DJ Akademiks Gives "Moment Of The Year" To Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares 873 Views
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DJ Akademiks Moment Year Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl Hip Hop News
Apr 23, 2017; Indio, CA, USA; Kendrick Lamar performs during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club. Mandatory Credit: Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun via USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Although DJ Akademiks is firmly on Team Drake, he couldn't deny that Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show had everyone talking.

DJ Akademiks recently gave out his end-of-year awards for 2025 in hip-hop, talking about big names such as Playboi Carti, NBA YoungBoy, and surprisingly, Kendrick Lamar. Given his fandom of Drake, one might expect his K.Dot praises to come few and far between. Don't get it twisted: they do. But even though it was a bit backhanded, Ak still conceded the "Moment of the Year" to the Compton lyricist's Super Bowl halftime show.

"Yeah, it got to be," he remarked, as caught by CY Chels on Twitter. "I'm a fair n***a, bro. Kendrick's Super Bowl was the moment of the year. Not only did it break all the records for the Super Bowl – yes, I get it, it was championed around hate, this, that, and the third. But everybody wanted to watch that moment to see if this n***a was going to still say these things in light of a lawsuit. He did. We got to be honest, bro."

"I got to be honest, I remember the chicken wing I was eating when that s**t came on," the commentator and journalist told Wayno. "I remember everything down to the performance. And I remember sitting there speechless watching him on the screen really popping it. I think that was, to me, the moment of the year."

Wayno agreed, remarking that Kendrick Lamar and Drake's battle provided a wild road up to that point. "Kendrick is good at moments," DJ Akademiks added. "When he dropped 'Control'... It's important when you make moments. He's good at that."

DJ Akademiks' Kendrick Lamar Criticisms

DJ Akademiks' past criticisms of Kendrick Lamar have sometimes been about the artist, and at other times about the fandom. For example, he recently called out fan pages on Twitter who purportedly claim to be Kendrick fans from the United States but are actually based in other countries.

DJ Akademiks' Drake support against Kendrick Lamar is also apparent via direct comparison. The reporter recently claimed that Drizzy aims to take over Lamar's worldwide tour record with his ICEMAN album. We'll see whether or not that pans out, and if Akademiks has more rare praise for Kendrick.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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