Marc Lamont Hill has a simple response to Akademiks’ criticism over his lack of interest in the alleged Drake and Roc Nation drama: he doesn’t care.
Hill addressed Akademiks during Episode 956 of The Joe Budden Podcast, titled “WAR OF THE JOURNALISTS,” after the streamer criticized Hill, Loren LoRosa, and Rob Markman for their coverage, or rather lack thereof, of a theory involving Drake, Roc Nation, and lawsuits connected to the gambling platform Stake.
The back-and-forth began after Akademiks accused several media personalities of failing to investigate alleged financial connections between Insight Partners, Fanatics, and Poleg LLC. Akademiks has suggested those connections point to a coordinated effort involving lawsuits against Drake and Stake.
Akademiks also aimed directly at Hill’s credentials in a social media post.
“Mark Lamar Hill, smart guy, had zero insights on any valuable stories in hip-hop, no sources, no research, no new information,” the post read. “His job is to just be the smartest [person] in Joe Budden’s Circle. Where is the journalism?”
Hill didn’t exactly disagree.
“I would say Akademiks, you are correct,” Hill said. “I don’t claim to be a hip-hop journalist. I haven’t done hip-hop journalism in probably 20 years. And when I did, I was a music critic.”
Hill also questioned whether the story Akademiks wants investigated should even be categorized as hip-hop journalism.
“I also don’t think that this story is exactly hip-hop journalism,” he said. “It seems like gambling journalism… It’s big business. It’s investigating big business. It’s not about hip-hop.”
As for speculation that Hill might be reluctant to dig into the allegations because of a connection to Roc Nation, he denied having any relationship with the company influencing his opinion.
“I just don’t care,” Hill said. “Not because I’m a Roc Nation employee. Roc Nation’s never given me a dollar. I never been to a brunch. Like none of that. I just don’t care that much.”
Hill explained that his journalistic priorities lie elsewhere, pointing to his ongoing coverage of the Nolan Wells case and water crises in places such as Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi.
“I know what I’m going to do when we talk about people dying or not having water,” he said. “I know what we did there. We got people watered.”
He contrasted those issues with the prospect of investigating a battle involving wealthy figures.
“What do I do after I do all this work… to find out [that] Drake, who has a ton of money, is being [messed with] by somebody who has just as much or more money,” Hill said. “Like I just don’t care that much.”
Hill also rejected any suggestion that fear of Drake or other powerful figures was keeping him away from the story.
“I am not a [expletive] afraid of Drake,” he said. “I criticized the State of Israel in front of the United Nations. I made a book with Mumia Abu Jamal. I am not afraid.”
Hill has been a co-host of The Joe Budden Podcast since 2024.
