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Edward Berthelot / Contributor via Getty Images
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DDG outside Amiri, during Paris Fashion Week – Menswear Spring/Summer 2026
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Key Takeaways:
- DDG’s says his Twitch content brought in more than his record deal in just 30 days.
- The rapper has five albums under Epic Records but sees higher returns from content creation.
- He credits ad revenue and brand deals as key income sources in the creator economy.
DDG’s music career could seem like a side hustle considering his popularity as a streamer. During a recent interview with DJ Akademiks, Halle Bailey’s baby daddy revealed that he’s made more money off streaming than he has from his record deal.
Since signing to Epic Records in 2018, DDG has released five albums under the label — beginning with VALEDICTORIAN and his latest release being October’s moo. His highest charting single is 2020’s “Moonwalking in Calabasas,” which landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified double platinum.
While his music career is respectable, it pales in comparison to his stature as a YouTuber and streamer. On the former platform, he boasts 3.2 million subscribers alone, and his videos routinely go viral.
While speaking to DJ Akademiks on Sunday (Oct. 26) at ComplexCon in Las Vegas, DDG confirmed that his streaming income eclipses that of his musical endeavors.
“For what I signed for, I made that at 30 days on Twitch,” the Michigan native said when asked to compare his recording and streaming income. “But I love making music, though. It’s a different feeling when you [are] on the stage and people rapping your s**t, you [are] jumping up and down, you [are] traveling the world.”
However, despite how much he loves making music and the energy of performing, elsewhere in the interview he said streaming is just way more profitable.
“Streamers make more money than rappers, 100 percent, that’s what you fittin’ to ask me?,” DDG asked. “A 100,000 percent.”
He added, “It’s just too many ways to make money. With content, all this s**t is ads. We getting money from advertisers like McDonald’s. You watch a YouTube video, [a] McDonald’s ad pops up, we get paid for that.”
Considering DDG is winning as a streamer and a rapper, he’s doubling down on his financial and personal success.
Elsewhere at ComplexCon, DDG and fellow streamer PlaqueBoyMax revealed that Kai Cenat was Complex’s Streamer of the Year.