<\/p>\n
\n\tDJ Akademiks<\/a> denied taking payola from Drake<\/a> in exchange for favorable opinions on his media platforms.<\/p>\n \n\tDuring a recent livestream, the popular rap media personality said he had a conversation with pgLang co-founder Dave Free<\/a> when he attended a Grand National Tour stop about the integrity of his coverage during the Drake and Kendrick Lamar battle<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDave Free had a moment \u2014\u00a0he asked me \u2014 he said, \u2018Ak, what are you getting from this?\u2019 He says, \u2018Is he paying you,’\u201d Akademiks said, allegedly that Free asked him about taking money from the Toronto rapper. \u201cAnd that was the most insulting thing \u2014 and I\u2019ve had conversations with these men for a while \u2014 but\u00a0the very idea that I was like a purchasable commodity\u00a0was so disgusting,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n \n\tAk then went on to say that he told Free that he was already popular before the beef reached a boiling point last spring. \u201cI reminded him,\u201d he began. \u201cI said, \u2018You know I\u2019ve been doing this for over 10 years. I\u2019ve been doing this for over 15 years. How did you think I became me?\u2019 I said, \u2018You knew about me before this sh\u2014t\u2026 Did you think I was a cheap h\u2014 that just could be bought?’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe added, \u201cThat was the most insulting thing I could have heard. Because his idea was, \u2018Well if you\u2019re not getting paid by this guy, if Drake ain\u2019t paying you, why do you lean that much in that direction?\u2019 The people who I\u2019ve defended the most\u00a0I\u2019ve never gotten paid from.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHe did admit that his favorable coverage has benefited certain artists he likes, but reiterated that he doesn\u2019t take money, saying, \u201cNow, has my platform benefited them? Yeah, of course. But, again, we don\u2019t do pay-for-play. You can\u2019t buy my opinion. I\u2019ve always said, \u2018The moment you could buy my opinion, I don\u2019t matter.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAk continued by also admitting that he was biased during the back-and-forth because Drake is his favorite rapper and because Kendrick\u2019s<\/a> team cut off communication with him. \u201cThroughout the battle, we probably definitely came off very biased,\u201d he said. \u201cNot only because I like Drake and he\u2019s my favorite rapper\u2026 but you guys lost communications with us at that time because if you chose not to involve yourself in clarifying the narrative, the narrative gets written without you. It always happens like that. I\u2019m in the media, I know how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBillboard<\/em> reached out to reps for pgLang for additional comment.<\/p>\n