DJ Akademiks' 7 Biggest Beefs

DJ Akademiks has been making commentary on Hip Hop culture for years. As a result, he’s ruffled more than a few feathers in the rap industry. He frequently makes headlines for his controversies and is now widely known for that as well. Moreover, DJ Akademiks has picked beef with multiple artists, typically leading to heated exchanges and negative publicity. 

Now, Saucy Santana is the latest artist to pick a bone with the media personality. Santana is beefing with DJ Akademiks over comments the latter dropped about Yung Miami. It is a still-developing story, but the two have taken shots at each other non-stop over the past 24 hours. This particular beef may grow to become one of Akademiks’ most prominent feuds. In the meantime, however, here is a list of seven of the biggest beefs he has been involved in so far. 

DJ Akademiks and NAV got into a heated online fight on the last day of 2019. Seemingly unprovoked, NAV tweeted, “Akademiks hop on and off d**k so much he prolly got STDs.” In no time, DJ Akademiks responded, taking rapid-fire shots at the rapper on X (formerly Twitter). “Imagine being rich asf driving to where paparazzi is at in a half a million dollar car and a million in jewelry and catching feelings cuz no one noticed u,” he said, addressing NAV. 

Ak wrote further, “Seems like you d**k riding the media. U hid ya face for the first year u blew up now u desperately want attention. Answer that.” The exchange continued for a while, with DJ Akademiks calling NAV a “cold” rapper and saying he’s only interested in “covering who is hot.” Over a year later, in March 2021, the two ended their beef on a Twitch livestream where they were both present. Subsequently, in September 2022, NAV was featured as a guest on an episode of Akademiks’ podcast, and they hashed things out completely. 

DJ Akademiks began his beef with Erykah Badu in 2017 when the singer appeared as a guest in an episode of Everyday Struggle. Although he didn’t show it then, the podcast host did not like being likened to Jerry the Mouse by Badu. In August 2023, years after Badu made the hilarious comparison, Akademiks finally let the words off his chest. Unfortunately, he did not do so in a very dignified way, going on a distasteful, misogynistic rant. 

While addressing her and telling her to keep his name out of her mouth, Ak further stated, “I never f***ed with Erykah Badu after she came on my show and she was trying to be funny.” He insulted her, and Badu, in turn, responded to him via a video she posted on her social media accounts. In the video, Badu sarcastically apologized for vexing Akademiks.

Furthermore, she acknowledged that the words she said to him hurt him and had him “out in the streets acting real p***y.” Finally, she advertised her new incense, which featured a photo of Jerry the Mouse wearing a gold chain that reads “Livingston.” Livingston is Ak’s first name, so that’s a very direct jab at the media personality. Badu captioned the post, “Badu P***y on sale today!”

The City Girl and DJ Akademiks have never really seen eye to eye. Moreover, the two have been at each other’s necks at every opportunity since 2022, when Akademiks referred to Miami as Diddy’s side chick. That comment from the podcast host set off a viral social media exchange between the two. It probably wouldn’t have stopped at all if Diddy didn’t step in. 

Subsequently, Akademiks retracted his statement, and for a while, there was a period of peace between the two. However, that is no longer the case, as things have recently heated up between them. In May 2023, Akademiks told Diddy to “check ya gyal,” referring to Yung Miami. Earlier, during an interview on The Jason Lee Show, Miami used the f-slur to refer to Akademiks as a gay man. Following AK’s clapback, the duo has continually fired shots at each other, and Miami’s BFF Saucy Santana has joined in to diss Akademiks. 

Freddie Gibbs and Ak began their beef in 2020 when the rapper called Ak a "b*tch." The insult came following DJ Akademiks’ criticism of Gibbs’ comment, where he indirectly called Gunna a snitch. It all went downhill from there, and their relationship has progressively deteriorated since then. In 2020, when Gibbs appeared on Bootleg Kev, he called Jeezy “musically irrelevant.” Akademiks disagreed with that comment and clapped back at the rapper, saying, “If Jeezy is irrelevant, Freddie Gibbs, you’re absolutely irrelevant as well.” Afterward, a viral war of words on Twitter (now X) ensued between the two. 

On June 19, 2017, Vic Mensa appeared as a guest on an episode of Everyday Struggle. The rapper wasted no time in expressing his displeasure with DJ Akademiks’ War in Chiraq YouTube series, which covers the Chicago rap scene. Mensa openly criticized both the show and Akademiks. Additionally, he said he wanted to slap Akademiks in the face but refrained from doing so. For the most part, Ak handled the situation without aggravating Mensa. As a result, things did not escalate any further. The two decided to clear things up in September 2023. Following their decision, they documented their reconciliation on episode 209 of Off the Record. 

In 2020, Megan Thee Stallion was involved in the infamous shooting incident. DJ Akademiks, an avid supporter of Tory Lanez, was very vocal about his support for the rapper.  In an interview with Vlad TV, Akademiks shared that he was still “kinda a little doubtful” about Lanez shooting Megan. Subsequently, AK faced backlash from fans of Megan, and he and the rapper are not on speaking terms. 

When Eminem released Revival in December 2017, Akademiks was not a fan of the album, and he made it very clear. He gave the album a negative review, and Eminem did not appreciate that. Months passed without Eminem addressing it, and DJ Akademiks had probably even forgotten he reviewed the album. That is, of course, until the lead single from Kamikaze dropped on September 14, 2018.  On “Fall,” Eminem name-dropped Akademiks, rapping the lyrics, “Don't make me have to give it back to Akademiks. Say this sh*t is trash again, I'll have you twisted.” Evidently, Eminem did not take the criticism of his ninth album very well. While Akademiks was surprised by Em’s lyrical attack, he stood by his word, calling Revival “light sauce.”

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