Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks, two of the biggest pundits in hip hop, staunchly differ in their opinion on who is winning the Drake versus Kendrick Lamar beef.
According to Joe Budden, Kendrick Lamar is winning the beef following his 6-minute diss track “Euphoria,” which was released on April 30th. The song sent ripple effects in hip-hop, with some scathing bars aimed at the Canadian rapper. K.Dot also mentioned other artists in the song, like YNW Melly, Lil Yachty, Pusha T, and Sexyy Red.
On the other hand, DJ Akademiks says Drake is winning the beef and has the upper hand following his “Push Ups” diss track. Drizzy also released “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which included AI verses from Tupac and Snoop Dogg. This might’ve landed the OVO rapper in hot water with Tupac Shakur’s Estate, which threatened to sue him.
According to DJ Akademiks, “Drake up 1-0.” Joe Budden, who likened Kendrick Lamar’s diss track to a punch in the face for Drake, responded, saying, “Oh, your calculator’s broke.”
Budden added that Drake has had a smooth ride his entire career, except for when he had a beef with Pusha T. “No, I wanna see Drake bleed,” Joey said. “But I also want to see my favorites bleed — pause. I want to know how my favorites respond to getting punched in the face. And Drake has had a smooth ride his whole career — well, except for that Pusha T fight.”
“I want to see what happens when someone that’s on your level is in front of your face,” Budden continues. “This ain’t Meek Mill no more. All that ‘Charged Up,’ ‘Is it a world tour or your girl’s tour?’ — all of that was flop. You had a decade long run of killing n-ggas; now, the Boogeyman is here.”
Joe Budden also scolds Kanye West, telling him to sit this one out and mind his business, but using stronger words.
DJ Akademiks, who has been integral in the beef, suggests that Rick Ross’ diss track “Champagne Moments” was better than Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria.”
“Unpopular Opinion.. Rick Ross had a better Drake diss than Kendrick. at least that ni*** came w some Jokes. BBL DRIZZY funny… kendrick just said the same sh*t.. 15 other ni***s done said. sh*t wasn’t even that funny or clever,” Akademiks said. Rick Ross responded to that statement, saying, “He really had his body altered. Nose remixed Abs edited.”
Joe Budden gets called in by Akademiks during stream, he says Kendrick won this round but he cant wait for Drake's response
"I want to see Drake bleed… I want to know how my favorites respond to getting punched in the face… I love Drake and imma love him even more if he do… pic.twitter.com/TdSsoHa3Ny
— SOUND (@itsavibe) April 30, 2024
Akademiks also had a few words for Rick Ross, saying that Rozay is merely looking for attention for his upcoming car show. “Why is Rick ross like this. Bruh can someone tell him we coming to his car show. Tell him to chill,” he said.
Some fans may not be surprised that Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks chose sides in the beef since Joe and Drake also had a heated exchange last year and AK is a big supporter of the Canadian rapper. Drizzy already indicated that he is cooking up a response to Kendrick Lamar, but there is no word yet on when that song will hit DSPs.
