There was once a time when Joe Budden and DJ Akademiks’ strange yet fascinating dynamic on Everyday Struggle made for premium afternoon entertainment. True, they seldom saw eye to eye on matters both musical and philosophical, but seeing them gain begrudging respect for one another made for one of the era’s definite feel-good bromances. And then came the split from Complex, which found Budden pursuing greener pastures while Ak stood firm on the show he helped build.
It’s hard to argue that both men made the right choice, given that Everyday Struggle remains successful and Budden’s own ventures like REVOLT’s State Of The Culture and The Joe Budden Podcast have cemented him as a dominant voice in hip-hop media. Still, there are many who still wonder what transpired behind the scenes, an old wound that was recently poked and prodded when State Of The Culture hit up The Breakfast Club. When the topic of Everyday Struggle was raised, Joe declared the split to be Complex’s “biggest business blunder in a decade.” “I love Wayno and I love Ak,” says Joe. “I appreciate that the show is still on, but it’s different.”
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Sadly, Akademiks was none too pleased with his former co-host discussing business on a public platform and took to his Twitch feed to unleash an emotional rant. After voicing that Budden essentially used him as leverage during negotiations, Ak claimed that Everyday Struggle was still more successful that State Of The Culture. “Joe probably get ninety percent of the bread,” says Ak. “That’s all he ever wanted. Great for him, but view-wise? You can say Everyday Struggle ain’t what it was in terms of cultural impact when Joe was there, but is anybody talking about State Of The Culture?”
“I’m trying to tell you to tame that ego,” continues Ak. “And I’ve let ego get the best of me at times. I’ve said certain shit. Just chill out bro. I’m not upset at what your doing, I love what you’re doing…It’s dope! I want to get in the podcast game, it’s never no hate. But when you try to position me not getting down with ya’ll. It’s like you wanted me to be your son, I’m not nobody’s son in this shit. All ya’ll n***as are starting to realize the benefit of a platform.” He maintains that he feels like he’s been “thrown to the wolves,” and reiterates that he would have never done the same to Joe. Yet twenty seconds later, he’s claiming that Joe asked Complex for “three percent of the company” during his negotiation — the plot thickens.
You can check out the full rant below, as well as Joe’s seemingly cavalier response — perhaps these two need to sit down on one of their respective platforms and hash it out like the buddies they were once growing to be.
