Nav Speaks On Beef With Akademiks & Talks Racism He's Endured In The Industry

BY Erika Marie 14.6K Views
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Nav
Nav recently released "Good Intentions," and to help promote the album, he recently conducted an interview where he touched on the beef he had with Akademiks earlier this year.

At the top of 2020, a brief war of words sparked between Nav and DJ Akademiks. The Good Intentions rapper tweeted, "Akademiks hop on and off d*ck so much he prolly got STDs," which caused Akademiks to release a barrage of insults and tweets about his foe. It was over as quickly as it began, and in a recent interview with Complex, Nav explained what brought on the beef.

Nav admitted that a casual conversation he was having with his friends at home prompted him to send out the random tweet. "To be honest, I felt bad for him that I beat him that bad," he said. "He's probably really tight about it. What can I do? It is what it is. It's not like he's gonna stop anything I got going on." 

He was asked if he believes he endures racism in the music industry, and the interviewer brought up the example of Nav previously accusing Akademiks of intentionally misspelling his name. "For sure," said Nav of dealing with racism. "It's just like, [people] saying my music is for people who work in 7-11s or some sh*t like that. It's crazy... It's offensive."

Elsewhere, Nav also touched on not taking insults to heart. "What people think about don't get me paid. You don't care, I don't care," he said. "But there's an element... I feel like there's a race wall. Like, I'm hitting a wall with the race thing. Maybe 'cause I'm Indian or something, I don't know. It's cool because I feel like when I first came out, my first fans, my small following was ready for something like me and they weren't used to it. Now that I'm on this global scale, new people see it and they're like, they don't understand me." Watch Nav's interview below.


About The Author
Since 2019, Erika Marie has worked as a journalist for HotNewHipHop, covering music, film, television, art, fashion, politics, and all things regarding entertainment. With 20 years in the industry under her belt, Erika Marie moved from a writer on the graveyard shift at HNHH to becoming a Features Editor, highlighting long-form content and interviews with some of Hip Hop’s biggest stars. She has had the pleasure of sitting down with artists and personalities like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt ’N Pepa, Nick Cannon, Rah Digga, Rakim, Rapsody, Ari Lennox, Jacquees, Roxanne Shante, Yo-Yo, Sean Paul, Raven Symoné, Queen Naija, Ryan Destiny, DreamDoll, DaniLeigh, Sean Kingston, Reginae Carter, Jason Lee, Kamaiyah, Rome Flynn, Zonnique, Fantasia, and Just Blaze—just to name a few. In addition to one-on-one chats with influential public figures, Erika Marie also covers content connected to the culture. She’s attended and covered the BET Awards as well as private listening parties, the Rolling Loud festival, and other events that emphasize established and rising talents. Detroit-born and Long Beach (CA)-raised, Erika Marie has eclectic music taste that often helps direct the interests she focuses on here at HNHH. She finds it necessary to report on cultural conversations with respect and honor those on the mic and the hardworking teams that help get them there. Moreover, as an advocate for women, Erika Marie pays particular attention to the impact of femcees. She sits down with rising rappers for HNHH—like Big Jade, Kali, Rubi Rose, Armani Caesar, Amy Luciani, and Omerettà—to gain their perspectives on a fast-paced industry.

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