Drake’s surprise three album rollout continues to dominate conversations across hip hop media, although most of the attention has centered around ICEMAN. Major platforms and personalities have already shared their opinions on the project, including Joe Budden on The Joe Budden Podcast and Charlamagne Tha God on The Breakfast Club. However, longtime Drake supporter DJ Akademiks recently questioned whether some of those reactions were completely genuine.

In clips shared by the DJ Akademiks TV Instagram page, Akademiks discussed how different media figures responded to ICEMAN, specifically focusing on Joe Budden and Charlamagne Tha God. While Ak acknowledged Budden’s surprisingly positive reaction, he suggested the former rapper and podcaster may have approached the review from a strategic business angle rather than pure honesty.

“I seen what Joe said, shoutout to Joe,” Akademiks explained. “But I’ma keep it a bean. I think Joe made a business decision. Joe’s a smart n*a. I don’t believe Joe’s review one bit. That was a business decision. And that was a great one. Fk all them fans... They wanted a sweaty episode... If Joe plays the cards right, he makes $2 million, $3 million. Not with hate, though... I had heard what they said pre album... That was a great business move.”

Drake's ICEMAN Reviews

Akademiks also spoke about Charlamagne Tha God’s early reaction to the album, claiming the media personality seemed unsure of where he truly stood on Drake’s latest release.

“I watched one clip of Charlamagne, like he didn’t really know where to land on this,” Ak said. “Shoutout to my boy Charla. He tried the, ‘Oh, we got to thank Kendrick Lamar for this.’ Old, nope, not working, get out of here. We’re not buying it no more... Two years later? No, no, no... He don’t really f**k with Drake... That take wasn’t going, chat... Charla’s take is not what’s really popping on socials right now... Nobody cares about what the critics said.”

Beyond Budden and Charlamagne, DJ Akademiks also criticized other media figures like DJ Hed and Elliott Wilson for what he viewed as overly negative takes on Drake’s latest music. One notable omission from his rant was Ebro Darden, despite the complicated history between the two sides.

Ebro has also been openly critical of ICEMAN and Drake’s other new albums, as highlighted in clips shared online by CY Chels on Twitter. The tension between Drake, Akademiks, and Ebro dates back years, especially after Ebro, Peter Rosenberg, and Laura Stylez departed Hot 97’s morning programming. At the time, Drake and Akademiks openly celebrated the situation online and through Instagram messages, which eventually sparked even more public back and forth.

With ICEMAN continuing to divide fans, critics, and media personalities alike, the conversations surrounding Drake’s latest era do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon.