DJ Akademiks Only One Atlanta Rapper Beat New York Verzuz

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: DJ Akademiks attends Fetty Wap Official Welcome Home Party on January 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images)

DJ Akademiks used the 50 Cent and T.I. beef to make a larger point about Atlanta hip-hop versus New York rap.

Atlanta icon T.I. and his family have dropped more than a few diss tracks against his New York rival 50 Cent this week, and it seems like Fif will only troll in response without getting in the booth. Maybe that will change, though, and maybe they’ll actually face off in a Verzuz setting, which is the root of their beef. But DJ Akademiks thinks Tip shouldn’t bother.

During his livestream, he said 50 Cent would beat T.I. in a hit-for-hit battle, but that wasn’t the extent of his take. Akademiks also said that pretty much no one from Atlanta would be able to face off against NYC’s best… Except for one artist.

“He not only beating T.I., everybody [in Atlanta] catching it… Except Future,” Ak posited, as caught by joebuddenclips/fanpage on Twitter. He said Tip is the “King of the South,” but he doesn’t think his hit catalog compares to 50’s.

“Atlanta, when it comes to Verzuz, leave them New York n***as alone,” the commentator posited. “Y’all got mad regions y’all can compete with… Y’all ain’t got no females that compete with Nicki Minaj, she’s New York. And y’all don’t got nobody except Future Vandross and maybe Outkast that can compete with Jay-Z, Fif, and I might throw some other people in there… Chill out. Jeezys and the T.I.s, we love y’all n***as, but come on… Y’all catching belt. Y’all got to throw Future out there. Future gon’ give 20 stone cold bangers. Even then, I still think Future and 50 is 12-8.”

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Why Is T.I. Beefing With 50 Cent?

For those unaware, T.I.’s beef with 50 Cent stems from 50 allegedly backing out of a Verzuz battle they agreed to. There are some other narratives to take note of, too, such as Fif’s snitching allegations against Tip and some other social media trolling.

But now that T.I.’s family is dissing 50 Cent, it seems like this might devolve into a wider conversation. DJ Akademiks is thinking about the hit-for-hit face-off in a club setting with massive pop-crossover tracks, but there are many more ways to look at it.

Also, Future definitely deserves his props, and at least Outkast got a mention here. Atlanta versus New York is a tough call to make, especially with today’s rap context in mind.