Hitta J3 is coming to Kendrick Lamar's defense after DJ Akademiks criticized the Compton rapper's approach to releasing music.
The conversation started after Akademiks argued that Kendrick is "lazy" when it comes to dropping music, suggesting that the rapper waits for the right moments to capitalize rather than consistently releasing records. The comments come after Kendrick Lamar is reportedly on a feature run, appearing on upcoming music releases from people like Jhene Aiko and AZ Chike to name a few.
Akademiks specifically reacted to Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming AZ Chike collaboration and says Kendrick has “starved his fans” by barely releasing music. He said that he fails to understand why he's so "absent," from the music scene and withholding music. “I just feel the nigga lazy, bro.” He then jokingly commented that being a Kendrick fan must be rough: “If you a Kendrick fan, you still listening to DAMN, or some s**t.”
Hitta J3, who has worked closely with Kendrick and appeared on GNX, clearly didn't agree with that assessment.
"Dot goes for his target & he ain't gotta use another individual record to get his point across," J3 wrote on X. "Yall must forget what he did last time somebody said Drop drop drop #NoFeatures."
Hitta J3 took the opportunity to reference Kendrick's 2024 highly publicized rap battle with Drake. The world and Drake eagerly waited to see if he would respond to any of Drake's shots. Kendrick eventually answered with a run of diss tracks, including "Euphoria," "6:16 in LA," "Meet the Grahams," and the massive "Not Like Us."
Hitta J3 Responds To Defend Kendrick Lamar
J3 followed up with another message aimed directly at Akademiks. He argued that Kendrick simply isn't interested in constantly responding to people who speak about him online.
"While @Akademiks steady speaking on Dot like it's not clear already he don't care to speak on nobody," he wrote. "We don't send subs we address the opponent."
The exchange comes as Kendrick has remained relatively quiet following the massive run surrounding GNX, his feud with Drake, and his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance. However, he has appeared on various features since then, including including two appearances on Ca$ino album by Baby Keem and "Good Flirts" with Momo Boyd.
Additionally, as HotNewHipHop previously reported, Kendrick Lamar did also deliver a breezy and reserved verse on "How To Pray" -- a song on the new Dahi album Black Boy (Alternative).
While Akademiks seems to view Kendrick's selective approach as a lack of consistency, J3 sees it differently. From his perspective, Kendrick doesn't need to respond to every conversation surrounding his name. When there is something he actually wants to address, he does it directly.
