DJ Akademiks was one of six panelists on The Final Verdict, a show that summed up the year in hip-hop and held a lot of debates, discussions, and breakdowns of what went down in rap in 2026. Other participants from the independent media world included Trap Lore Ross, Adam22, Poetik Flakko, Shawn Cotton, and Riemoh. While reflecting on their discussion on his livestream, as caught by DJ Akademiks TV on Instagram, Akademiks said he wants to make his own awards show with these creators due to their lack of interest in big institutions like the Grammys.
"These days, I don't give two f**ks about what the Grammys say," he expressed. "I don't really care about what the VMAs say. A lot of these things that we still talk about, we talk about just out of tradition... If none of those people sitting at that [Final Verdict] table validate these lists, those lists don't exist. Why the hell are we validating other people's s**t? Let's just create our own, right? [...] From probably that same brain trust, we'll probably try to create some type of an awards show. And also, we'll still do a wrap-up show... The point of being independent media is to not look for validation from mainstream organizations or these bigger entities... We're going to do our thing."
DJ Akademiks On Hip-Hop Media
Independent or even established media outlets doing their own awards shows is nothing new. But it will be very interesting to see these popular independent creators link up for a whole awards show. It will look quite different from all the others, which is the whole point of independent media, as Ak argued. Also, what fun would it be if we all agreed on the same things?
Elsewhere, DJ Akademiks is delivering unfiltered takes on hip-hop, including some roasting concerning Lil Baby and his latest album FRESH. It often lands him in controversy with fans and the artists themselves, but also a lot of engagement.
Meanwhile, DJ Akademiks' attacks against more traditional hip-hop media also put this initiative in a particular context. We'll see if he, Adam22, Trap Lore Ross, and the other Final Verdict participants start to collaborate and curate rather than handle their own individual platforms. Eventually, they might become a big institution of their own for the next generation of rap fans to rally against.
