DJ Akademiks says Kanye West feels "really hurt from how this industry has used him" after phone call with the rapper before their interview

DJ Akademiks recently revealed that he was flying to Los Angeles to interview Kanye West, professionally known as Ye, amid the rapper's recent tirade on X. Ye has been active on X over the past two days, criticizing several celebrities including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, and even his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, and her family.

During his Rumble livestream on March 19, Akademiks revealed that he had recently spoken to West over the phone before their interview, claiming that the rapper was "very cool" while on the call.

He also credited Kanye West's recent behavior on social media as a tactic to protect himself from being used as a pawn in the music industry. Akademiks recounted an incident of West telling him about his beef with Jim Jones, where he alleged that some "crypto people" paid Jones $2 million to set up a meeting with Ye, who was unaware of the transaction at the time.

Akademiks also claimed that Kanye West's antisemitism may be a cover to protect himself, saying:

"He [Kanye West] felt really hurt from how he felt this industry has used him. Like, we ain't even need to fully talk about certain sh*t, but like, apparently some of the Swatika sh*t is not like he even jacking it."

He continued:

"He's like, 'Yo I never want nobody to ever use me again in my life. So the only way I could make sure y'all could never use me and exploit me, I have to be so radioactive that I am of no use to y'all cos I know my value already'."

For the unversed, Kanye West's recent X activity has both confused and concerned fans after the rapper posted several antisemitic tweets twice in the past two months. During his nearly three-day posting on X in February 2025, the rapper called himself a N*zi, praised Hitler, and sold t-shirts with the Swastika on Yeezy.

During his recent posts, he claimed that "Jewish business" was keeping him from working with rapper Playboi Carti after alleging that the latter cut Ye out of his latest album, Music.

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Akademiks claimed Kanye West felt he was "doing a disservice" if he did not speak out

During his recent Rumble livestream, DJ Akademiks claimed that Kanye West told him he was betrayed by a lot of people, which has, in turn, made him want to speak out for others who can't. On March 19, the rapper listed the names of several people who allegedly betrayed him, which included Pusha T, Tyler, the Creator, Jay-Z, the Kardashians, and even his kids.

"He [West] has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. He feels like a lot of people betrayed him, he feels that people pick and choose. He feels like, 'S**t's not fair.' And he's like, he feels like he would be doing a disservice if he didn't speak out."

As an example, Akademiks pointed out Kanye West's support for Sean 'Diddy" Combs following the latter's arrest on s*x trafficking and prostitution charges in September 2024. For context, West called for Diddy's freedom in a series of X posts in February 2025.

Akademiks also claimed Kanye West told him that people often made false accusations against Black men in power, seemingly referencing his ex-assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, suing him for s*xual harassment in June 2024.

"For example, with him, he's like, 'Yo, they'll hear about this rapper, this rapper putting their hands on their girl, but no one's advocating for them to be thrown in jail.' Listen, we don't know nothing about the other s**t with Diddy, but as soon as we saw a video of Diddy putting his hands on Cassie, everyone said he should go to jail," Akademiks said.

He continued:

"And he [West] was just like, 'Why are things like that?' he's like, 'Yo people make random accusations when people are Black men in power.' He's like, 'They've made them of me'."

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As of this article, Kanye West's latest post on X was 12 hours ago. The rapper's X account has been restricted for "potentially sensitive content" since his frequent posting in February 2025.