Vic Mensa and DJ Akademiks have finally buried the hatchet, six years after their public disagreement on Complex‘s now-defunct Everyday Struggle.
The Chicago MC recently appeared on Akademiks’ Off the Record to promote his new album Victor, where he discussed his point-of-view about the viral moment that transpired between them.
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Vic explained that he was grieving the death of a close friend at the time and didn’t appreciate the way that the media personality covered his passing prior to his appearance on the show.
“In all honesty, I was coming from a place of pain man,” Vic said regarding the incident. “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.
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“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 judgements and insults.”
Vic Mensa also urged Hip Hop platforms and media personalities to stop the cycle of “exploitation” when it comes to promoting violence, drugs and negativity. He said it “hurt” to see Akademiks, a Black man, “exploiting our pain.”
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Further along in the interview, Akademiks gave his perspective on their feud and expressed remorse about the entire ordeal.
He admitted to being “insensitive” to the people affected by the violence in Chicago and took responsibility for possibly “inciting” issues in the city.
Vic Mensa and Akademiks’ beef began back in 2017 when Vic was a guest on Everyday Struggle.
At the time, Ak asked Vic for his thoughts on those outside of Chicago commenting on the city’s violence. The question set the rapper off as he took issue with Ak’s “sensationalizing” the death and destruction in his hometown.
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“I wanted to slap you in your face, honestly,” Mensa said. “And I’m just seeing you here. I’m like, this is a tame environment, so I will keep it to my words. But I really feel as if people exactly like you sensationalize and made a following off of clowning situations that we go through in real life.”
He added: “And I think n-ggas ain’t have no right. You specifically, you ain’t never had a right. What ever made you feel like you had a space to have a perspective on our people dying on a daily basis?”
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Akademiks countered by saying he was trying to provide a different perspective. He claimed he was not glorifying the violence like others did, but Mensa didn’t agree and condemned Akademiks’ coverage.
“There was nothing constructive about it,” the Save Money MC continued. “And I’ma tell you the truth: I really think you a bitch. Because there’s a video that you put up that about a person named Tray 57, making all these jokes like, ‘Here’s another Chiraq savage. Like this guy’s stupid. He messed with the Grim Reaper.’ Like n-gga, this is not a video game.”
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He added: “That’s a n-gga I grew up with that I’ve known since I was five years old. And to see you come on the internet and with the corny ass little voice and make jokes about it, I was waiting to see you. And it’s a couple of people waiting to see you. I heard you say you didn’t wanna come to Chicago when I sat down ’cause you clearly know. You really couldn’t even stand outside.”
After some more back and forth over the years, Vic Mensa said during an interview with Sway In the Morning in May that he was willing to sit-down with Akademiks to iron out their issues.
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“Akademiks is one person that I have not spoken to,” he said. “But I’m at the space where I don’t got room in my spirit for no beef, no problems with nobody. I’m beyond that. So, I’ma sit down with Akademiks. I’ll go on his show and speak to him. Because me and Akademiks’ thing, it was really more ideological too.”
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