Ever since his rise to prominence as a popular media personality, DJ Akademiks has had a tumultuous relationship with the Chicago Hip-Hop scene, largely in part to his over-sensationalized and glorified coverage of the violence that has long plagued the Midwestern city. Under the YouTube channel The War In Chiraq, DJ Akademiks shared controversial commentary about the Chicago Hip-Hop scene under titles like "Donald Trump Tried to Have a Rally to CHIRAQ... BUT... Protesters and Savages wasn't HAVING IT!" and "Chiraq Savages Kill Man & 2 Year Old son While his Pregnant Girlfriend Streamed live on FB Live."
Chicago artist Vic Mensa has publicly confronted DJ Akademiks about his previous coverage of Chicago, and you can see an example of one of those videos below.
Now, in a strange turn of events, DJ Akademiks has claimed that his distasteful YouTube videos actually helped elevate the careers of Chicago artists like Chief Keef. After the "Faneto" rapper reportedly turned down an interview request from the Everyday Struggle co-host, Akademiks went off a long-winded rant on Twitch.
At one point, Ak stated, "Somebody said, 'Keef made you.' I helped make Keef. I gave them the rep that they never had! I called him the Chiraq grim reaper. That's why when he's getting shot at and it's happening to him, y'all are looking at it in disbelief. You know why? Because I created that [illusion] that he was untouchable."
"That's what I'm tryna tell y'all," he continued. "I've done a lot to create narratives and help rappers themselves.
Apparently, G Herbo noticed DJ Akademiks' rant, and as many would expect, the Chicago rap veteran wasn't feeling what the media personality had to say about his hometown collaborator.
The 25 artist recently took a brief moment to directly address Akademiks and explain why he isn't a fan of his work. In an already deleted post to his Instagram story, G Herbo tagged DJ Akademiks and shared his opinion on the situation, "@akademiks WHEN YOU SAY SH*T LIKE THIS I JUST CAN NEVER RESPECT YOU!"
What do you think about DJ Akademiks' rant? Does he have a point? Or is G Herbo right to criticize Ak for trying to take credit for Chief Keef's career?