DJ Akademiks, a hot-take commentator of hip-hop circles, has just poured new fuel into the fire in the longstanding rivalry between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Akademiks says that Kendrick Lamar hired an elite PR team-“the industry avengers”-to help him handle the issues at large in the ongoing feud, as opposed to Drake, who opted to go solo with handling his own situation without any outside help. Akademiks’ claims have spurred more talk about the strategic moves behind public exchanges between these two giants.
Akademiks believes that when Kendrick Lamar succeeded in controlling the narrative in his beef with Drake, it was more than his skill behind the mic. He says Kendrick hired “The Avengers” of PR-the best PR firm-to run the rapper’s image. This reportedly includes pros who have already worked with big hitters such as Cardi B, a name everybody knows used to rise through mainstream and move wittily through the media.
They have been working behind the scenes to literally curate Kendrick’s public perception to make him come across as the stronger figure in this dispute. Akademiks says this, claiming that all their work on his behalf has helped make Kendrick’s victories throughout the feud seem larger and more significant to the media and fans. This PR support, Akademiks claims, has helped Kendrick stay ahead even though the actual music exchanges between the two artists have remained relatively unheard in recent months.
Meanwhile, Drake approached this whole feud really differently. Akademiks then pointed out how Drake has opted to fight this battle on his own, sans any outside PR team. Drake did everything himself personally, from the responses to how he speaks with the public, based only on his gut and ‘rep’.
Akademiks did, however, state that this is a very dangerous yet admirable move on Drake’s part.
“Drake’s handling this without the help of an industry machine,”
Akademiks said.
“That’s impressive in today’s game.”
The game does indeed consist of teams, though, and Akademiks went on to say that foregoing any of those team advantages would make Drake more susceptible to public opinion, especially with Kendrick having a full team to support his image. Right now, Akademiks believes Kendrick is leading the feud.
It is a fact that the PR team’s influence has helped to keep Kendrick’s upper hand, at least in the eyes of the public. But he did make it clear that Drake is still a force to be reckoned with, and this beef is nowhere near done.
“Kendrick’s got the PR power, but let’s not count Drake out,”
Akademiks said.
“He’s still one of the biggest names out there, and all it takes is one strategic move for the tables to turn.”
Akademiks added that though the PR-driven narrative of Kendrick seems to work, he, the fans, and the whole industry are waiting for whether Drake can respond with a powerful new track or a public statement that can change the tide.
The hip-hop world has been in a flurry of divided responses from Akademiks’ claims. According to some fans and critics, Kendrick’s PR team was simply something smart and called for within today’s headlines that could easily make or break an artist’s career.
“It’s all part of the game now,”
one insider says.
“Kendrick’s just playing smart, using all the tools available to him.”
Then again, there are people who think that the fact Drake has chosen to go this route alone lends him an air of authenticity.
“Drake’s fighting this battle his own way,”
one fan commented.
“That’s why people respect him. He’s not hiding behind a team.”
Others in the industry consider both approaches valid, but ultimately, they feel the outcome of the beef will come down to the music.
“At the end of the day, it’s about the bars. No amount of PR can win a beef if the music doesn’t back it up,”
said a prominent hip-hop journalist.
The cold war between Kendrick Lamar and Drake has been pretty silent in the last months but is always interesting to both fans and commenters. In light of new claims by DJ Akademiks against Kendrick’s PR strategy, the whole dynamics in the narrative show different ways in which each artist is approaching this feud. Sure, Kendrick’s team might have given him the upper hand for the time being, but Drake’s solo effort is admirable in its own sense, and the plot could thicken anytime with a comeback.
As Akademiks pointed out,
“This feud isn’t over. Drake can still flip the script, and it’s going to be big when it happens.”
Only time will tell how this rivalry will continue unfolding and if Drake will be able to balance out Kendrick’s PR-powered upper hand.
