DJ Akademiks believes Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef has hurt Hip-Hop’s momentum.
The Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef battle was one of the biggest moments in hip-hop’s history, and it’s still being talked about nearly two years later. DJ Akademiks, who was on Drake’s side when the whole thing went down, believes that the feud between the two rap icons stalled Hip-Hop’s progress.
“During the Drake vs Kendrick beef, numbers went crazy, biggest money period of my career, I’m sure it was the same for other media outlets too,” he explained in one of his recent streams. “So media stayed stuck ther,e that’s why they keep milking it long after it ended.”
“Hip-hop runs on storytelling, not just sound,” he continued. “And when the media keeps recycling one beef, it stops building new narratives, new stars, and new moments.”
Akademiks explains that media doesn’t create what’s popular anymore, it just chases what already clicks.
“During the Drake vs Kendrick beef, numbers went crazy, biggest money period of my career, I’m sure it was the same for other media outlets too..so media stayed stuck there… https://t.co/dHyP3TlST4 pic.twitter.com/av1aDdVCuV
— CY Chels (@SeewhyChels) December 30, 2025
In an interview few months ago, Ak spoke with DJ Vlad and stated that Drake should move forward from the Kendrick Lamar beef, and avoid bringing him up on next album, ICEMAN. “When I mean leave him alone, we’ve got to leave the moment. There’s no more direct engaging. There ain’t no more with diss songs. It’s over,” he said. “He’s still gotta sneak diss him. It’s gotta be the Jay-Z approach.”
“After this battle, it should be Drake’s last,” he added. “Like, why engage with rappers? In any of these situations, you have nothing to gain. Would you go on a business deal you got nothing to gain?” “When you look at Drake’s career as a whole, why would he engage? It’s over,” he concluded. “He’s already solidified.”
