While Kai Cenat's a Brooklyn native, the streamer didn't get familiar with hip-hop by listening to East Coast pioneers like The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J or Jay-Z.
In his new Billboard cover story, Cenat revealed that he became a hip-hop fan as a teen off the strength of listening to Bronx rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, who's visited Cenat's Twitch stream in the past. The streamer's introduction to rap came after he was practically raised on Michael Jackson's music.
"Growing up, I did straight Michael Jackson up until high school," Cenat told the publication. On being introduced to A Boogie's music, Cenat added, "That was my real transition. I went from Michael Jackson to A Boogie, and I explored from then on."
Last January, the "Just Like Me" rapper made a cameo on Cenat's Twitch stream and months before, Cenat directed the rapper's "Did Me Wrong" music video.
Since debuting his Twitch channel in 2021, Cenat has been joined by other rappers like Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice, Quavo and more, some of whom visited during the streamer's Mafiathon 2 subathon.
"I just think it’s the creativity," Cenat told Billboard on artists' comfortability on stopping by his Twitch. "This is just the vibe I give off, like on my stream. I try to make it as fun as possible. And being able to, like, break ice with anybody who comes on."
