DJ Akademiks has claimed that Playboi Carti allegedly told him that he made more money by not dropping his last studio album, MUSIC, on time. Carti delayed the release of the album multiple times, including on the day it dropped, as fans waited hours for it to go live.
Speaking on Adin Ross’s Kick stream this week, DJ Akademiks mentioned that Playboi Carti told him he benefitted more monetarily by not dropping MUSIC on time. He said:
“You know, when I was talking to Carti, he said the most interesting thing to me. I don’t even know if I should say it publicly, but I think his fans probably knew he was like, Yo actually, I made more money not dropping the album. And that was true, like yo. It is because so many people just wanted it like, you got to remember. It’s like, f*cking a b**ch for the first time, like you do anything to get it the most.”
Fans took to X to react to Akademiks’ alleged claims, with some joking that the rapper hates his fans. The user wrote:
“He hates his fans.”
Some other comments were as follows:
Fans continued to share mixed reactions to the comments:
Playboi Carti’s latest and third studio album, MUSIC, was released on March 14, 2025. It came five years after the rapper’s previous work, Whole Lotta Red in 2020. The release came after multiple delays, including Carti confirming the album would drop at a certain time, but it only came out hours later on the same day.
“Bags of money everywhere”: When DJ Swamp Izzo opened up about working with Playboi Carti in ‘MUSIC’
DJ Swamp Izzo spoke candidly about working with Playboi Carti in MUSIC in an interview with Complex (published on April 4, 2025). Released via AWGE and Interscope Records, the album featured juggernauts like Travis Scott, the Weeknd, Jhene Aiko, Kendrick Lamar, Young Thug, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Uzi Vert, Skepta, Future, Young Thug and was hosted by Izzo.
During the interview, DJ Swamp Izzo spoke about sharing the studio with Playboi Carti. He revealed that the entire studio would be rented for sessions and every room would have something different going on.
“Every studio session is not the same because he rents out the building. So it’s a bunch of rooms. So you might have one room where there’s just a bunch of clothes. He’s just vibing that day. So the vibe that day is he’s trying on clothes and he’s just styling. You might get in a studio setting and there just be like bags of money everywhere,” said Izzo.
He continued:
“Or one day he just had a bunch of jewelry on and I’m just looking at him, “Oh, that’s where we at today.” So you just hear different elements of a song we just record from that day. It’s never a plan.”
Izzo also narrated the story behind the song, Pop Out and the reason behind the line, “I’m in here with Swamp right now…on my mama.”
“So the first song, “POP OUT,” we did that during the prolong of the album coming out. The album was done, supposed to drop at midnight. He’s like, “Nah, Swamp, just go in the other room and give me some more energy.” I’m like, “For real? It’s done. We ready. We locked.” And he’s like, “We’re going to drop at 3 AM.” So if you listen to “Pop Out” you’ll hear “I’m in here with Swamp right now…on my mama,” Izzo recalled.
According to him, they were “cramming” inside the studio right up until the album was dropped at 7 a.m.
MUSIC topped several charts across the globe, including hitting the peak of the US Billboard 200. Following the release, Playboi Carti embarked on the Antagonist Tour in October 2025.
Edited by Pratyasha Sarkar
