Off the Record with DJ Akademiks

Rotimi is our guest today. The episode starts with Akademiks bringing up how they met over 10 years ago and how life has changed for them both since then. We get into to what place he was in at that point of his life and what lead him to acting. He talks about his roll on 'Boss' and how that helped him land his role on 'Power' and how he almost had the role of Hakeem on 'Empire'.

Still in LA, Erica Banks from Texas is our guest today. She joins Akademiks on a Spotify Live for a new episode where she discusses her comeup in the industry and how she got her big break. She talks meeting Carl Crawford and signing to 1501 and also making her breakout single 'Buss It'. 

Chase The Money is our guest today. He's a 21 Year old Producer from St Louis who got his big break working with Valee and later on Smokepurpp. He explains how he first got his big break by going to Chicago and even how he ran into Lil Durk in a basement working on music. He explains how then moving to Atlanta helped his career excel and also explained why Atlanta is so influential in a producers...

Tariq Nasheed is our guest today. He's a well decorated author, film maker and content creator who has been a pillar and a voice for the black community. Recently he's been pushing the agenda of  Foundational Black Americans (FBA's) which he hopes to unify and organize to be able to leverage against lawmakers to help get progress for his people. He sits with Akademiks who was born in Jamaica...

DDG is our podcast guest today and he's here to talk about everything. We recap on his career to this point and how he got here and touch on his huge hit, 'Moonwalking in Calabasas' that featured a remix with Blueface. He talks about how the record came about by leaking it independently and how his label caught up. He then talks about how life has changed for him over the years and also his though...

Candace Owens is our guest today in whats surely to be our most explosive episode yet. We talk everything from TI, BLM, Pro Choice, the LGBTQIA community, politics and even why she's seen as a sellout by some in the black community. She backed down from absolutely no question and gave reasoning to all her answers. Akademiks tried to be a good buffer for her on most topics offering challenges to so...

Mr. Vegas is our guest for today. Ironically one of Akademiks' first interviews ever was with Mr. Vegas and they reunite on this episode. They talk about how Mr. Vegas career has spanned 25 years and how he ended up blowing up back in Jamaica in the 90's. He also touches on why he's outspoken for other artists in the culture and also why he spoke up against Drake at a time. He speaks on his lawsui...

Yung Bleu is our Guest for today. We talk about his comeup, how he first got into music and eventually landing a record deal with a major. He speaks on his decision to go independent and how things fell into place. He talks about leveraging the fact that he had a song with Drake to help himself. He talks about being signed to Boosie and talks about why he loves being a independent rapper on Empire...

This is the second part of our new DJ Vlad episode where he this time around he gets into discussing why he wouldn't sitdown with Joe Budden after it was a possibility that both Joe Budden and DJ Vlad could appear on a episode of Off The Record to hash things out. We talk about Bandman Kevo, Soulja Boy and even NLE Choppa having issues with Vlad.

DJ Vlad is back in New york and of course stopped by to check in with Akademiks. This episode is a masterclass in media and building a successful independent brand. They talk about how the business of  podcasting has changed the game and also how some of the earlier choices each independent companies have made also were anticipating the ever changing ecosystem. Conversation gets to go through...

Our guests today join us for our Mid Season Awards episode. We chat with Annoying TV, Ace (Cordae's manager) and Giuseppe (Lil Tecca Manager). We talk abotu the current state of the industry and also try to give out awards for MVP, Rookie of The Year and also Most Improved. We Talk a lot.. I mean a lot about Carti and try to get a idea of what acts like YEAT will be. Plus you know we had to throw...

Adam 22 is our guest today on Off the Record where Akademiks catches up with him and talk about each of their hip hop companies and also the new media landscape. They evaluate what has changed over the years with rappers they use to cover and even the style of coverage they use to do. They talk about rappers like Lil Pump, 6ix9ine and others and the relationship they have with rappers vs being hon...

Todays episode we break down all the details about what we know about the passing of ATL rapper Trouble. He was murdered by a spineless simp who broke into a house where Trouble was sleeping with his ex girlfriend and then all hell ensued. Fights then a shooting where Trouble was shot in the chest and ultimately died. We evaluate the dynamics between visiting women or the art of sneaky linkin.

Lil YACHTY is our guest today. Akademiks welcomes him by starting off recapping the history of their friendship and how initially his explosive episode on Everyday Struggle help set that show off in the culture. We talk about how it feels to be a 6 year veteran and also try to categorize what era we are in now. We address the elephant in the room about a possible Migos breakup. Conversation happen...

Akademiks is back with another episode. This time he's talking about goals he got from Charlamagne Tha God. Also talks about YSL Case and him being sick last week.

Buddy is our guest today on our monthly Spotify Live episode. We got the chance to talk to Buddy about his come up, meeting Pharrell, surviving the pandemic, his musical taste and his album 'SuperGhetto'. We talk about him being from Compton and breaking the mold of what a Compton rapper is suppose to be.

Yep! We got another exclusive! We got the police report from the night that Meg Thee Stallion got shot and what the witnesses actually said to the sequence of events that police believed at the time they entered the report. This Case has been one of the most elusive when it comes to getting the truth of everything that happened but today we will do some detective work to come out with some clarity...

Dreezy is our guest today. After collaborating with one of the hottest producers currently int he game, HitBoy, they teamed up to release the  HITGIRL project which consists of 10 tracks. She's is here to discuss that  and life also talks her new situation and how she been adjusting from being on a major label to now being independent. 

Today is my birthday! Lets talk about how I'm celebrating and also the latest albums to be released (Jack Harlow and Kendrick Lamar). Also, lets delve into the Freddie Gibbs vs Benny The Butcher Situation and also YSL Indictments. 

We finally got another solo episode. Akademiks talks about the death of Kevin Samuels, the comeback of Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow album and also the indictment of Gunna, Young Thug and 26 others in YSL.

No Cap is our guest today. His project is out now and he decided to stop at Akademiks' podcast to meet him for the first time and also to talk about his come up and his music. 

Yungeen Ace is our guest today. Its the first time Akademiks and Yungeen Ace have met in person or actually talked since their public spat that stemmed from Instagram coverage of issues with Yungeen Ace and another artist. Quickly they both let bygones be bygones and immediately getting to know each other. Akademiks tries to find out how Yungeen Ace came onto the scene and how he survived in a pla...

Joe Budden is back with us here discussing independency, building your own and doing it your own. The pocket watcher in Akademiks comes out when he asks who makes more being independent or being aligned with very powerful companies. We talk about how to remain being a company man but also being authentic to yourself. We Talk about Charlamagne and all things Spotify. We talk about Joe's belief in h...

Van Lathan is back on the pod today. He's in new york promoting his new book and decided to pull up on Akademiks to talk about Chicago, Current State of Podcasting and also tries confronting Akademiks on several topics including his comments on DJ Vlad. Van Lathan addresses Joe Budden for him outing his Spotify deal a few years ago and talks about his relationship with him now. Conversation also g...

Today we are having a reunion of Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks. Since the pair came together at Complex Media on a show called 'Everyday Struggle' the world has been fascinated by this duo and their electric chemistry while being on camera. 5 years later, they reunite on Off The Record podcast. They recap their many paths crossing from ending up on the same show (Everyday Struggle) to both eventuall...