Off the Record with DJ Akademiks

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 hindsight of previous 'Smear Campaigns' against him. Joe Budden talks discuss his podcast cohost getting fired by him  in the midst of his negotiation of a lucrative podcast deal. We talk about how some people doubted his intentions when championing the 'creators' after people felt he may have not acted in the best interest of his previous cohosts. We talk about his issues with Slaughterhouse and how Joe resolved it privately. 

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 gets super deep while discussing each others upbringing. Van talks about how his dad approval mattered to him for a long time and gives us a dope story related to hunting. He talks about his time at TMZ and if he did anything wrong and how things turned out overtime. 

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 eventually bringing a podcast to Spotify. Conversation also gets into why Joe Budden left Spotify and the current state of podcasting and his podcast networking.

Bobby Shmurda is back again on Off The Record with this time he's glowing and happier than ever before. This time he lets us know he's finally out his record deal with Epic Records.

On the day Antonio Brown drops his project, 'Paradigm', he sat with DJ Akademiks to talk about everything life and music. Akademiks got a chance to pull up to his crib where Antonio did some meditation with him gave him a house tour, played basketball with him  and oh of-course played him some music. AB discusses him walking off the field as a member of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers and answers if he regrets doing that. He then talks about the next step for him in his life and also the media portayal of him. He talks about meeting some dope people including Kanye West and Young Thug and how they helped him in music. He also talks about being the president of Donda Sports and what that entails. We then get into his project and his motivation behind it and why he thinks there is a paradigm shift happening right now. At last, AB seems to be at peace with himself going into this project and also where his life is, we do a happiness check on him to see how he/s feeling and he lets us know he's never been better.

6ix9ine returns to Off The Record with a familiar face, Wack 100. This time we add one more to the table, Hassan Campbell. 6ix9ine explains his hiatus and also showcases his new crew and new label. He's still touting the 'I'm Outside and Untouched' slogan that we've heard before but with new confidence as he pulls up with a new song called 'GINÉ'. This is promised to be one of the most chaotic podcasts you've ever watched.

We got one of the most popular videographer in hip hop as our guest today. Drewfilmedit, most notorious for filming the majority of YNW Melly videos. He has a ton of stories involving hip hop after being in the most interesting predicaments while filming music videos for artists. He talks about meeting Melly, blowing up while in high school and also explains how his father was supportive of his entire journey.

Waka Flocka is our guest today on Spotify Live. He also pulled up to our studio so we have a video component of today's conversation. Waka Flocka gets into his growth and evolution as a person and recaps his career as a rapper.

We begin by talking about our favorite topic yet again, mainstream acceptance of certain opinions and also how those that express those opinions that are unfavorable get treated. We then delve into the Taxstone and Troy Ave incident that has yet to reach a jury trial and where Troy Ave's bodyguard died in the incident. We then talk about YNW Melly case updates.

Akademiks is here recording a podcast right before catching a flight to Miami! He talks about the censorship machine is coming for him lately and also updates us on whats going on with his Instagram. He then talks about the Grammys, Meg thee Stallion and Tory Lanez and also a ridiculous event that went down in DC with a corpse being brought in the club for a homegoing concert.