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Shortly after Drake's track, Nokia secured the No. 3 position on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. DJ Akademiks shared his thoughts on Universal Music Group's role in promoting the song. In a video from Akademiks' recent livestream, posted by a Joe Budden fan page on X on April 11, 2025, the podcaster suggested:
"Apparently, it's gonna impact on radio this week because UMG is getting behind the record. The record is gonna get a significant push and yes it does take your major label to help push a record on radio platforms...their relationship with iHeart Media among others is gonna help make a record go from here to here."
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He claimed that UMG would promote Drizzy's record despite the rapper suing them. Akademiks then shifted the conversation to Drake's fans, suggesting that it remains to be seen whether the rapper's supporters will continue to back the track and remove Kendrick Lamar from the Hot 100 list.
The podcaster also mentioned that it would be a significant statement if Drizzy could "de-throw" Kendrick, showcasing the resilience of the rapper's career.
DJ Akademiks' livestream revolved around the Billboard Hot 100's latest report from April 12, 2025, which highlighted Drizzy's Nokia at No. 3. The track had been among the top 10 songs for a while, and its rise to the third position has sparked hopes of it reaching No. 1 on the list.
DJ Akademiks' previous comments concerning Drake's Nokia explored
During a live stream in February 2025, DJ Akademiks claimed that he had spoken to several industry insiders regarding Drake's track Nokia being in the Top 5 and potentially reaching the No. 1 spot organically, provided there was no suppression from the industry.
Akademiks noted that if Nokia fell out of the Top 10 and disappeared from Billboard's Hot 100, it would become evident that UMG was behind it. Explaining further, Akademiks stated:
"They're like 'Yo listen, it's going to get harder and harder for Drake to start appealing to these kids.' [...] So I think that 'Nokia' song, I think this is going to be a top 5 song. If this song don't go top 5, that's UMG. But I do predict that if this doesn't become either a No. 1 song or it's not top 5 [...] Not just disappear after this week. If that doesn't happen, we'll have some further conversations."
During another livestream in March 2025, DJ Akademiks drew parallels between Drake's Nokia video and Kendrick Lamar's projects, alleging that the former was taking shots at Lamar. At one point in the video, Drizzy is surrounded by dancers and performs a dance that Akademiks thought resembled the one Lamar does in Not Like Us.
Additionally, Akademiks discussed the presence of an owl in Drizzy's music video, comparing it to a snippet featuring a caged owl in Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us. The podcaster commented on Drake and Lamar's ongoing rivalry, comparing the rappers to "Siamese twins."
Documents from Drake's lawsuit against Universal Music Group, obtained by PEOPLE, reveal that settlement discussions regarding the case have not yet occurred. According to the filing, the lawsuit is set to be tried before a jury, with the trial projected to last three weeks in New York.
