From its humble beginnings as a niche podcast, Adam Grandmaison, popularly known as Adam22, transformed No Jumper into a pioneering platform within hip-hop culture. However, after enjoying a meteoric rise for over a decade, the media empire is now facing a dramatic downfall.
Once a hub for underground artists and sharp cultural commentary, No Jumper is now marred by financial mismanagement, internal conflict, and controversies, plunging the brand into a state of crisis.
From being a money-making channel to going broke, here is a look at what happened to Adam22’s No Jumper.
The Rise of No Jumper
In 2011, No Jumper began as a blog on Tumblr created by George Potter and financed by Adam22. By 2015, it was revived and reimagined as a podcast on YouTube.
It was originally a BMX podcast with vlogs dedicated to Adam22's ONSOMESHIT retail store, but it quickly became a beacon for underground hip-hop artists and pop culture tastemakers after his interview with Memphis underground rapper Xavier Wulf went viral within hip-hop communities.
This success shifted Adam22’s interest toward interviewing influential figures from the hip-hop world.
At its peak, the platform attracted millions of monthly views and expanded its reach by featuring hip-hop legends such as Lil Wayne and Chief Keef. As of today, No Jumper boasts 4.87 million subscribers and 1.8 billion views.
Over time, No Jumper evolved into a media empire, diversifying its revenue through livestreams, ad revenue, Patreon subscriptions with uncensored interviews, and content on social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat.
It also has a series of podcasts and livestreams featuring hosts recruited by Adam22 himself.
However, as they say, everything has come to an end.
The Financial Collapse
In an announcement on his YouTube channel on April 2, Adam22 announced that No Jumper was “going broke.”
The company is reportedly losing $2 million per month, resulting in the need to lay off around 15 of its staff, the closure of its Melrose store, and the move to a smaller space to reduce expenses.
The financial woes stemmed from over-expansion during the pandemic—a time when the platform mistakenly assumed its skyrocketing viewership would persist.
Adam22 admitted to spending recklessly on hiring staff, purchasing a $4 million office building, and increasing production costs without sustainable revenue streams.
Unfortunately, after doubling to even tripling their YouTube viewers during the global lockdowns, the viewership significantly declined.
This also included a dramatic decrease in revenue streams across platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook after previously reaching “at least six figures a month.”
To make matters worse, the sudden shutdown of No Jumper’s Instagram account eliminates a major source of sponsored post revenue.
“After almost 10 years of building it up and essentially no strikes on our account, we got taken down one day, and we still have absolutely no idea why,” he said. “We have had no luck getting it back despite being in contact with what seems like every Instagram recovery guy on the face of the planet.”
With this source gone, No Jumper finds it hard to set its footing again.
The Controversies and Lawsuits
The fall of No Jumper is not only attributed to financial mismanagement. It also has something to do with the controversies and lawsuits surrounding its owner, Adam22.
His behavior is believed to have tarnished the brand’s reputation. For one, allegations of sexual misconduct have been haunting him for years.
Instagram influencer Aliza Jane accused Adam22 of mistreating her after her repeated refusals to film a sex scene with him and his then-fiancée, Lena.
“I noticed the second I didn’t want to do a scene with him and Lena, he started trying to make me look horrible on his platform,” she told Rolling Stone. “So I stopped going on after that.”
Multiple women also claimed that they felt pressured to do sex scenes with Adam22 and were mistreated after turning down his requests.
Former employees have also accused him of unpaid labor and workplace misconduct, further fueling lawsuits against the company.
A former employee known as HarmoniousYuriy filed a complaint against No Jumper, alleging wrongful termination.
The complaint also claimed that Adam22 and two other “higher-ups” were not held accountable for instances of workplace harassment and discrimination directed at both HarmoniousYuriy and another employee, Rylee Garcia.
In response, Adam22 dismissed the complaint as a “bullsh*t lawsuit by a former employee” and labeled it an “extortion attempt,” further stating that the legal battle has already cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In addition, Adam22’s alleged poor leadership style is also blamed for No Jumper’s decline.
In a discussion on Reddit, user scarletfeva explained that every decision Adam22 made was the opposite of what he was supposed to do.
“From not drawing up proper contracts with staff, him literally being missing from the office half the time leaving Josh to handle staff, exposing your friend and longtime employee, to publicly embarrassing and firing an employee on air the list is long of all terrible management decisions by No Jumper and Adam specifically,” he said.
And among the many reasons fans and critics alike see, the channel’s shift from thoughtful interviews to exploitative material featuring intoxicated guests and adult entertainers separates it from its main audience, who now see it as “brain rot content.”
Though it remains to be seen whether No Jumper can recover from its financial woes and Adam22 from the criticisms and controversies, there is no denying that the issues he and his company are facing serve as a stark reminder that even the most famous and successful empires can crumble due to mismanagement and scandal.