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#15: Your Sign To Go Meet Your Internet Friends

#15: Your Sign To Go Meet Your Internet Friends

Adam Dash
May 19, 2025

Good afternoon! Welcome back to another edition of the SoundCentric newsletter!

What a crazy week it’s been for hip-hop. In the last 24 hours alone, we’ve gotten an AzChike diss, a Daylyt diss, and now a CJ Fly diss. East Coast vs. West Coast is back! These are the moments that remind me why I love rap. I was reminded of that again this weekend when I flew to St. Louis for my brother Dru Kelly’s wedding. I’ve known these guys for years, but finally meeting a bunch of them in person made for a wild and unforgettable weekend.

You could be reading anything in the world right now, and you're here with me. So, I appreciate it.

Let’s get to it!

Deep Dive

Twenty years ago, someone telling you to meet your internet friends in person was basically the equivalent of suggesting to a small child that creepy men in vans really do have the best candy in the back—go ahead, give it a try!

But in 2025, the ability to form close-knit communities online is unlike anything we’ve seen in history. Are there some downsides? Sure. Maybe people don’t leave the house as much as they used to. But the positives can be so powerful that they completely outweigh the negatives.

Brockhampton is a perfect example of the internet bringing artists together to form something special—friendship, collaboration, even a cultural moment. Sure, things might be a little rocky now, but the origin story is legendary. They met on a Kanye-fan subreddit, scattered across the country, and came together to make incredible music that shook up hip-hop for a time.

I always wanted something like that. Hip-hop has been my number one love since I was young, but I never really had anyone around me who felt the same way. No one to nerd out about New Music Friday with. No one to watch Genius breakdowns with. No one to send breaking news to. Thankfully, college helped change that.

But I also started noticing this community on Twitter—people who felt what I felt. They loved debating the same things I did. And they were hilarious. Eventually, I started having these guys on my podcast: Dru Kelly, Reed Starks, Blvff, Kiran, Nik Moody. At first, it was just the occasional comment or shoutout. But then one day, we finally made a group chat. A few new faces got added—people I didn’t know yet—but they quickly started to feel like friends I’d had forever. Shoutout YK, Dallas, Mike, Stix, Saymo, K-Son, Frankie, Kareem, Kembe, Jaydii.

Within weeks, it became far and away my most active group chat. We shared music, hot takes, Discord sessions, and backstories. It was awesome. We were all on Discord the night Future dropped “Like That,” experiencing it together in real time. We debated our minds off throughout the Kendrick-Drake beef. We put each other onto new music. The guys started a groupchat diss battle. We gave each other feedback on our creative ventures. We hated on shit and got mad when someone hated on something we love.

And soon, I started to actually meet these guys. I met my British dawg Mike Quill in Long Island with Blvff while they recorded his album. I got to watch Nik kill his On The Radar freestyle. And just this week, I finally got to meet my brother Dru Kelly, along with the others, in person—three years after he became one of my podcast’s very first guests.

I’m typing this from the St. Louis airport after one of my favorite weekends in a long time. The jokes started instantly. We picked up right where the group chat left off. And it really reminded me of the power of community. We initially bonded over hip-hop, but it’s become more than that. Meeting in person added a whole new layer to the love I have for these guys. We danced, sang, drank, and had us a time.

So, as I sit here hungover, dehydrated, and all allergied up from this Midwest air, I say unto thee: go meet up with those internet friends. You won’t regret it.