Even DJ Akademiks realizes how surprising his upcoming interview with A$AP Rocky looks. "This ain't AI," the hip-hop aggregator said on his iamakademiks page yesterday (Jan. 19). This collaboration is especially intriguing, especially with how each party views Drake. It seems like a forced angle here, but it's worth pointing out.
Akademiks in particular is one of Drizzy staunchest defenders, whereas Rocky doesn't want anything to do with his ex-collaborator. When asked about a potential reconciliation in his Popcast interview, the Don't Be Dumb creator said, "Nah, it doesn’t need to be, for what?"
On top of this, A$AP unleashes several bars for the Toronto superstar. "STOLE YA FLOW" feels like it was meant for the latter and only him. "N****s gettin' BBLs, lucky we don't body shame / Throwin' dirt on Rocky name, turn around and copy game (Ready made, ready made)."
Or there's these bars: "First you was my bro, p**sy n**** switched / Turned into a opp, f*ck his block, he a b*tch, boy / Might pull up to yo' crib, spin it like the rent, uh / Spend it like the time that you ain't spendin' with yo' kids."
But despite all of this, the respective industry titans are joining forces for a sit-down.
What's more though is that Rocky had nothing but praise for Akademiks while empowering him to be a cultural leader in the space.
Don't Be Dumb Sales Projections
"Before n****as like me get up it ain't no Shade Room... not taking anything away from [them]... Like, n****, we lookin' at what Ak about to talk about."
Rocky also encourages him to be more of a tastemaker rather than focus on the drama and beefs. It's a wholesome moment and it has us ready to watch the full interview when it eventually drops.
This continues the rapper's month of wins though as last week, Don't Be Dumb finally arrived. The January 16 release features big names like Doechii, Tyler, The Creator, Brent Faiyaz, and etc. plus a slew of great producers.
The project's been well-received and as a result, it's already projected to go number one. As of now, it's looking like it will move over 200,000 copies. It would be Rocky's best debut by more than 50,000 units. Most of that figure can be attributed to the physical variants, especially vinyl. Per a press release, they contributed 130,000 to the projected total.
