The heated beef between Chicago rapper Vic Mensa and host DJ Akademiks is now squashed, as each cites their personal growth as the main reason.
On Monday (September 18th), the “Feel That” rapper appeared on the latest episode of the Off The Record podcast hosted by the DJ and media personality who slyly announced it in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “So… I Sat Down with Vic Mensa Again after our last explosive encounter in 2017.”
The episode was a surprise to many who recall the beef between the two being seriously savage. It began in 2017 as Vic Mensa appeared on Complex’s Everyday Struggle which Akademiks hosted alongside Joe Budden. He took offense to Akademiks’ coverage of drill rappers in his hometown of Chicago, going directly at him for “sensationalizing” the violence. “I wanted to slap you in your face, honestly,” Mensa said at the time. “And I’m just seeing you here. I’m like, this is a tame environment, so I will keep it to my words.”
This time around, he spoke about the reason why he was so upset. “In all honesty, I was coming from a place of pain man,” Vic Mensa said. “Tray 57, who I knew as Nigel that I grew up with, he went in the direction that he did and he became a drill artist.” He continued: “He was always gangbanging and when he passed away, I learned about it on your platform the next day. You know, it was peppered with certain judgments and insults.”
For his part, Akademiks reflected on his actions at the time later in the episode, admitting to being “insensitive” to the violence in Chicago at that time and how it was affecting people. He also took accountability for having a role in “inciting” more of those issues through his The War In Chiraq YouTube channel and confessed that ego played a part in his not doing so earlier.
Vic Mensa and Akademiks spoke at length – over two hours – discussing that past conflict and also the nagging perception that drill rap and Hip-Hop culture overall has been trying to shrug off. Mensa also talked about the process of creating his new album, Victor.
Check out the entire episode above.
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