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DJ Akademiks appeared to mock Kendrick Lamar for not replying to disses from East Coast rapper Joey Bada$$, who has been feuding with West Coast rappers since January 2025. Joey has called out artists like Ray Vaughn and Daylyt, and also taken shots at Lamar, who is busy with his record-breaking "Grand National Tour" with SZA.
On May 23, 2025, DJ Akademiks took to his X page to post a screenshot of one of his previous tweets, where he criticized Lamar for allegedly using his tour as an excuse to avoid responding to Joey. The media personality claimed that Joey Badass was winning the diss battle so far, writing,
"JOEY UP 400-0 WHERE IS THE “WEST COAST SAVIOR”."
WHERE IS THE “WEST COAST SAVIOR” 😂😂😂
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In his previous tweet posted that same day, Akademiks had also compared the current situation to Drake trading diss tracks with Joe Budden in 2016, despite being on his "Summer Sixteen Tour" with Future.
"I wanna remind yall b***h a** n***ass … Drake the biggest artist on the planet was on a Summer 16 tour w future in 2016 and still sent shots and addressed Joe Budden who was barking up that tree.. the idea that that a top rapper who on tour don’t got a studio is modern day (cap emoji)," Akademiks had posted.
Joey Badass referenced Kendrick Lamar's Control verse in a diss
Joey Badass, a New York-based rapper, had previously called out all West Coast emcees in his song The Ruler's Back, released in January 2025. While he did not mention Kendrick Lamar by name, he accused the rap game of "West Coast d**k lickin’", rapping,
"Too much West Coast d**k lickin’ / I’m hearing n***as throwin’ rocks, really ain’t s**t stickin’ / ‘Cause if we’re talking bar for bar, really it’s slim pickings / I rap like I draw pentagrams and kill chickens, n***a / F**k around with your soul like Ether, quick for a feature / This that black Air Force energy comin’ out your speaker.”
West Coast rappers like Ray Vaughn and Daylyt responded to The Ruler's Back with their own diss tracks targeting Joey Badass, prompting an all-out rap beef between Joey and various West Coast rappers.
Joey Badass' first mention of Kendrick Lamar amid the rap beef came in his freestyle verse for Red Bull Spiral Freestyle on May 13, where he traded verses with Ab-Soul and Big Sean. Joey's verse included a reference to Kendrick Lamar's verse in Control, a 2013 Big Sean song featuring Lamar and Jay Electronica.
In Control, Kendrick Lamar had declared war on his fellow rappers, including J.Cole, Drake, and A$AP Rocky, with the line, "I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you n***as." On the Red Bull Spiral Freestyle, Joey referenced the verse, saying,
“First off, I could never hate the West Coast / But since n***as comin’ for Joe, f**k it then, let’s go / N***as must’ve forgot what Dot said on ‘Control’ / There’s still a buncha sensitive rappers in they pyjama clothes. I guess, this ain’t no East versus West / I just think that I’m the best, as a matter fact, I know."
Joey Badass invited Kendrick Lamar for a rap competition
The Red Bull Spiral Freestyle reignited the rap battle between Joey Badass and many West Coast rappers, with Ray Vaughn responding with the track H*e Era. On May 15, Joey fired back with The Finals, accusing Vaugh of "d**k lickin'" Kendrick Lamar for clout. He also invited Lamar for a rap battle, rapping,
“I salute you Kenny but I know you well aware / You lookin’ for some competition? Then just know that I’ll be right here.”
The Finals generated more diss tracks from various West Coast rappers, leading to Joey Badass responding with My Town on May 19. In the track, he called himself "the real boogeyman," a reference to many in the rap industry dubbing Lamar "the boogeyman" due to his strategic moves in his rap beef with Drake.
Joey Badass also seemingly referenced the Compton rapper's Pulitzer Prize, which he won in 2018 for his album DAMN.
“Don’t make me pulitzer, better be wise because … I’m dottin T’s and cross your eyes like Whitaker,” he rapped.
Ray Vaughn fired back with Golden Eye as a response to Joey Badass' My Town. The following day, Joey released Crash Dummy as a rebuttal, where he insinuated that Kendrick Lamar was scared to go head to head with him in a rap battle with the line, "Thank you for making it clear that Dot scared, but yeah."
While Kendrick Lamar has not responded to any of Joey Badass' disses as of this article, netizens anticipate a rebuttal after fellow West Coast rapper Glasses Malone's comment to an X post that asked him whether he thought Lamar should respond to Joey Badass. Malone had replied,
“Joey know sure as s**t bars are coming his way. When is the question.”
In other news, Kendrick Lamar and SZA have been breaking records on their ongoing "Grand National Tour" after their Seattle show on May 17 grossed $14.8 million. As per Touring Data, this feat made Lamar the "first rapper in history to gross over $14 million from a single concert."
The duo is expected to perform at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on May 24.
