Akademiks Doesn’t Buy the “Industry Took Down Drake” Story — He Says UMG Just Played Business With “Not Like Us”
Everybody has a theory about the Drake and Kendrick war — and about what the industry did behind the scenes while it played out. Akademiks just gave his, and it is colder than the conspiracy version: no plot, no label-wide takedown. Just a company protecting its leverage.
Story: Akademiks on his livestream; clip via CY Chels on X, reported by HotNewHipHop. This is a debate post — the theory below is Ak’s, stated on his stream.
“Every industry came together, ‘Let’s take down Drake.’ That, I don’t believe,” Ak said. What he does believe is more specific. “I do believe that Universal, who already has their favorites, I think they saw a clever way to get Drake back under the thumb and also, they were going to rock with a very profitable song for them, which is ‘Not Like Us.'”
In Ak’s telling, the record killed two birds with one stone for UMG. On one side, a massive hit that printed money. On the other, its biggest superstar brought “down a notch a little bit” — which, as Ak put it, “could help them in negotiation.” But he drew a hard line at the bigger claim: “If you want me to say that Universal created this beef, or created everything, no. This is two rappers. The choice was between Drake and Dot.”
For context: Drake took this fight to court, suing UMG over how “Not Like Us” was promoted. That lawsuit was dismissed, and per HotNewHipHop he is now working to get the case brought back. UMG has denied ever doing anything to undermine him, saying fans choose the music they want to hear. Ak’s position lands right in the middle of those two stories — the label did not manufacture the beef, but only a fool would think they hated what the beef did for their negotiating position.
So who has it right: was “Not Like Us” just a hit record that ran its course, or did UMG quietly use it as a chess move against its own biggest artist? Let us know in the comments.
