Checking In With Joey Bad@$$

Summary

New Rory & Mal — “Checking In With Joey Bad@$$”
Episode Date: September 5, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging, insightful, and often hilarious interview, Joey Bad@$$ sits down with Rory and Mal to reflect on his recent whirlwind year, personal growth, and the creative and competitive spirit at the heart of hip hop. The trio dives deeply into the New York rap scene, the complexities and legacy of recent beef and rap battles, Joey’s new project “Lonely at the Top,” his transition into acting, and the importance of uplifting other lyricists. Joey brings both unfiltered honesty and infectious gratitude, offering a behind-the-scenes look at his journey as an artist and a person.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Tone: Joey as Multi-Hyphenate (02:42–03:39)

• Introduction: Joey is warmly introduced as a “singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, stand-up guy,” which Joey himself notes appreciatively as “the first time anybody ever led with singer.”

  “This is the first time anybody ever led with singer. I like that.” – Joey Badass [03:30]

• Acknowledgment of Joey’s Role in NY Hip Hop: The hosts recognize Joey as someone who helped put “New York on his fucking back,” referencing not just his rap legacy but the breadth of his influence.

  “This is what standing 10 toes look like.” – Co-host [03:28]

2. State of New York Hip Hop: Past, Present, and Change (04:54–09:44)

• Pride & Passion: Joey reflects on NY’s pride, the ever-present scrutiny, and evolving soundscapes, referencing the rise of “sexy drill” and artists like Cash Cobain, Chef G, and A Boogie.

  “We the mecca of hip hop for sure, you know, so we always gonna have that thing. It’s a high expectation… but I think that’s a good thing.” – Joey Badass [05:24]

• Radio vs. Reality: He highlights how mainstream radio shapes perception, but in truth, “everything is going on at once,” with multiple diverse sounds coexisting.

• What’s Missing?: Joey argues against the idea that something’s missing in NY, asking instead for “more embracing of all aspects of the city…” and greater regional support.

  “Maybe it’ll be just more of an embracing of all aspects of the city…” – Joey Badass [09:09]

3. From Blog Era to Streaming Era: Adapting to Industry Shifts (09:44–13:16)

• Navigating Industry Change: Joey candidly speaks on how streaming upended the game, admitting he was “closed to it” at first and missed some opportunities.

  “When Spotify first came around, I didn’t really fucking understand how was that presented, what it was.” – Joey Badass [11:16]

• Rolling with the Punches: Ultimately, Joey says he has adapted, now understanding both the shifting business models and the importance of discovery for new fans.

4. Creative Inspiration & Competition (13:16–14:17)

• Favorite Reaction: Joey’s motivation comes in part from surprising listeners and being recognized for his range.

  “One of my favorite things when it comes to music is, is to play a song for somebody and somebody be like, yo, that’s you.” – Joey Badass [13:16]

• Healthy Competition: The recent spate of rap battles rekindled his love for creative competition, reminiscent of his early days in a collective.

  “This year definitely brought that feeling back for me. It’s like, you know, I’m really inspired when I’m feeling the heat of like somebody else’s pen.” – Joey Badass [13:58]

5. The Beef & The Battles: Ruler’s Back, Sorry Not Sorry, My Town (14:17–24:58)

a. The Spark: “Ruler’s Back” and West Coast Reaction [14:17–19:09]

• Joey was surprised the Jay-Z reference in “Ruler’s Back” caused uproar—he and even his confidantes didn’t anticipate the internet’s volatility.

  “I don’t think it’s gonna really… I don’t think it’s gonna be that big of a deal. It’s the whole line.” – Joey Badass [15:38]

b. Online Narratives & Stand Culture [16:33–17:20]

• Once the narrative took off online, Joey “rolled with the punches” and purposely didn’t walk anything back on social media, unlike some of his peers.

c. Competition & Artistic Integrity [18:45–19:32]

• Joey reinforces his preference for “commentary” over disrespect, rooting his criticism in hip hop’s competitive culture rather than malice.

d. Battle with Daylyt & Behind the Scenes [20:33–24:58]

• Reveals the strategic timing and pre-planning behind some releases, specifically referencing Daylyt’s preparation and response.

  “When he did the backpack thing. Cause I’m like, you shouldn’t have to do that.” – Joey Badass [24:22]

• Joey credits the uniqueness of the “on-beat” battle format as tilting some advantage toward him, away from Daylyt’s usual stage dominance.

e. Loaded Lux & Battle Rap History [25:30–26:04]

• Tells a backstory about his relationship with Loaded Lux and their collaboration, which was planned as an exclamation point on the beef.

  “I called Lux, I said, yo, yeah, it’s time. It’s time.” [27:45]

• Where does “My Town” rank among diss tracks?

  “To me, I think… I think that my town record might be up there in one of the greatest battle records, in my opinion.” – Rory Farrell [28:14]

6. The Aftermath — “Lonely at the Top” and Artistic Evolution (39:05–45:50)

• Project Origins: In the heat of the battles, Joey finds renewed energy for releasing non-conceptual music, using the moment to “feed this new listener.”

  “I got inspired to make this other project… that gave me the outlet to kind of like put out a bunch of other music that I wanted to put out before putting out this conceptual album…” – Joey Badass [39:52]

• Artistic Freedom: It’s the “quickest project” Joey ever made, breaking personal fears about releasing music that isn’t deeply conceptual, allowing for more spontaneity and authenticity.

• Looking Ahead: Joey wants his 30s to be about quantity and consistent output, making up for a relatively slow release pace in his 20s.

  “I wanna put out way more music than I did in my 20s… I only gave three projects in my 20s. I wanna give at least five this go around…” – Joey Badass [44:42]

7. Family, Personal Growth, and Roots (45:50–48:43)

• On Being a Young Star: Joey credits staying grounded to his family, a deep connection to New York, and never moving away—facing down the pitfalls of early fame.

  “My whole adult life I’ve been in some type of public eye. That’s not normal at all.” – Joey Badass [48:05]

• Continual Growth: Constant self-reflection and a drive for personal accountability keep him balanced.

8. Lifting Up Other Lyricists: Collaborations & Community (49:08–54:23)

• The inclusion of Rome Streets and Kakash on Joey’s album is highly intentional—a move to foster unity among New York’s lyricists and “lead by example.”

  “I really wanted to… lead by example… to put somebody who’s on the come up on your shit, I think that’s like the ultimate, like, olive branch…” – Joey Badass [49:32]

• Joey calls for more support and less gatekeeping among lyricists, especially within New York.

9. Influences: Bow Wow, Doom, and the Evolution of Taste (58:00–62:53)

• Bow Wow’s Inspiration: A humorous and unexpected reveal that Bow Wow inspired Joey—not in sound, but by showing him “a black kid having success.”

  “He made me feel like I was closer to the dream because I looked at him like me…” – Joey Badass [58:44]

• Doom & Nas: Capital Steez was responsible for introducing him to MF Doom and deeper layers of classic hip hop, changing his trajectory as an artist.

10. Touring & Family Life (63:13–65:33)

• Joey admits touring “feels different” post-pandemic and with a young family, missing the camaraderie of youth and being more mindful about health and energy on the road.

11. Acting Career: “Raising Kanan” & Wu-Tang (67:17–77:09)

• Impact of Acting: His turn as “Unique” on Raising Kanan made him more visible and beloved in the Black community; he notes a tangible shift in who recognizes him now.

  “Black people gravitate to me now, like, in a real way…” – Joey Badass [67:32]

• The ‘Death’ and Return of Unique: Joey shares inside details about the fake-out death of Unique, explaining it stemmed from a scheduling conflict rather than creative necessity, and how his “gut” and mom’s advice helped him decide to return.

  “One in the hand is better than two in the bush.” – Joey’s mom [73:03 paraphrased]

• On Wu-Tang: An American Saga: Joey shares why he didn’t return as Inspector Deck: his acting deal with “Kanan” was exclusive, and also admits his heart “wasn’t all the way in.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On embracing NY’s diversity:
  “When you really look at New York City as a whole, everything is going on at once… If there was something I’d like to see, like, as a change, maybe it’ll be just more embracing of all aspects of the city.” – Joey Badass [09:09]

• On missing the streaming wave:
  “I had a chance to really capitalize and I missed that opportunity. You know what I’m saying? So after that, it just became about, like, rolling with the punches.” – Joey Badass [12:28]

• On beef energy:
  “For me, what was important… in the beginning… I’m not gonna do is get on Twitter and be walking it back or some shit like that. Like, yo, I ain’t mean it like that. I felt secure in what I meant.” – Joey Badass [18:08]

• On artistry in the 30s:
  “These next 10 years, I wanna put out the most music I’ve ever put out. You know what I’m saying? …I only gave three projects in my 20s. I wanna give at least five this go around…” – Joey Badass [44:42]

• On letting others shine:
  “I don’t gotta be afraid to give Rome or Kai some light, you know what I’m saying? Afraid of what?... They should, you know what I’m saying, have some of my fans…” – Joey Badass [50:40]

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Important Timestamps

• Introduction/Joey enters: 02:42–03:39
• Discussion on NY hip hop: 05:24–09:44
• The streaming era shift: 10:01–13:16
• The Ruler’s Back beef, West Coast reaction: 14:17–19:32
• Battle with Daylyt/Loaded Lux joins: 20:33–27:45
• Reflection on “My Town”: 28:14
• Lonely at the Top & modern artist output: 39:05–45:50
• On Bow Wow & early influences: 58:00–59:51
• Doom/Nas/Mobb Deep for 1999 era: 61:09–62:53
• Touring & family: 63:13–65:33
• Acting, Kanan, & Wu-Tang series: 67:17–77:09

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Podcast Tone and Vibe

• Conversational, irreverent, and deeply rooted in hip hop culture
• Mixes humor, storytelling, and candid reflections
• Celebratory of competition but advocating for unity and community lift-up
• Retains the authentic voices and banter of Rory, Mal, and Joey

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For First-Time Listeners

If you missed the episode, you’ll get a nuanced portrait of Joey Bad@$$ at a critical juncture—open, self-aware, competitive but collaborative, and passionate about both his musical roots and new directions. Expect not just tales of rap and battles but a living snapshot of an artist negotiating legacy, evolution, and the future of New York hip hop culture.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[Joey Badass]

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[Rory Farrell]

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[Rory Farrell]

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[Joey Badass]

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[Rory Farrell]

Apply the volume.

[Joey Badass]

No worrying.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

All right, Rory, we are back. Today we are joined by somebody who we've had some conversations about throughout the year.

[Rory Farrell]

Throughout the years.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

One of. Yeah, one of the biggest troublemakers in hip hop.

[Joey Badass]

That's what it is.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, no, no, this is.

[Rory Farrell]

He's pretending to sit this way so he doesn't look like.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, he doesn't want to look like a trou. But no, this is a very talented guy that we've been wanting to have a conversation with. So he stopped by today to give us some of his time, and we are thankful for that. We are joined by singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, stand up guy, one of the younger guys that I really like in the industry and I fuck with. So I'm happy he's here today. Joey Badass.

[Rory Farrell]

Put New York on his fucking back, huh?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

This is what standing 10 toes look like.

[Joey Badass]

This is the first time anybody ever led with singer. I like that.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

American Badass. You were singing a lot on that.

[Joey Badass]

I was singing on this, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, I saw three feet that you're.

[Joey Badass]

Saying, no, you singing.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You ain't singing, but you singing. You know what I'm saying? Singing.

[Rory Farrell]

One day we'll get to the singing.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah. How you feeling, man?

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, that would be good. I feel good, man. Feel great. Yes, sir.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

How's life, man? Are you busy?

[Joey Badass]

Life is beautiful, man. Like, it's like, you know, not to sound all cliche and. But I feel good. I really feel good about things. You know, grateful to get the project out and, you know what I'm saying? Get that off and just, you know, keep it pushing, like, you know, I feel like this year has been great for me, so.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, man, this year has been very busy for you.

[Joey Badass]

Busy for you.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You've been the topic of discussion, it seemed like since the year started, for sure, you've had a lot of. We've spoken about you a lot.

[Rory Farrell]

I feel like we got entered into the beef. Cause we was riding.

[Joey Badass]

Hey, y'. All. Into the chat.

[Rory Farrell]

Oh, listen, I know I don't expect anyone to watch our pod, but the way we rode for during this entire beef, we. We allegedly, by proxy, got into some fake beef because of this, did we? There was people saying they knew our location. They could have read, like, I'm like, Damn, I fuck with Joey like that, but I don't. Like. I ain't about to die for Joey.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You ain't gonna die for Joey.

[Rory Farrell]

I'll die for New York, but I don't know if I'm dying for Joey.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But, but you've had, you've had, you've had. You voiced obviously your opinion on a lot of the things. Being one of the guys that is from Brooklyn, from the city, for real. You've seen the change in the sound and the landscape of rap hip hop. How do you feel about the current, though, the current state of New York, Particular New York rap hip hop culture? Like, when you sit back and just look at it, how do you feel? Cause it's changed a lot since you were like, young and really outside in the streets like that.

[Joey Badass]

I mean, I think New York is an interesting place, you know what I'm saying? We the mecca of hip hop for sure, you know, so we always gonna have that thing. It's. It's a high expectation, you know, coming from this city. And I think that's a good thing, you know, I think that's a good thing more than it is like a, you know, a negative thing. But, you know, as far as the current. The current state of what's going on right now, I think there's interesting things happening, you know what I'm saying? I think you got like, you know, you look at the slizzies, got Cash Cobain in them, you know, holding it down for like what they kind of coined as they own thing with sexy drill. And then, you know what I'm saying, you got like chef and sleepy and shit like that.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Still got a boogie.

[Joey Badass]

A boogie? Yeah, you know what I'm saying? Shout out to. Shout out to boogie. That's my man. Yeah, you know, so you got me doing what I do. So, I mean, I think New York is an interesting place right now. And, you know, I think that the culture does this interesting thing where the hot zones change every couple years as far as, like, what region is like the. The one that's like on fire or like dominating or, you know what I'm saying? However you want to put it right now. So I think it's going to continue to get interesting for New York.

[Rory Farrell]

And yeah, I mean, how tired are we of even that combo? And we've been one of the participants in that shit post, Post Dipset. I feel like we've been having that combo with literally everybody.

[Joey Badass]

But I dread it, honestly.

[Rory Farrell]

I do too. But I think that's just how Close. We hold our city's music and legacy to our hearts. That even though I'm sick of this conversation, it's always something I want to bring up.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

About everybody.

[Joey Badass]

It's like the New York Knicks, man, is like, you know, so many years of heartbreak, but every time we get this, like, yeah, like, you know what I'm saying? We amped about it. We passionate about it. So, yeah, you know, we are very passionate. City.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Is there anything you would. You would wanna see change, though, about the current energy in, like, New York, the New York rap scene? Is there anything you would wanna see change, though? Nah, like, we need to get rid of that. Like, we shouldn't be.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, nah, nah, nah. You said you called me a troublemaker. You trying to make more troublemaker?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, because you really, you. Because now you're still very young, but you're considered one of the eldest statesmen, though, from the city. And a lot of people, a lot of the guys that are outside now making noise and doing their thing, they saw and watched you. Like, you inspired a lot. You have a different scope on it. You've pivoted. You're now in film and things like that, but you still are tapped in and you know what's going on, right? So I'm sure you sit back and be like, I don't know if the city need to be doing this. I don't know.

[Joey Badass]

Well, the thing is, the thing is, right, like, I don't think there's nothing missing from the city. Because if you really, like, really look at it, you know, you got artists like Mike holding it down in his own arena, one of the best rap albums of the year in his own pocket, you know what I'm saying? So I think it's just more about. Because, you know, when it comes to, like, radio still plays a big part in this city specifically, I feel like. And, you know, so when it comes to those type of aspects, you may feel like, oh, you know, New York got a certain type of sound, if it's being led and, like, kind of dictated by, like, that. That stuff, like the programming directors and shit like that. But when you really look at New York City as a whole, everything is going on at once, you know what I'm saying? It's just not everybod kind of in their own lane. So if there was something that I'd like to see, like, as a change, maybe it'll be just more of an embracing of all aspects of the city.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? From, like, more regional support of the city, if that makes sense. You know what I mean? I know there's a lot going on in the radio right now, like enough being let go, flex, whatever drama shit. But you know, even with them, like, them recognizing and, you know, maybe trying to push the New York culture forward by paying more attention to like, you know, what's just going on largely and not just on the level of hype or Internet or cloud or whatever, you know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

So, I mean, outside of even just New York politics in general, I mean, you came out 2012 was 1999, which was coming towards the end of the blog era, sort of. How have things changed from the blog era to now?

[Joey Badass]

Streaming, bro. Streaming, I think is the. The biggest change from the blog ever to now. You know what I'm saying? Like when I came out was, was, was like on that Piff live mixtapes.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And that made me sound like, oh.

[Rory Farrell]

You were 15 on World Star.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah. Like two dope boys and shit like that. You know what I mean? Like, looking at the blog like, that's why it was the blog era, because you went to the sites to see what was new, what was developing. Now it's like, I don't even know, like, shit just become the trend now and then, you know, that's how people kind of find out about it. But like, back then, I think it was more of a discovery friendly environment, if it makes sense in the landscape of the game.

[Rory Farrell]

How did you navigate that though? Because coming off the blog era, where you were young and kind of a trailblazer in that regard and understood that world and things shifting, whether it be with Shipes, you were independent as well. How did you manage to go with that shift from blog era to streaming or blog era to we're doing iTunes 999 and now all of a sudden it's 999 for the months and now streaming's here. How'd you navigate that?

[Joey Badass]

No, you know what's funny is, you know, I just really roll with the punches. But the funny thing about it is I had the opportunity to really get in front of it, But I think my mindset was just a little bit closed to it. Cause I'm just like, what the fuck is this? I don't know how I'm understanding. When Spotify first came around, I didn't really fucking understand how was that presented, what it was. I mean, it was presented like, yo, this is the future. Boom, boom, boom. But I couldn't really understand how it was the future because I'M like, okay. But people could just download the music on itunes or some shit like that. I'm like, what's the. What's really the difference? Like, I'm like, okay. People listen to music on YouTube. Boom, boom, boom. And then, you know, I was selling tickets. You know what I'm saying? So it was like, I didn't really feel the need to be, like, kind of take heed to what was going on there. But I remember when there was, like, there was like, a Spotify story back in, I want to say, like, 2015, 2014, and it was on, I think. Was it like Fox News? It was one of these news stations, and they had used my first album as, like, one of the first examples of where streaming was going.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Like, they was using, like, my.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

My.

[Joey Badass]

My metrics, my data and shit. Like, that was like, they was using me. They was using, like, Drake. They was using, like, few other people. And I was like. I remember seeing that and being like. But I don't get it, though. Like, you know what I mean? I just. I just don't think that, like, I really tapped in and, like, I had a chance to really capitalize and I missed that opportunity. You know what I'm saying? So after that, it just became about, like, rolling with the punches. Like, oh, okay. Like, now playing cat about, like, 2016, I'm like, okay, I get it.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

What are some of the things that. Cause obviously you got. You know, life has handed you a lot of different opportunities now. What keeps you inspired, though, like, creatively, like, what keeps you wanting to try different things and continue to elevate your art?

[Joey Badass]

My favorite thing, you know, I've been saying it recently. One of my favorite things when it comes to music is, is to play a song for somebody and somebody be like, yo, that's you. That's one of my favorite reactions. Because it's like, oh, yeah. Like, you didn't know I could do that. Like, you don't know that I have that range. You didn't think I was, like, capable or some shit like that? Or you just wasn't exposed to that, you know, to my ability to do that. You know what I'm saying? So that. And I also say competition, you know what I mean? And that's what this year really put into perspective for me. Because you gotta remember, like, when I came out, I was in a huge collective.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And we was always constantly challenging each other, you know what I'm saying? Like, everybody always wanted to come the Next day with the best verse and shit like that. So this year definitely brought that feeling back for me. It's like, you know, I'm really inspired when I'm feeling the heat of like somebody else's pen. Okay. Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

I mean, I know you to be strategic even with how long you were independent from an early, early age. So I know you're very strategic. Did you think what happened after the rulers back when you dropped it? Because I was with January 1, January 1. Did you think things were going to go the way they were going to go after you? Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Absolutely not.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. You didn't think one Jay Z reference was gonna make the whole west coast sense.

[Joey Badass]

I swear I did. You know what I mean?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

And I'm not letting Joe get that. What the fuck you was doing?

[Joey Badass]

Nah, bro, I promise you I didn't. You know what I'm saying? Like, so I made rulers back, right? I probably made rulers back. I wanna say like two days before I put it out.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

I made it. We shot the video and then we just, we just put it out and you know, shout out to my man Sam. Cause he was the only person that was like, yo, I don't know that line. And I was like.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So he felt it, he felt it, he felt it.

[Joey Badass]

He was like, yo, I'm telling you, like, like, like that line is gonna probably cause some reaction.

[Rory Farrell]

Listen, I was even wrong. We, we came in the day that that came out. Well, not the day, but a few days after we recorded. I said, man, it's just, just the whole reference. Like, I honest, this is not going to turn out to be anything. Yeah, boy, was I wrong. I really did not think that was going to make everybody as sensitive as it did.

[Joey Badass]

Same bro, same. Like, you know, I mean, I can't say that my man ain't like put the bug in my ear that he felt that it could. Yeah, but my, my like sentiment on it was like, nah. Like, I don't think it's gonna really like, you know what I'm saying? I don't think it's gonna be that big of a deal. It's the whole line.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

It ain't like I said, yo, he.

[Joey Badass]

Fucked the west coast, you know, I'm like, yo, I'm clearly recycling a whole line with remarkable timing. That part I understood. But I'm so.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You knew you understood the timing.

[Rory Farrell]

But that was why the reference was so good. Cause of what was happening at the time.

[Joey Badass]

Like, I thought it was an old.

[Rory Farrell]

To a time where that was happening.

[Joey Badass]

As well, especially with me. Understanding my relationships with the West Coast. West coast tour with them.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, everybody knows you're not alone.

[Joey Badass]

When this happened, one of the first people who called me was AB.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? We spoke about it. You know what I'm saying? We spoke about it for, like, 10, 15 minutes.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

And, like, we laughing about super.

[Rory Farrell]

He's super cool.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Super. Like, he gets it.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? So. But to me, like, that's how I'm thinking about it. I'm like, yeah. Like, I'm like, yo, you thought I like. I'm like, yo, for real. Like, you took that by. You took any disrespect from that? He's like, nah. Like, niggas is rapping his favorite thing to say. You in the gym. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? So I was like, oh, I bet. But then shit started jumping online. And, you know, the Internet nowadays fuels shit.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Oh, absolutely.

[Joey Badass]

Like the stand culture and all of that shit. So, you know, this narrative start developing. And when the narrative started developing, I was like, okay, somebody's gonna take this bait. Of course somebody's gonna take this bait. And then it just, you know, 1, 3.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You seem to be very prepared. I will say that I wasn't.

[Joey Badass]

I honestly wasn't prepared. I wasn't, you know, I rolled with the punch.

[Rory Farrell]

Let me ask this quick before we get to the rest of the battle with. If the Internet did not have the narrative that started after Ruler's Back, would sorry, not sorry have came out the way it did? Even down to what I would say isn't a shot, but it's a little jab at Cole. Like, there were shots where I felt like, you saw the energy of, hey, people took this as a diss. So if you did, all right, who wanna rap?

[Joey Badass]

Sorry. Not sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I say there's a line in there, too. I'm like, you know, Bunch of niggas with attitudes. Like, you know what I'm saying? That was clearly addressing the people on the west coast who was feeling away.

[Rory Farrell]

No sensitive about a regular.

[Joey Badass]

I was just, you know, My response to it was like, y. I'm just bigging up my city. You know what I'm saying? Like, at that point, I'm like, you know what? I ain't cause for me what was important to me in the beginning. And it's like, I don't know. I don't know if it was a good thing in hindsight or a bad thing, but I'm like, one thing I'm not gonna do is get on Twitter and be walking it back or some shit like that. Like, yo, I ain't mean it like that. I felt secure in what I meant. And then I'm already speaking to my people on that side, and they telling me how they feel, and they not taking no offense. So I'm like, yo, fuck the Internet, you know what I'm saying? Fuck what they say.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Completely opposite of what J. Cole did. Yeah, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

I mean, he takes a shot and. Sorry. Not sorry, but.

[Joey Badass]

But even that. Even that, though, it's like, you know.

[Rory Farrell]

They won't delete that later. Joey won't.

[Joey Badass]

I won't. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was commentary. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not like even that. I'm like, okay, you know, I. I did think about that one, though. Cause I'm like, all right, now is a little bit more intention. You know what I'm saying? I'm like, okay. You know what I'm saying? Like, motherfuckers.

[Rory Farrell]

Not disrespectful, though.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

It was the epitome of what this whole thing is, of what hip hop is to me, what you were doing. So that's why, you know, it was good to see the guys get out and, you know, get the pins moving. Everybody rapping, ladies. I love that. You know what I'm saying? I'm a little older, so I know what that part of the culture is. It's like, this is rap. Never thought it was gonna get serious or it was gonna go left.

[Joey Badass]

Right.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But I didn't understand how some people were really, like, offended, though, and really felt the way, like, nah. That I'm like, but this is what they supposed to be doing is rapping.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. And I mean, I don't know. I feel like the Internet was offended. I don't think. Like.

[Joey Badass]

I don't think, like, daylight was fueling it. Daylight wasn't offended.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

I think anyone like that having conversations since the beginning, since the rulers.

[Rory Farrell]

You did. You did mention in the last record.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, but I don't know if that.

[Rory Farrell]

Light had heard your bars before. So before the record red. Because what's the daylight? He had the skate park apologies. Like, I forgot the record. It was one of my favorite joints.

[Joey Badass]

It came out before, like, like, backpack or some like that.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. And he kind of predicted what Joey's first. And then Joey had mentioned on the last record, like, like, you heard all my bars in the red Bull months ago. Like, don't act like you. Some. Some prophecy like you knew was gonna happen. So that did happen. AB played that for him. Or how did that even go about.

[Joey Badass]

So, you know, when we did the Red Bull joint, we did that shit in, like, March. It ain't coming to, like, what, like, May or some shit like that. So, you know, I don't know if AB specifically played it, but what I do believe happened is we recorded the Cipher at Big Sean's house, like a track.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

Because the guys was, you know, everybody just kind of wanted to make sure that we had a backup plan in case lyrics couldn't be remembered, memorized in time.

[Rory Farrell]

Facts. Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

So it was like the idea of having this backing track, okay. But I knew in that very moment that motherfuckers was gonna hear my shit.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Because everybody's connected, you know what I'm saying? So, like, it don't gotta be AB direct. It could have been his manager. Boom, boom, boom.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, but he gonna hear it.

[Joey Badass]

But then, you know, AB is also a TDE artist, so top. And, you know, the label is very involved on the rolling out of the Red Bull Cypher, you know what I'm saying? Everybody understands Punch and Light are supposed to. You know what I'm saying? So at some point, they heard it, you know what I'm saying? So I knew that that was gonna happen. I didn't know that it was gonna take Red Bull so long to put it out. So by the time that happened, I'm like, okay, if I'm my enemies, I have a plan of action to respond to this. When this shit dropped, it dropped. It went crazy. And just like I predicted, motherfuckers had a move the day after which made it look like to the public, like, oh, like he. Yeah, like he went in the studio last night like, nah. Yeah, nah. N was prepared.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, N was prepared.

[Rory Farrell]

And again, I'm not here to have you start trouble with past. It was an amazing moment, I think, for hip hop, because everyone just rapped and everyone became cool and friends and everything's fine. Now I will go back to some of the stuff we talked about because we was on your side the entire time. But before Daylight got involved, we sat here nervous for you just because of who Light is and what his past.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

He's a battle rapper and, like, I.

[Rory Farrell]

Think actually is one of the few battle rappers that does make music that's good as well, which is tough. So we was a little nervous, and, boy, was we proven Wrong.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah. I don't think. Were you like that? I don't even know.

[Rory Farrell]

Were you a little surprised that Daylight didn't come the way we thought? Paul is the way we usually see in a battle with.

[Joey Badass]

Well, I wouldn't.

[Rory Farrell]

Some of those. By his standard, because I think Daylight is an alien.

[Joey Badass]

I wouldn't say that he didn't. You know, Paul's come the way that, like, you know, he usually comes. But I think one thing that I understood about it is that he was in a different arena. This was a different stage for Daylight Battle.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

It's battle.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. But we not on the stage.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay. So it's not the performative aspect of it.

[Rory Farrell]

He's delivered on beats. His whole.

[Joey Badass]

He's the beating on, you know, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's the first of his kind of a battle that Daylight has had. You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. As far as what he has, for sure.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Public eye, trading tracks, you know what I'm saying? Usually he's on the stage, and I think, you know, this whole thing would have went down different if it was like, on the stage and shit like that. So I'm like, you know, that was one thing that I knew. Like, okay, cool. That's definitely one thing to my advantage. Right. And I even say it, I'm like, yo, no matter what stage they put you on, you still assed out.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

That was my thinking entendre when he took his ass, you know what I.

[Joey Badass]

Mean, with that whole thing. But then two, I feel like one thing that gave me confident edge over the whole situation was when he did the backpack thing. Cause I'm like, you shouldn't have to do that.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? So that made me feel like, okay, this is like, I could do this shit. You know what I'm saying? This is beatable, you know what I'm saying? Cause now you leaning into optics and shit like that, which I'm like, you the great. You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

You don't need to do this. You don't need to do that if you're leaning on. Oh, I knew this before shit.

[Joey Badass]

Right. You know what I'm saying? So that. That kind of gave me a little bit of. I feel like, power and energy in the situation where it's just like, I was able to approach it, like, a little bit differently. But. Yeah. Now shout out to Day, though, man. I really do love day. That's My man. And, like, you know what I'm saying? It was. It was.

[Rory Farrell]

Daylight is one of the greatest.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

I just want to know what he's like.

[Rory Farrell]

You.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

I haven't heard anything from him. Is he post on social media, like, we haven't seen Daylight?

[Joey Badass]

I heard he dropping. He dropping a joint soon album. Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

Again, it's Surf and Light that I think are the two battle rappers that, like, make good. They know how to make good music. So that's. That's where I was a little nervous. But what was that call to Lux, like, oh, like, how did that whole. That whole thing come together with Loaded Lux?

[Joey Badass]

Let me take a little sip.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

And I know Lux was laughing. Like, I know when he got the call, he started laughing like, man, what you doing?

[Rory Farrell]

If I remember correctly, on YouTube, it didn't say featuring Loaded Lux?

[Joey Badass]

No, I did.

[Rory Farrell]

No, because I remember being in my. I posted the most Statue of Liberty emojis I've ever posted in my fucking life once I heard Lux come on that second verse.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. Yeah, man. You know, so me and Lux go way back, you know what I'm saying? Like, I connected with lux, like, probably 10 years ago, eight years ago. Like, I did a feature film, like, back in the day, you know, so we always just had that rapport.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Or whatever. And, you know, actually had a conversation with him early on in the year. Like, you know, when the shit first started kicking off and shit like that, you know, we was, you know, laughing, joking, and, you know, talking about the idea of possibly, like, if I was going to engage, like, you know, but it was really just kind of like, poking fun out of the whole situation. Like, it wasn't nothing serious. I ain't, like, really be like, yo, boom, boom. But then when the Red Bull shit happened, I'm like, okay, cool. So I'm my opponents, right. I heard this shit for two months. I got my move ready, and, you know, right the next day, you know, Rayvon dropped. And then I'm like, okay, cool. I went to the studio that night, and I made the finals. You know what I'm saying? Boom. But then after that, I'm like, okay, what is this nigga, like, gonna do? You know what I'm saying? I'm like, I have no idea what this motherfucker gonna do. So I'm waiting, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I'm keeping the pen hot just in case. Cause I don't know when this nigga gonna drop. Then he start tweeting shit and all that. I'm like, all right. They say now it's Monday. You know what I'm saying? So you dropped the joint. And I'm like, oh, I bet. You know what I'm saying? You know what it felt like? I felt like, okay, cool. It was almost like when you get in the ring with your opponent and you feel that first punch, you like, oh, that's it. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, okay. So then, yeah, I went to the studio. I called Lux, I said, yo, yeah, it's time. It's time.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Let's go ahead and finish him.

[Joey Badass]

It's time. It's time. It's like, yo, I'm about to send you this joint. He sent it back lightning quick. I ain't gonna lie. Yeah, shout out to Lux.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, Lux is.

[Joey Badass]

He's.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

He's a. I watch some of these freestyles still to this day.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, of course, it's tough to be objective, but where do you. Where do you rank my town in? If Complex were to put out every list that they used to put out of the top 50 diss records of all time, where my town lands, I.

[Joey Badass]

Don'T know where to me, I think.

[Rory Farrell]

It'S a little higher. Of course, the dust has to settle, and it just happened. But I think when time passes, I. I think that my town record might be up there in. In one of the. The greatest battle records, in my opinion.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

If you look at everything that was happening with that entire week and how crazy that was, that was kind of the stamp that. And of course, I have a New York bias. But after that, I was like, this is over, man. I, like, I don't really. I don't care too much after this. This is done now.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

We spoke about it here. This is done. I'm obviously familiar with your pen and your work, but you definitely outperformed my expectations.

[Joey Badass]

Word up.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Like, I knew what you were capable of, but I was just thinking, like, this nigga Joey getting TV money. You know, once you start going that route, it's like, do he really love that shit?

[Joey Badass]

You know what? I'll tell y' all something, right? Like, initially, that was my approach. Like, when Day and Ray first started, like, jabbing and shit like that, you know, when I was doing side, not side, the part of me's and shit like that, I'm like. In my head, I'm like. I mean, I'm not about to engage for real. You know what I'm saying? Cause I'm like, I didn't see the win for me, but then I started getting hip to the fact that people like. You know what I learned over time is like, every five years is a bunch of new hip hop fans.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Oh, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

That come into the picture, get on that Twitter, get on the Internet, have a bunch of opinions, think pieces, podcasts, all of that shit. So in that moment, you said what.

[Rory Farrell]

I said, well, dude, why are we catching astray?

[Joey Badass]

No, no, no, not y', all, not y'. All. Y' all ain't catching astray.

[Rory Farrell]

That's a compliment. Finally, people were actually talking about rap music for a fucking change.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? But so pretty much what I realized, I'm like, oh, you know what? It's a lot of people who are in discovery mode about me.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Even though I have my accomplishments and my success. Absolutely. There's still a lot of people who are not familiar with 1999 Joey before the Money, All American. So at that point when we clicked up for the Red Bull joint and, you know. Cause I. Cause, you know, ab, like, gave me, like, a sample of his verse, and then when I peeped that he was doing the. He mentioned the daylight and ratio, I was like, you know what? This is a good opportunity now. I saw it as, like. I saw a win in it for me. I'm like, this is a good moment for me to engage because I can remind people. Not even remind. I could fucking hit people to what this pen do. You know what I'm saying? So that's when I jumped in. But also, the win for me, too. I definitely was cognizant of it. Was it being Joey versus the field, you know what I'm saying? That was a better battle for me. You know what I'm saying? Rather than me versus this person alone or me versus that person alone, it was more worth it for me to be, like, going up against a bunch of people. You know what I'm saying? So at that point, I'm like, yeah, you know what?

[Rory Farrell]

It was healthy.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, it's game time. Let's get it. I see the win, I see the opportunity, and I'm taking it.

[Rory Farrell]

In the midst of that, you don't have to answer. Just blink twice. If Top Dog paid you to do.

[Joey Badass]

All that, Top Dog did not pay me.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

I'm just saying that was the talk.

[Joey Badass]

However, we did have. We did have, like, fairly. We did have, like, TD East. Yeah. We did have some dialogue, like, you know what I'm saying? Just like, you know, joking and, you know, a lot of joking. And laughing and shit. Shit, I ain't gonna lie. Top. He had. He bought me some seats, some tickets, one night to the Knick game. While that shit was going on, he was like, yo, you gotta be out there, man. Like, you know what I'm saying? You know, so that was love. But we definitely did have a few conversations, you know, talk about the whole TD east thing. And, like, you know how he thought that shit was clever. He like, yo, nigga, I've been laughing about that shit since last night and shit like that. I'm like, yo, she kind of got a ring to it.

[Rory Farrell]

We should talk.

[Joey Badass]

We should have a conversation. You know what I mean? So we definitely spoke about that and the possibility of sitting down and talking about.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But he didn't have this whole elaborate scheme set up to get his artist out.

[Joey Badass]

Absolutely not. Nah, you know what I mean? This whole thing, like, nobody knew I was gonna come with the rulers back. What'd you say?

[Rory Farrell]

She ain't say nothing.

[Joey Badass]

Nobody.

[Rory Farrell]

She ain't saying work.

[Joey Badass]

Anyway, listen, nobody knew that I was gonna come with the rulers back. And after the rulers back, I didn't know what was gonna transpire. Like, when I tell you this shit was rolling with the punches, it was rolling with the fucking punches. The only moments of, like, preparation I had was once I did that Rebel Freestyle and knew that it was sitting with that side for two months, at that point, I'm like, okay, cool. I smell something. Now I can see what's coming. But before that, I couldn't see nothing. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was just surprise every day. You know what I'm saying? So, yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

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[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

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[Rory Farrell]

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[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

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[Rory Farrell]

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[Joey Badass]

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[Rory Farrell]

Well then let me ask you this. Having that side of the brain, of the competitive side of what was going on and having to be reactive and timely manner, at what point did you go all right, now I gotta focus on my album and how do I capitalize off everything that just happened to get to lonely at the top.

[Joey Badass]

So when I made rulers back right like that last week of 2024, so you know, I, I was, I've been working on this album, not, not the one that I just put out. I've been working on a album for the last three years, you know what I'm saying? It's a conceptual album and it required me to go in a specific direction with my subject matter. So the last week of 2024, I got really activated on some. Yo. I just kind of want to rap right now.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

So I kind of like got inspired to make this other project that wasn't conceptual. That gave me the outlet to kind of like put out a bunch of other music that I wanted to put out before putting out this conceptual album, you know what I'm saying? So that's kind of what Ruler's Back was in the spirit of. It was in the spirit of me making this new project. At the time, I didn't know what it was. I didn't have a name for it, but I'm just like. It's more kind of just diverse, you know what I'm saying? It's not confined to a subject or anything. It just kind of allows me to get some shit off that I want to get off. And you know, rule is back, what came from that was a bunch of back and forth. Then in the midst of that, Sorry. Not sorry, was created. Right. You know what I'm saying? Cause it was kind of my way of acknowledging what was going on, but still not really responding directly to it. And then I put out the three song ep. Then I'm like, shit, did that scratch the itch? I'm like, ah, I still kind of want to put out some new shit. And then the fucking. The battle battle started, you know what I'm saying? And that happened. We put out three records there and I'm like, okay, now I feel like I have to feed this new listener this new eye. And you know what I'm saying, I wanna now use this opportunity to get out some new music, you know what I'm saying? And that's what Lonely at the Top became, was this opportunity for me to kind of put together this compilation of records that I just felt like, you know. Cause I've never. This is the quickest project I've ever made. And I say that in a very positive way. For me, that feels really good. Because when I look at the course of my career, I took five years between the second album and the third album. And in between Lonely at the top and 2000 was another three years. That's eight years of like inactivity.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? That's eight years musically. Right, right, right musically. But to me, I'm like, that's eight, you know, I think For a long time, I've been fearful of being able to drop a project like Lonely at the Top.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Because I feel like, you know. Cause I understand that the expectations for me is super high, you know what I'm saying? Motherfuckers want me to put together a body of work, and I want that, too, but sometimes not. Sometimes, like, for a long time. I create a lot of music that is outside of the realm of, like, something that is, like, so deeply conceptual. And I fall in love with that music, too, but I feel like I never find the outlets to put it out, to get it out, you know what I'm saying? So that's what Lonely at the Top was like, you know? It was, for me, almost like this fearless move artistically, where it's just like, yo, this is what I want to do. You know what I'm saying? Like, fuck what people may think I should do right now, may want for me. This is what I want to do. This is what I want to put out, you know what I'm saying? This is my expression at the time. Because usually by the time I put out a project, These songs are 2, 3 years old, 3 years, 4 years old. Like, you might have said something that.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Dates it a little bit on the.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, sometimes I gotta go back in, change the line or some.

[Rory Farrell]

You don't want to be represented on how you felt three years ago.

[Joey Badass]

Right. You know what I'm saying? It's like, it no longer resonates.

[Rory Farrell]

I don't think that way anymore, you.

[Joey Badass]

Know what I'm saying? So, you know, I feel like this really allowed me, like, I've always been a quality over quantity artist. And, you know, not to say that I feel that I compromise the quality on this project at all. But this, to me, was more about, like, yo, I want to get this music out, you know what I'm saying? So I'm gonna do that. You know what I mean? Like, I love these songs. And no, like, it's not deep, you know what I'm saying? It's intentionally not deep. Like, I didn't put together this crazy concept. No, these are just songs that I really fuck with right now and I wanna put out because it's in the key of my life at the moment, you know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

Y. I think even, you know, we've had debates about the Tyler project that. That just came out, but he was also on that side, too, of, like, I've constantly felt like I have to sit and come up with a whole new image, a whole Every single album has to be this whole moment in time.

[Joey Badass]

Right?

[Rory Farrell]

Not like all these records. I have the ability at this point in where my business is at and where I'm at, Chris, like, yeah, here you go. You can just have it. But. And I think we in that era anyways, because down to what you were saying with the battle, like. Like, there's fans that were not around in 2012. There's younger kids that became fans of you because of the output that was.

[Joey Badass]

Going on in that battle.

[Rory Farrell]

Now with our attention span, you need to just keep putting out.

[Joey Badass]

Keep putting shit out. Yeah, facts. And it's like, you know, I really want to be more aligned with that idea. You know what I'm saying? I really like, musically, I think about it like, I'm 30 now. I'm like, all right, like, these next 10 years, I wanna put out the most music I've ever put out. You know what I'm saying? I wanna put out way more music than I did in my 20s, you know what I'm saying? I only gave three projects in my 20s. I wanna give at least five this go around, you know what I'm saying? So, yeah, that's why in my mind, I'm like, you know what? Fuck. Don't got a concept, but this is what you wanna do. I always look at music like, painting, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm painting. This is the picture that this is my interpretation or this is my artistic expression at the moment. And usually I don't get to share that so closely to when I'm feeling it.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

So, you know, Lonely at the Top was a bit of. I feel like it gave me some type of, like, artistic empowerment and, like, integrity, you know what I'm saying? It's like, yo, so, yeah, it's the fuck I want to do.

[Rory Farrell]

Does having a family, two kids, like, does. Does that change that perspective of, like, hey, nah, I'm not doing three albums. And my. My 30s, we're pumping out.

[Joey Badass]

Oh.

[Rory Farrell]

I mean, shift and pivot of a lifestyle change, I guess, a bit.

[Joey Badass]

No, I don't think that.

[Rory Farrell]

If.

[Joey Badass]

If anything, what that has to do with, like, it has to do with getting in the way.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah, okay, fair.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Like, like me being able to not move as fast as I want to.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. Less output because I want to be around maybe more material. Because you're around them.

[Joey Badass]

Right. And you know what? You know, to be frank, too, is like, the only reason why I feel like I didn't put out. So more like music in my twenties is because, you know, I came into this game really young.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

So I was like, yo, I spent the last 15 years finding myself.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Trying shit. Fucking throwing away pieces. I like that. I don't like, you know what I'm saying? Just picking up new things and all that. So I think that a lot of it was me really trying to understand, like, who I was, who I wanted to be, how I wanted to show up and shit like that. And. And me constantly shifting from.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Like.

[Joey Badass]

Like, you know, six months, right. In six months, I'll be a whole different person. Like, ah, that music I just made six months ago, I could throw it all away.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? I don't even want it no more. Like, six months ago, I would have loved to put that shit out. But now, six months later, I'm like, nah, I want to work on a whole new thing.

[Rory Farrell]

But what even kept you grounded in that regard? Because we've. Most people that find money and even a tiny bit of fame at 15, 16, 17, typically turn out to be insane human beings. What kept you grounded through that entire.

[Joey Badass]

I'm like, damn, am I insane?

[Rory Farrell]

No, you're not. Which, no, I think it's like, you're.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Definitely one of the same ones.

[Rory Farrell]

I don't know if it's just. Again, back to the bias, the New Yorker shit, but it's. It's very odd that your story shouldn't be the way it is. If it's somebody else. You would usually turn out to be a fucking. Very strange.

[Joey Badass]

That's the thing, though. I wasn't like a child star, you know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

In that regard, let's not act like you weren't rich and somewhat famous at 18.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, that's valid. Cause, you know, I was. I was. I was thinking about it the other day. I was talking to somebody. I'm like, yo, my whole adult life I've been in some type of public eye. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? That's not normal at all. That's not normal. You know what I'm saying? Like, I don't have no recollection of adult life without existing in a public eye type shit. So, I mean, I would say that a lot of it gotta do with family, you know what I'm saying? I've never moved out of New York. I spent 30 summers here, and I'm starting to regret it a Little bit like, yo, I need something new, man. I wanna kind of be afraid. You know what I'm saying? I wanna be feeling something new.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know, so, so. So that. That is a big part of it. Like, grounded by my foundation, by my roots. And then, you know, also I think just the type of man that I am, the type of human that I am, it's like, you know, I'm always seeking knowledge. I'm always seeking feedback. I'm always trying to take accountability, trying to be. Be a better person. That's like, extremely important to me. You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So, so lonely at the top is out now. Go stream that one of the features that I was really happy to see. Cause this is somebody that I think is super ill. But sonically, y' all remind me of each other so much. It was Rome Streets.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Like, that was like. When I saw you and Rome had a record together, I was just. The hip hop nerd in me was like, that makes all the sense in the world. How did that come about? And do you and Rome have, like, a relationship before this, or is this the start of it?

[Joey Badass]

So, yeah. Nah, nah, nah, nah. You know, so I did a joint with Rome. I wanna say, like, what, like, two years ago now, you know what I mean? And that's the first time we connected. But me putting him on this project was very intentional. Because I feel like when it comes to this side of hip hop, when I say this side, I mean, like, the lyrical N and shit like that. I feel like it's not enough of us, like, lifting each other up, you know what I'm saying? So I really wanted to kind of lead by example in a way. I think it's easy for us to, like, you know, I mean, not always easy, right? But I think it's easier for us, for us to be able to, like, jump on somebody's record. But it's like, to put somebody who's on the come up on your shit, I think that's like the ultimate, like, olive branch or, like, you know, reaching out, you know what I'm saying? Support and shit like that. Cause, yeah, I fuck with Rome, you know what I'm saying? I think Rome is super dope. Rome is also Brooklyn, you know what I'm saying? So I look at Rome like home team Kakash, same thing. I became familiar with Kakash through the whole back and forth. I never heard his music before. We do got a lot of mutuals and shit.

[Rory Farrell]

So I'm like, yo, his history with his parents and everybody in Brooklyn is super, right?

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. And I got hip to that and all that. So I'm like, yo, you know what? Like, I really wanna lead by example with that. And I wanna intentionally be able to, like, lift motherfuckers up, you know what I'm saying? And shine the light and not like, you know, hoard or keep everything, you know, for myself. And I want this. I want all of us as lyrical MCs to welcome that and embrace that. Because I think on this side of the game, it's a. There's way more competition, or at least the competition is different, you know what I'm saying? So I want to kind of like kick that door down and being like, yo, we could have that friendly competition, you know what I'm saying? But we could all still coexist. I don't gotta be afraid to give Rome or Kai some light, you know what I'm saying? Afraid of what? You know what I'm saying? Oh. Cause they gonna get some of my fans. They should, you know what I'm saying? Have some of my fans. Cause I feel like that's how I felt on the way up, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, yo, yo, like, I know I'm nice, you know what I'm saying? And like, I'll connect with people who, when I see them in person, it's like, yo, I fuck with you. Like, yo, I got some records for you. Boom, boom, boom. I'm like, send it. And N would never send this shit. And it's just like, as a lyrical nigga, what you gonna think, right?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Like, you don't wanna rap with me.

[Joey Badass]

N scared, you know what I'm saying? You know what I mean? So I kind of just wanna change that perception and just make it fun, make it easy, make it inviting for us lyrical MCs to share space with other. Each each other.

[Rory Farrell]

I mean, yeah, it's kind of full circle back to the New York conversation that we were trying to avoid. I think that's also what's been missing. Yes, that very, very thing.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

More unity in the city, period.

[Joey Badass]

Definitely facts. Listen, I'm somebody. Like, I got a firm understanding, bro, and belief that, like, it was enough money out here for all of us, my nigga.

[Rory Farrell]

Absolutely.

[Joey Badass]

And it's like, yo, nobody's gonna be Joey, you know what I'm saying? Like. Like, could do what they wanna do, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, we gotta. I'm me, you know what I'm saying? Like, I'm on tv, too.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You know what I mean?

[Joey Badass]

Like, I'm doing a bunch of other shit, too. Like, I'm a shine different, you know what I'm saying? So I'm not worried about giving the nigga an entryway on my track. It's like, yo, I think you dope, and I think you deserve it. You know what I'm saying? You should have that entryway type shit. And, you know, that's how I feel about Rome and Kai. And that's what I told Rome, too, when I first told him that, yo, I wanted him to jump on my shit. I'm like, yo, bro, I want to shine a light on you. You know what I'm saying? Cause you deserve that shit, nigga. Like, nice.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, Rome is.

[Rory Farrell]

Rome is one of the best Romans right now. And even, like, I. I do hate some of that New York conversation because I always felt, you know, maybe there could have been more records between Pro ERA and asap. But, I mean, you know, One Train obviously, is a classic. Ferg is on the joint now.

[Joey Badass]

There was one joint that we had on the Cozy Tape shit, too.

[Rory Farrell]

What was that era like when both crews were coming up? Cause I know y' all did fuck with each other.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah. No, no, yeah, we. We like Fergus, my brother to this Ferg, one of Nice, you know what I'm saying? Me and Flaco cool to this day. You know what I'm saying? 12e, like, love 12nas, you know what I'm saying? Fucking Addie, everybody. You know what I'm saying? Like, first time we went on tour was back in 2013, so it's like a real brotherhood between pro era and ASAP, you know what I'm saying? But as far as collaborations, I don't know, it is also a real thing that sometimes things just don't align.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Oh, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And I think it was like, Harlem and Brooklyn. Like, Harlem and Brooklyn, you know what I mean? But also, like, you know, we was really. We was like. I would sound like, yeah, we was all New York, and we represented pieces of New York. But I'll say, like, you know, Pro Railroad. Like, we was more, like, conscious.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I mean? And, like, the Mob was more, like.

[Rory Farrell]

It was wavy.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. You know, Wavy Trill or whatever. So. So, you know, trying to find that medium is not always the easiest thing artistically, but we was always able to, like, just get along, hang out, and share space, and support each other, you know what I'm saying? Like, yeah, Rocky done came out to, like, When I was doing the Steez Day festivals, Rocky probably came out like three years. Three years in a row or some shit like that. You know what I'm saying? And vice versa. I've been to Yams. I came out of Yams Day for a few times as well, so we was always able to share space. But it wasn't always the easiest thing to, like, naturally find how the music was created. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Which is cool. You know what I mean?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Are there any other producers on this album that you wanted to work with? And are there any other producers that you looking forward to working with that you haven't had the chance to work with yet?

[Joey Badass]

Producers.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Let me see, like, who's on your. Like, I gotta get a couple joints with this producer.

[Joey Badass]

For real.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

That makes all the sense in the world.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, for real. I think. I think everybody else I done pretty much worked with at this point.

[Rory Farrell]

I mean, you know, Superflee, I feel like you. You. You put the call out.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

That Neptune shit. I was around Bri when she was working.

[Joey Badass]

Like, we gonna break bread or I'm have to do this myself. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

I was. I was around Brie when she was working on that joint. Friend of the show. She's been on air a bunch.

[Joey Badass]

That's. That's.

[Rory Farrell]

That's our homegirl.

[Joey Badass]

Shout out to.

[Rory Farrell]

Brie smoked that.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. Fact.

[Rory Farrell]

And when she had played me the first idea when she. She was writing to it, I was like, okay. Yeah. That's why Joey and I around the same age as, like, that Neptune shit and what that did to us as. As kids, like, who produced that? Because they. Kirk Knight, they nailed it. Not in a, like, a biting way. They did make it their own.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, Kirk Knight produced that. Kirk Knight also produced all of the records that I had in the battle. My Town. And he smoked My Town. Yeah. You know. You know Kirk Knight. Kirk Knight's pro era.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. No, no, I know.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? So. But yeah, when we was in the studio that day, made Superfleet. I'm like. At first, I was like, I don't know. We kept listening. I'm like, yo, this shit sound like so much things, and we call it Super Flea. Because to me, what I heard at first was Super Thug.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I mean? And the funny thing is, Kirk didn't even hear the song. He never even heard Super Thug. How?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

What?

[Rory Farrell]

Out of the amount of records that he's produced for you.

[Joey Badass]

Let me rephrase that. He's heard Super Thug, but he wasn't, like, familiar with it in the way that I was familiar.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah, okay, okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Like. Like, he heard it in passing throughout his life, his childhood, when I played, he's like, oh, yeah, I know that. But it's like, I know Super Thug. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'll still bump Super Thug to this day type. So immediately I'm like, nigga, that shit sound like this.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And then somebody else play Hollaback Young and like, nigga, that shit sound like this. I'm like, yo, this shit is weirdly just a fucking amalgamation of, like, all of that shit is weird. But I'm like, you know what? I gotta do this shit. I gotta do it.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

I remember on the show, I was talking about the first time we actually met. We were in Atlanta at JD Studio, and I was telling Rory. I was laughing. I was like, yo, I was in the studio with jd and, you know, Joey walked in. I was like, you know, obviously, I love what he's been doing for New York and everything. Finally got a chance to meet him. Super cool. I was like, yo. But he fucked me up because he was standing in the hall, and if you ever been to JD's studio, he got all his plaques all over the.

[Joey Badass]

Hall, all the action figures and shit. Yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So I'm like, yo. So Joey was standing there, he was staring at Bow Wow's plaque, and I think a fight or something was on, and we were watching, and I kept looking. I'm like, yo, why is he standing at the wall looking at Bow Wow's plaque like this? And I remember you saying, like, yo, this is the guy that inspired me to rap. And I was like, bow wow.

[Joey Badass]

Bow Wow.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

I could not believe, like, to this day, because nothing about your sound, your style, the way you rap says Bow Wow inspired me. But I guess the age, and obviously, Bow Wow was a megastar. But artistically, was it inspirational or was it just the fact that he was just. You couldn't turn on the TV and.

[Joey Badass]

Notify, or you just saying in general?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No, in general. In life.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, yeah. Nah, Like, I feel like, listen, the inspiration. What I meant by that is when I saw Bow, I remember I was a kid, so I saw myself in Bow Wow. I was like, oh, shit. Like, here's a kid, here's a black kid. You know what I'm saying? Like, having success in this shit, I always had an affinity for rap and poetry and shit like that. So that just kind of Made me feel like. He made me feel like I was closer to the dream because I looked at him like me, you know what I'm saying? But it wasn't necessarily like a sound thing. And it's funny that you say that because. Because a lot of people in this game currently today, you know what I'm saying, come up to me and they say that. And it's like, they sound. It's nothing like my shit, but they be like, yo, when I first saw your shit, like, boom, boom. You inspired me. And I realized it's the same thing for them. They just saw them. Them seeing a young black dude making it out the motherfucking nowhere, that's inspirational. That's like, oh, I could do it too. That's what it communicates, you know what I'm saying? So it's like, you know, people, sometimes they are inspired in a way to where they just see them in you.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And it's not necessarily like a sonic thing, a music musical thing. It's just more of a aspirational thing.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, I can make it.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, exactly.

[Rory Farrell]

And even that Bow Wow was rapping, like, forget the time.

[Joey Badass]

Listen.

[Rory Farrell]

I got so much, like, what ended up being 1999, but was fire. It was rap. I guarantee if you. If I have not listened to Beware of the dog in probably 20 years. But that's so that should have hit my brain. If you played a Beware of the Dog song, I could probably rap along Take your home.

[Joey Badass]

I just listened to it not so long ago that still slap.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, I could probably rap. If you just played it. I could probably rap it because it's so embedded in my mind.

[Joey Badass]

It's imprinted. It's imprinted on his brain.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Listen, I get it, but it's just like. It's just to hear that I went.

[Joey Badass]

To the Scream tour and all that.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

See what I'm saying?

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? When I was a kid, Word, you know what I mean? Came over school one day. My auntie, my mom was like, yo, they got Scream tour tickets. I said, we out shitting me. Me.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

That's hilarious.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. I mean, what. What were some of your other, I guess, influences that would make sense, make more, I guess, more sense to 1999. As far as. I don't know if it'd be doom. I don't know if it be Kai. I don't. Like.

[Joey Badass]

You said doom.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, absolutely. Doom. I was hell, bro. When I was in high school, bro. I went through a crazy doom phase, man. Cuz that's where I was introduced to doom. Rest in peace, my brother. Capital steez. Put me on the doom. Like, by the time when I got to high school, ninth grade, I was like, I'm getting signed to Young Money.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay?

[Joey Badass]

That was my vision. That was my vision for self. That's what I was thinking. I'm like, yeah, I'm a Young Money. Gonna sign me, nigga. You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

10, 11.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. I'm like, yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, nah, that's. But then I got to high school and, you know, I met people like Steve, and then he put me on the mfw and I'm like, oh, shit. I ain't even know motherfuckers rap like this. It was like, you know. Cause you know when you got an idea and you think about Young Money, it's like, that's everything you exposed to, like, on the radio and on the tv. But then when I was introduced to underground rap, it was like this whole world open in my brain. And then I started to go back in time. Then I started revisiting the classics. Cause, you know, you grew up in New York. You're familiar with Nas. You're familiar. But my entry to Nas is Ushi.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Up Waking Wally, right?

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? It's like. Like, that's when I'm.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, hearing.

[Joey Badass]

That's when Nas is coming through my consciousness for the first time. It's like, hate me now.

[Rory Farrell]

And like, even with Mobb Deep, like, the first Mob Deep song I loved was hey Love, and then went super bad. Like, I thought I was. I was 11. Like.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's my intro. Like, my. My dad and.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Oh, my God.

[Rory Farrell]

That was mainly cuz of 112.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, but y. I was really outside when Shook Ones dropped. Like.

[Joey Badass]

I was inside.

[Rory Farrell]

I was five years old.

[Joey Badass]

What year? Shook one drop.

[Rory Farrell]

95. Yeah, 94. 95.

[Joey Badass]

I was. I was being swaddled.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

I was probably hearing it. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So you going out on the road? Yeah, going on the tour. How you feel about getting back outside, man?

[Joey Badass]

Man, it's different nowadays. I can't lie, you know what I'm saying? Like now post pandemic and shit like that, like, tour feels different for me. Like, when I was, you know, 17, 18, I had the guys, we going out there collective strong. It was fun. Now kind of feel like work a little bit. I ain't gonna lie. But what makes it worth it is seeing it. The people touching the people, hearing the stories and seeing those faces, people crying and like that, you know. But I can't lie. I don't enjoy the terrible food.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

I'm in West Bubble.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Like, damn.

[Joey Badass]

Like with the Y E. I can't get no oxtail right now.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Not. Not in some of them states.

[Joey Badass]

30 days, no oxtail. You know what I'm saying? 30 days.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

No. That sound like a album. 30 days.

[Rory Farrell]

No, that's a. Action Bronson, right? How. How are you gonna bring the family on the road? Cuz that.

[Joey Badass]

No, I'm literally.

[Rory Farrell]

We said no tour this year. This was the first time. God, how many years now have we been touring?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

3.

[Rory Farrell]

I'm saying, even with the OPA, like eight years. This is the first time this year I said no to torrent just because I've got a kid. And I feel you because. Oh, we had Amara in Chicago, Philly. Like, I can't keep taking my kid on the road like that is. Is exhausting.

[Joey Badass]

I feel you. Like, you know, my daughter is 7, but my little man just, you know, he's just a couple months old.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

And it's like, you know, the tour environment is just not a sanitary one. Yeah. At all. You know what I mean? Like anytime you get on that tour, every tour, I've gotten sick.

[Rory Farrell]

Oh, for sure.

[Joey Badass]

Everybody gets sick. Yeah. It just take one motherfucker to sink the bus.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? 1. You know what I'm saying? Cause it's just so close quarters and all of that. You know, there's a lot of energy exchange. I'm giving daps to like hundred every city and shit like that. Like. Yeah, that's not environment for little man. But I'm definitely gonna, you know, fly back home or some.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But it's good for guys like you taking Kai out on the road with you, right?

[Joey Badass]

No, no, no, no, I'm taking. That's. I think Kai going out with Jed.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

He's going out with Jed?

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. Kai going out with Jed. Which right now is just myself, Absol and Rap City. And we about to start adding motherfuckers in.

[Rory Farrell]

That's a lot of raps. A lot rapid rap shit.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

You know my ass gonna be front row for. Yeah, I got my show. I definitely gotta get. Make some noise. Rory gonna scream. Oh, you know family man. I've known rap.

[Joey Badass]

Shout out to rap. Shout out to rap man.

[Rory Farrell]

What's. What's one of your. Your favorite Mac Miller memories?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Mac.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, Man, I can't remember where we was at. We were somewhere overseas doing one of those festivals. And I remember pulling up, you know? Cause at the time, Static select was my dj, and Static and Mac had a super close relationship, you know what I mean? That was like his little brother. Um, so I remember we, we, we, we, like, you know, we went to Mac's dressing room. And it's so funny because at that point, I seen him reading his lyrics and listening to his music, like, trying to get prepared for the show. And I was like, man, I ain't never gonna have to do that. Now. That's where I'm at in my life. It's like before every show, I gotta, like, I'm reading the lyrics, like. But it's just such a distinct memory of that. Cause I remember being like, that shit just seems so foreign to me. I'm like, you gotta read your lyrics. Like, you don't know your music. But I'm thinking from a nigga who only had one project out type shit, you know what I'm saying? At the time, and you already put a couple out. But yeah, that whole situation, that whole day, man, we just had a lot of fun. Like, Mack was a very. Just a fun dude to be around, you know what I'm saying? Like, never serious, you know what I'm saying? It just being jokes and just a good time and shit like that. So I remember that. I can't remember what fucking festival that was, though.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Super talented, though. Mac Miller.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, man. Rest in peace, man. For sure.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

For sure. So let's talk about, you know, the big screen, being on tv, man, with Raising Kanan playing Unique. How much has that changed Joey's like, real life? How much has that impacted your real life?

[Joey Badass]

Well, shit, man, like, black people gravitate to me now, like, in a real way, like, you know what I'm saying? For the longest time, it's not me.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, yo, you heard 1999, you know what I'm saying?

[Joey Badass]

Nah, facts, facts, you know what I mean? For a long time, I could kind of go under the radar, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, people will know. Like, oh, yeah. You know what I'm saying? But they not, like, it was no super fans. Like, you know what I mean, in my community, like that. But now it's like, yo, boy, man, like, I ain't gonna lie sometimes. Like, oh, some over there. I'm going this way.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Too many outside. I'm going all the way.

[Joey Badass]

Like that. I'll be really low, bro. I'll be low and like that, so. Nah, but it's dope, though, man, and I really do love it. But, like, I really. I really do love it, man. Like, it's. It's a beautiful thing. You know what I'm saying? Like, you always want to be embraced by your community.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Absolutely.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? Absolutely.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

It's beautiful you're acting, though. Like, definitely. Like, you're like an actor, like, now. And I understand it's, you know, playing the role of Unique and raising Kanan is probably not too foreign to you. Movie star. There you go. It's not too far. And he was like.

[Rory Farrell]

And let's not leave out him playing Deck. Cause I was mad when he didn't go to the second season.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah. But playing Unique, obviously based in New York, New York's story, kind of familiar to the slang and the fashion. Everything was very familiar to you. But you did add an element to raising Kanan that I think brought in a lot of people. Like, yo, this is a really good show. Cause a lot of people was kind of off. The whole power series got kind of weird after a while. But raising Kanan, I think, brought in a lot of people. And then Unique's character definitely elevated it. But there was an interesting part in season three. Obviously, Ronnie beats the shit out of Unique. I thought your character was dead. I'm like, all right, Contract. First. We think it was contract. They couldn't come to an agreement.

[Joey Badass]

Correction. Unique beat the shit out of Ronnie, but then the N got a medal, you know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Got a medal back, you know what I'm saying?

[Joey Badass]

He won a Unique one man fight.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But then he got his hands on the floor.

[Joey Badass]

Y' all be out in the streets. He was like, yo, I hate what Ronnie did. I'm like, did you see what I did to him? Yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

And then we saw real footage, and I was like, nah, Joey could fight, too.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But that whole thing, because it was presumed that Unique, the character was dead, which was like, this is probably one of the most favorite characters on the show. Why would they kill Unique?

[Joey Badass]

Yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So I was on. They was like, nah, Unique ain't dead. He's coming back to say. You're listening. Listen, man, if they try to bring this Unique character back after that beating he took with that pipe and then dumping his body in the middle of pause. Yeah, that was crazy. That was crazy. That was crazy.

[Rory Farrell]

I got myself. I couldn't even get it. I couldn't even say paul.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

That was crazy. Dumping his body in the middle of nowhere. And then to come back to the next season, like, yeah, was that originally part of it? Or was it something where unique was supposed to written off because of. We always think about contract issues. They weren't able to agree on something, so they had to kind of kill a character off, or was that literally part of how it was supposed to go?

[Joey Badass]

So by the time, you know, you seen it on TV and you watching it, we already understood where we was going with it.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? So it was already worked out in the background that I was coming back. Nobody else knew it except for me. Me and, like, the. The. The showrunner.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? But what had happened was I was. I opted out. I was like, you know what? Because I had a schedule conflict with my tour when I dropped 2000.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

And the shooting schedule for Kanan, trying to make both work. It was no way to do both. So I was basically like, you know what, Yo, y' all could kill me off in season three.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

I wasn't planning to be here that long. Cause I didn't want to get, you know, pitch and hold into no character. You know what I'm saying? I didn't want to stay in, you know what I mean? So fuck it. You know, they didn't want to let me go. They, like, it was kind of devastating.

[Rory Farrell]

You became a fucking character.

[Joey Badass]

But I'm like, yo, I'm still a rapper, though, guys. You know what I'm saying? I have a rap career. You know what I mean? I got to hit the road, world tour, you know what I'm saying? Like, so, you know, for me, it was just like, all right, fuck it. Like, you know, I feel like I ran the course at that point in time. I did what I had to do, so I was content with walking away. But the day that I walked into the headcasting office, the headcasting is so. You see the way he fucking beating the character is like I had to get my head. Like a silicone version of my head made almost damn near so they could.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, beat your head in.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. You know what I'm saying? They could destroy it. And when I walked in there, I had this crazy gut feeling that I was making the wrong decision.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay?

[Joey Badass]

So I'm like, yo, like, I think I'm making a mistake, you know? And another thing that really made me walking away easier. I had a play that was in the future, like, another opportunity, another role, but it wasn't solidified. You know what I'm Saying it was just something that was. Yeah, we was in the talks about. So I'm like, fuck it. Like, you know, I'm gonna go on my tour, and I'm gonna come home, have that ready, walk right into some other shit.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

So I'm like, you know what? But something was just telling me, and it's like, I'm very keen on, like, gut and, like, spirit. Like, I feel like spirit talk to me, and I'm like, I listen. So I called my moms, because, you know, my mom's just somebody who's always super profound when it comes to, like, decision making and shit like that. So I'm like, yo, Like, I don't know what to do. You know, I got this other opportunity. Boom, boom. And, you know, she was like, yo, listen, one in the hand is better than two in the bush. And when she dropped that on me, I was like, all right, Mama call you back. I call up Sasha Penn, who's the showrunner and the creator, Razor can. I'm like, yo, Sasha, is there any way we could, like, bring me back? And he was like, joey, don't fuck with me right now. Don't play with me. Are you serious? Because when we hang up, I'm gonna make some calls, and I'm gonna call you back. But do not make me make these calls. Right? And you're not serious. Do not fuck me.

[Rory Farrell]

Sound like Kelly. And mind you in power. We 50 blew up in a warehouse and came back, bro.

[Joey Badass]

The nigga was locked in the room.

[Rory Farrell]

Find a way to bring you back.

[Joey Badass]

They locked him in.

[Rory Farrell]

They'll find a way.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

They'll find a way. He came back. You know what I'm saying? Put a little burn on his arm.

[Rory Farrell]

He's fine.

[Joey Badass]

Little scratch, you know what I'm saying? Fuck. Like, yeah, but, yeah, he was like, all right, you know, and he made the call, and he called me back. He was like, yo, you got to keep this between us. You know what I'm saying? Cause I got to do a lot of cleaning up. I got to go back in the fucking writers room. I got to check, change the story. Like, so just keep this between me and us. And, hey, you know, I held it down, and, you know, I had. I had to kind of ride it out. So the up shit about it was I had to tell all my castmates. Like, I. Like when we did the table read for episode five with Unique dies.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Everybody said they farewells to me.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

That's crazy.

[Joey Badass]

I know. I felt like an bro, I ain't going lie I'm like, yeah, y'. All.

[Rory Farrell]

You had your whole wake at the table reading.

[Joey Badass]

Everybody say, this is incredible. You know what I'm saying? Like, I'm like, yo, I love y', all, man. Boom, boom. Just for me to come back. Episode 10. Yeah. Like, you know, so was funny.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

That is hilarious, man. But, I mean, I understand why they made that p. They had to.

[Joey Badass]

They had to.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

They had to bring Unique back.

[Rory Farrell]

And that has something to do also with the Wuang Hulu series when you was decked for the season.

[Joey Badass]

Exactly.

[Rory Farrell]

Which, by the way, I. I think RZA does not get enough credit. That's one of the best series I've seen.

[Joey Badass]

And you smoke playing deck.

[Rory Farrell]

I was mad.

[Joey Badass]

Thank you.

[Rory Farrell]

When it switched. But I. Forgive me for not knowing the other gentleman's name that played deck. He smoked it as well.

[Joey Badass]

Oh, yeah. I forget my. My man's name.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joey Badass]

He was. Thought he was a better deck than me.

[Rory Farrell]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

I thought he was. You know what I'm saying?

[Rory Farrell]

How did you prepare for the deck.

[Joey Badass]

Roll for the first season, to be real with you? My heart wasn't all the way in there.

[Rory Farrell]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? And I think there's a clear distinction on, like, Joey playing that. Enjoy playing Unique. Because I never, like, I made it a thing. Like, I never wanted to play a rapper.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Never.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

I made the exception for rza.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Yeah.

[Joey Badass]

Because I love rza and, like, he was one of my early mentors in the game. So when he asked me, it was like a no.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Can't tell him no.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rory Farrell]

Like, I ain't says no to rza.

[Joey Badass]

Yeah. I'm not. You know what I'm saying? I'm not gonna tell them no. Like, you know, when they wanted me to do that, I'm like, bet. But I never wanted to play a rapper.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I'm saying? So while I was trying to make them both work, I couldn't because my deal with Kanan was exclusive.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Okay.

[Joey Badass]

So I couldn't be a recurring on another show at the same time that I was on Kanan. I didn't have an exclusive with Wu Tang, and that's how they lost me.

[Rory Farrell]

Gotcha.

[Joey Badass]

You know what I mean? That's how I was able to get another role and, you know, a better opportunity. What was a better opportunity for me and, you know, kind of peace out.

[Rory Farrell]

Yeah. I mean, even as a fan, like, when they did the press release for the first season of the Wu Tang saga, they had your name and they had Davies. That Was like, Joey Badass playing Inspector Deck Davies playing meth.

[Joey Badass]

I was like, by the way, I thought Davis meth was a perfect casting.

[Rory Farrell]

I was sitting there like, all right, obviously they rappers. They know how to deliver the this. I was blown away about the way that worked. Cuz Dave E. Smoked Method man. And you saying perfect casting. I'm telling you, I was wrong in looking at that. I was like, n. I get it. Dave from New York, light skinned. This will work, I guess, because he'll know how to deliver.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

But they did a great.

[Rory Farrell]

That whole role and you doing Deck. I wasn't even sure at that time. It's like, all right, we just grabbing around.

[Joey Badass]

I still have dreads. Like, yeah, I still had dreads at the time. Like underneath the little bandana was my dreads. Yeah, I haven't cut my hair yet at the time.

[Rory Farrell]

Why that show did not get awards is. Is beyond me that that whole series is absolutely incredible.

[Joey Badass]

Shout out to Rizza, man.

[Rory Farrell]

Shout out to R. To We. We can close here. Would you say I was your best co star in a. In a video of all time? When we did the Black Odyssey thing, I mean, I feel like you was great.

[Joey Badass]

You was great. You. You was. You was great.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

You know, you.

[Joey Badass]

You was a great bad teacher.

[Rory Farrell]

I felt like. Like, I felt like we had better on screen chemistry than anything of Wu Tang. I really thought, like, you and I, we was gonna take it to the top after that video. But that's cool, man. I understand.

[Joey Badass]

Yo, ain't too late, man.

[Rory Farrell]

Yo, we can do the buddy cop movie.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Now.

[Joey Badass]

You going a little too far.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Lonely at the top. Available now. Joey Badass on tour with Absol and Rhapsody coming to a city near you soon. Definitely going to the Brooklyn show.

[Rory Farrell]

Oh, yeah.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Oh, it's at Paramount, right?

[Joey Badass]

Yeah, Paramount.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Paramount.

[Joey Badass]

I keep saying palladium. I never did Paramount. It's my first time.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

So definitely pulling up to that new.

[Joey Badass]

Venue or some shit.

[Rory Farrell's Co-host]

Definitely pulling up to that. That's our guy, Joey Badass, my brother. Thank you, man. Good seeing you.

[Joey Badass]

Thank y' all for having me, man. Love no warrior now.

[Colin Coward]

This is Colin Coward from the Colin coward podcast on Fox 1. Now you can stream your favorite live sport so you can be there live for the biggest moments. That means NFL Sundays and college football games, NASCAR, Major League Baseball postseason and more with FOX 1. You get it all live. Edge of your seat plays High octane moments and that feeling like you're right there in the action. Fox one, we live for live streaming now.

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[Joey Badass]

This is an iHeart podcast.