BEST DJ – Music – Games – Movies – Review’s

By Hakan, Host of The Best DJ Podcast

What’s good, audio adventurers! Hakan here, from your new favorite deep-dive into the wild, pixelated, and sometimes downright evil worlds of music, gaming, tech, and entertainment. For nearly two decades, I was behind the decks, living and breathing the rhythm of the industry. And let me tell you, what I saw – and eventually walked away from – makes the headlines today sting a little harder.

Because while the beat might go on, the real question is: who’s pulling the strings now? And are they playing our tune or just their own?

The Sound of Censorship: Is Your Favorite Artist Truly Free?

Remember when music was the ultimate form of rebellion? The voice of the voiceless? Well, lately, it feels like that voice is getting a serious auto-tune… or worse, getting muted entirely. Just look at the absolute bombshell that dropped at Radar Festival 2025. Bob Vylan, an act known for their raw, uncompromising Glastonbury set, mysteriously dropped from the lineup. Then, two other phenomenal bands, The Scratch and ĠENN, walked out in solidarity. The whisper? Censorship.

This isn’t just about a festival changing its mind. This is about a worrying trend where major platforms and gatekeepers might be sanitizing art, pushing artists to conform, and silencing voices that challenge the status quo. After spending 18 years in an industry that constantly tried to pigeonhole talent, this hits different. If artists can’t express themselves, what are we left with but a bland, commercially viable echo chamber?

AI’s “Golden” Touch: Innovation or Imitation?

And speaking of control, let’s talk about the machine in the room: Artificial Intelligence. You’ve heard the chatter, but it’s no longer science fiction. AI is composing, producing, and even performing. It’s fascinating, sure, but it also raises a question that keeps me up at night: Is AI truly enhancing creativity, or is it just the ultimate cheat code for corporations to cut out the human element?

Take a listen to “Golden” by Rei Ami and the KPop Demon Hunters Cast. It’s a huge track, sitting high on the ARIA charts. It’s intricate, it’s catchy, it’s… perfect. But how much of that perfection is the genius of human artists, and how much is the subtle, unseen hand of an algorithm at work? The debate is raging, with over 80% of UK fans demanding AI-generated music be clearly labelled. And nearly 80% say their music shouldn’t be ingested by AI without permission.

As someone who meticulously crafted sets and understood the blood, sweat, and tears that go into every track, the idea of a machine “learning” from and then potentially replacing human artists feels like a betrayal. Is “Golden” the future, or is it a sign of a looming crisis where the soul of music gets lost in the data stream?

Gaming’s Glitch: When Profits Outrank People

It’s not just music. Head over to the digital battlegrounds of gaming, and you’ll find a similar, unsettling narrative. While games rake in billions, the industry is shedding jobs at an alarming rate. We’re talking one in ten developers laid off in the past year alone! And yes, a major player in this grim reality is often cited as AI in game development.

Look at the buzz around PUBG Mobile World of Wonder Version 3.9 by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio. It’s groundbreaking for user-generated content, letting players design maps and use incredible new tools like the “Ink Blaster.” This sounds amazing, right? Players get more power, more customization.

But here’s the cold, hard truth: Is this explosion of user-generated content, powered by increasingly sophisticated AI tools, simply turning players into unpaid content creators for massive corporations? Is it another layer that diminishes the need for professional, human game developers, who are being systematically laid off despite record company profits? It feels like the ultimate “live service” model, where the community does the heavy lifting, and the industry saves a fortune. For those of us who grew up revering the brilliant minds behind our favorite games, this trend is a serious glitch in the system.

The Unfiltered Truth

The pattern is clear, isn’t it? From the music studios to the gaming empires, there’s a powerful force at play, often hidden behind the shiny veneer of innovation. It’s about control, commodification, and squeezing every last drop of profit, often at the expense of genuine creativity and the very people who build these worlds.

This is why I started The Best DJ Podcast. We’re here to cut through the noise, uncover the real stories, and talk about the things no one else dares to. We’ll be spinning those legendary tunes that remind us of what true artistry sounds like, revisiting games that changed everything, and shining a spotlight on the scandals that keep these industries turning.

Join me every week as we peel back the layers. Because the beat might go on, but we’re here to make sure it’s our beat, not just the one dictated by the algorithm.

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