not to do?
11:01Like, it's crazy seeing you in a commercial with Snoop Dogg.
11:03Too big not to do?
11:05Like, if it's something I just don't want to do, I won't do it.
11:08If that makes sense.
11:09Like, no matter what the amount is, I just wouldn't do it.
11:12Yeah.
11:13That's good.
11:14Is there a world where you build out Amp
11:17to have more of, like, a philanthropic arm?
11:21So I went to Mokoko in Nigeria,
11:23and I was supposed to stream it, but there was no internet over there.
11:26When I went, I just seen things that I was like, damn!
11:30Like, I can't imagine living in the conditions and stuff like that.
11:34And don't get me wrong, like, Nigeria is beautiful,
11:37but the place that I went to was Mokoko.
11:40It's just, like, certain things, every time when I was looking at it,
11:43I'm like, damn, I'm blessed.
11:44Like, the things that I would be in my head about,
11:46like, I shouldn't even be in my head, because it could be much worse.
11:48So, like, I'm super blessed,
11:50and when I see the conditions that the people was in,
11:53and, like, the babies were in, and, like, the kids were in,
11:56I was like, nah.
11:57So after I stumbled across this school that they had,
12:01and it was a very small school with these small classes,
12:03and the kids were so eager to learn,
12:05even in the conditions that they were in.
12:07They were so eager to learn.
12:08They had a smile on their face.
12:09They had these uniforms.
12:10They came presentable.
12:12They were asking questions and getting it right and all that other stuff.
12:14So I'm like, damn, this is fire.
12:16So at first I tried to, like, upgrade what they had going on over there,
12:19and due to, like, weather storms and a whole bunch of stuff,
12:23it wasn't able to work out.
12:25So right now, right now I'm at my fifth on two.
12:27I gave away 20% of what I made to the school,
12:31and we ended up making, like, a good amount of money.
12:33So, like, I gave that all the way to building the school,
12:36and I can't wait to see how that comes out.
12:38Hopefully it comes out exactly what I'm imagining in my head.
12:41And I want to go back to Nigeria and see.
12:44I want, like, a grand opening.
12:46Like, I want to be able to stream that.
12:47You feel what I'm saying?
12:48So I feel like that's crazy.
12:50If you was to tell me, like, I was working on building a school in Nigeria,
12:52I would not.
12:53I'd be like, what the hell?
12:55That's crazy, man.
12:56Yeah, it is.
12:57It is.
12:58Did the kids know what you do?
13:01Yes, they got, like, this.
13:03They got a poster of me in the principal's office.
13:05Like, this small room that he's trying to make, like, an office.
13:08And, like, there's a picture of me, and it was my birthday.
13:10They owe it to me, happy birthday.
13:11When it was Christmas, they owe it to me, merry Christmas.
13:13So, like, they know what's going on.
13:15It's just a matter of time until when they just transition into a better environment.
13:19That's amazing.
13:20Congrats to you and the team for that.
13:21Yeah, that's fire.
13:22That's nuts.
13:24I can talk to any of the kids right now that want to do YouTube or that want to do Twitch
13:40or want to stream or do whatever it is in the Internet side of it.
13:43The only way it's going to work is you literally have to be obsessed with it.
13:48If a day passes in your mind where, like, you don't think about it,
13:51and I'm telling you right now, you're not locked in.
13:53Like, you have to be locked in and want it bad because the competition on it is very big.
13:58There's a lot of contributors out there that's going out and want to do their thing.
14:01You just got to remember just not giving up.
14:03You can be 17 years old, 18 years old, 19 years old, 20 years old, 21, want to give up at 21,
14:08but not knowing that 22 is when you're supposed to be blowing up.
14:11Like, I never say it's too late.
14:12Like, it's never too late to do what you want to do.
14:14And it's like, come on.
14:16It's like you've seen people go through the transition of blowing up.
14:19What makes you think you can't do it?
14:21Now, I'm not going to lie.
14:22If you're being real, it's not going to work for everybody.
14:25That's just if you're being real.
14:27I do think it takes a percentage of luck.
14:30I still got these big ideas that I want to do, like, that I just want to be able to come into fruition.
14:35Like space.
14:36And if I can make it happen, damn, I'm going to be like, I'm just proud.
14:39I have my own self goals, and if I can meet those goals, I'm going to be satisfied.
14:42I'll be happy because I'm thinking about 2026 and all that stuff.
14:46Like, I look at people like LeBron.
14:48And LeBron is so motivational.
14:50Like, for him to be doing what he's doing right now for that long?
14:54Yo, I can't imagine it.
14:56So it's like people like that give me the motivation.
14:58Like, what do you want to be known for?
15:00Because we're not going to be here forever.
15:02So it's like, once the time is up, what can people say?
15:06You know?
15:07So, like, I just know the opportunity that's at hand.
15:09And I just want to be able to, like, make sure that, like, my family and, like,
15:14anybody in the future, whether it's my kids or whatever I have in the future,
15:17that they can look back at what I did and be like, nah.
15:20Like, he actually had a good run.
15:22Do you think, like, LeBron, you'll still be streaming at 40?
15:25Streaming at 40 is crazy.
15:27You know what?
15:28I always said that, though.
15:29I always said, yo, I don't care.
15:31I'm going to stream for as long as I can.
15:33Like, I want to be with my kids.
15:36I don't want to be, like, going like that cool guy.
15:39But, like, it's either that or I'm going to be in some movies or something.
15:42I just want to do everything that I want to do as a kid.
15:44So everything I'm doing right now is things that I wanted to do as a kid.
15:47So I'm literally just having fun.
15:49So that's kind of, like, my thought process behind it.
15:52To be considered as the new place for everyone to come to to display music
15:56or just have a fun interaction, it means a lot to me, honestly,
16:00because I didn't think out of everybody me to be here
16:05and, like, people would want to come over to my house.
16:07But, like, I just want everybody to just have fun while they're within it.
16:11It's absolutely crazy.
16:12I still can't believe some of the things that's happening.
16:14To be honest, I still haven't got to, like, really let it sit in
16:17and really let it digest.
16:18But it do mean a lot to me.
16:20And I'm just having fun as I go on.