Joe Budden backs The Kid Mero as Akademiks floats $5M for Hot 97 mornings
Budden voiced support on his podcast after Mero’s Oct. 14 criticism, while Akademiks made a conditional pitch to take over the slot.
The Kid Mero in an official HOT 97 talent-profile photo, not a still from the October 14 livestream. HOT 97 · No license claimed; owner-approved news use · Resized for display.
The October 14 Hot 97 livestream became a wider hip-hop media story when Joe Budden called The Kid Mero during The Joe Budden Podcast. Complex reported on October 18 that Budden backed Mero after he and co-host Kazeem “Kaz” Famuyide criticized station management, while warning that speaking publicly could put Mero’s job at risk.
Support, with a reality check
That call framed the moment as a question about career risk. DJ Akademiks turned it into a hypothetical succession pitch: Complex, citing Barrett Media, reported that he offered to take the morning slot if Hot 97 let Mero go, naming $5 million for his first year. No report says the station accepted or negotiated the proposal.
Complex notes that Akademiks and Mero have clashed publicly for years, giving the conditional bid a sharper edge than an ordinary job rumor. But the back-and-forth has not become an announced station move.
HOT 97’s talent page lists Mero as the weekday Mornings with Mero host. TMZ also reported on October 17 that neither Mero nor Kaz appeared to have left the company as of that Saturday. The coverage documents a public clash and two reactions; it does not establish a change to the morning lineup.
