{"id":42186,"date":"2025-10-02T21:38:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T21:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/joey-bada-interview-hottest-pen-sitting-among-the-greats\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T21:38:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T21:38:26","slug":"joey-bada-interview-hottest-pen-sitting-among-the-greats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/hiphopmagizine\/joey-bada-interview-hottest-pen-sitting-among-the-greats\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey Bada$$ Interview &#8211; Hottest Pen, Sitting Among the Greats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt Hip Hop Magizine News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9431463036\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: xx-large;\">Joey Bada$$<\/span><br \/><em>Interview:\u00a0Georgette Cline\u00a0<\/em><br \/><em><span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Editor\u2019s Note: This story appears in the\u00a0Fall 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands\u00a0now and available for sale on the XXL website.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Rappers often face a paradoxical situation when they take a break between albums. During this time, their skills may be questioned, especially if they\u2019ve chosen to work behind the scenes as an element of surprise. While not every rap fan subscribes to this idea, it\u2019s a challenge that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/joey-badass\/\" target=\"_blank\">Joey Bada$$<\/a> has encountered throughout his career. Still, he\u2019s found ways to change that perception.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 1 of this year, he dropped the Conductor Williams-produced track <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/4OdFreMD2LG2E4NygPvTt7?si=17b847deef28414c\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cThe Ruler\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/4OdFreMD2LG2E4NygPvTt7?si=17b847deef28414c\" target=\"_blank\">Back,\u201d<\/a> signaling the East Flatbush, Brooklyn native\u2019s return to rap while asserting his dominance and competitive spirit. More importantly, it was a reminder: don\u2019t ever count him out. A lyrical nod Joey made to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xxlmag.com\/tags\/jay-z\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jay-Z<\/a> on the song ignited a verbal showdown with West Coast rapper Ray Vaughn and MCs like Daylyt jumping into the fray. In the words of Drake, it was a \u201c20-v-1.\u201d Joey turned into a vocabulary villain with a vengeance and came out victorious.<\/p>\n<p>Jo-Vaughn Scott isn\u2019t new to this. He\u2019s coming on 15 years strong in the game after unleashing his debut mixtape, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/5ra51AaWF3iVebyhlZ1aqq?si=iyY6jK0WTl6NV-JncB3nnA\" target=\"_blank\">1999<\/a><\/em>, in 2012. The moment Joey went to war on the mic was a reintroduction of sorts and served as the perfect lay-up for his fourth studio album, <em>Lonely at the Top<\/em>, released this past August. Three years had passed since his last project, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/261LWEVYViMXijB95mAty3?si=hGZ2Y6TMQHyBEVJf-Se7wQ\" target=\"_blank\">2000<\/a><\/em>, and in hip-hop, that might as well be a lifetime depending on who you ask. The 30-year-old MC was never stagnant, though.<\/p>\n<p>In the forefront, he dropped some loosies and collaborated on features during that time. Most notably, he turned his attention toward acting as the character Unique in the acclaimed Starz series <em>Power Book III: Raising Kanan<\/em>. In the privacy of the studio, Joey was carefully crafting bars and verses for two albums he was working on simultaneously: <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/5iFqSKGaLAcDXtgfhLu26i?si=nID9aqW5TWWjpj_5S0DWgA\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Lonely at the Top<\/em><\/a> and a concept album he\u2019s aiming to release next year.<\/p>\n<p>Joey\u2019s excitement for both is palpable as he sits on a couch inside Sunday Afternoon\u2019s studio in New York City on an early September afternoon. Dressed in a plaid trapper hat, brown leather vest, jeans decorated with sparkling constellations, Timbs, gold grills and his signature JB logo chain, the father of two shares his thoughts on having the hottest pen in the game, catching people off guard with his bars, lyrical ability, being among the greats and having no fear.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>XXL<\/em>: You\u2019ve been in the game for nearly 15 years now. What has helped you stay motivated and hungry to keep going?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joey Bada$$: I think experimentation. What haven\u2019t I done yet? What haven\u2019t I challenged myself to do yet, and, going for those things, you know what I\u2019m saying? \u2019Cause that feels new and exciting for me. It has been a long time, for sure. But I think just the element of surprise.<\/p>\n<p>One of my favorite reactions that I get from people listening to my music is, \u201cYo, this is you?\u201d \u201cYo, I didn\u2019t know you had this in you.\u201d I love that. And I think that feeling, along with having a crazy display of lyrical ability, is also what makes it satisfying to see people break down what I said, what I meant, what I buried in there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are you most proud of that you\u2019ve accomplished in hip-hop?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think what I\u2019m most proud about is to be part of the ecosystem. To have influence and presence. It\u2019s like, sh*t, I said the line [\u201cToo much West Coast d**k lickin\u2019\/I\u2019m hearin\u2019 ni**as throwin\u2019 rocks, really ain\u2019t sh*t stickin\u2019\u201d on \u201cThe Ruler\u2019s Back\u201d] at the beginning of the year, and so many people were reacting to it. I\u2019m like, Oh sh*t, like I really gotta watch what I say \u2019cause people are muthaf**kin\u2019 listening. That showed me my influence, my impact, and I\u2019m proud of that. To have that type of gravitas with my pen that can move energy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To go off that, on \u201cThe Ruler\u2019s Back,\u201d you came in at the beginning of the year swinging. Going into the making of that song, were you out to prove a point? Like, \u201cDon\u2019t<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>count me out\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Oh yeah. You know, people hyper-focused on the West Coast line, which was a quote from Jay-Z, but the real spirit of that song is in the lines where I say, \u201cYo, this is for every time they left me out the conversation.\u201d I got murals in my city, you know what I mean? F**k a nomination, I\u2019m certified. I have proven myself. I put the work in. That was the real spirit that that joint was in, but I think people in the internet really just leaned into the controversial aspect of it and built off of that narrative.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you combat that or change that when being left out of the conversations you think you should be in? Is it by being consistent and dropping the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, just getting to the music and setting your sights on the next product and, you know, what you want to communicate. That\u2019s like what \u201cThe Ruler\u2019s Back\u201d was for me, \u2019cause like I said, I\u2019ve been working on a project for a long time, which is gonna be my next album.<\/p>\n<p>I was working on that long before I even started the idea of <em>Lonely at the Top<\/em>. So, I think I got to the point where it\u2019s just like, man, I got some sh*t to say. I got some sh*t that I just kinda wanna get off my chest, like lyrically or just artistically, before I go here in this direction, you know?<\/p>\n<p><strong>On <em>Lonely at the Top<\/em>, there are many ways that you do that. One of them, on the song<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>\u201cSpeedin\u2019 Through the Rain,\u201d you take the driving theme from the top to the bottom. That\u2019s a showcase of your pen and lyrical skills. When you\u2019re doing something like<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>that, or even just to sharpen your pen, like your mental exercises, lyrical exercises, how<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>do you do that? What kind of space do you get in?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The best is when it happens naturally. When I gotta kinda like force myself to go there, is not that fun, you know what I mean? Because it\u2019s like I start straining my brain, trying hard. \u201cSpeedin\u2019 Through the Rain,\u201d was just one of those moments where I always say that song wrote itself. I heard that beat, and then instantly what I heard was \u201cPedal to the metal on the road to the riches.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And then just from there, I just thought up the driving scheme, and I didn\u2019t even think to myself, that like, Yo, let me keep it going for the whole song. It just flowed that way. I got to the end of the first verse, and I\u2019m like, Damn, can I do it again for a second verse? And then I did. And it was just like, Yeah, this is tight. This is what makes this fun. This is what I love about writing music and being a lyricist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What makes you feel that you have the hottest pen?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sh*t like that, you know, \u201cSpeedin\u2019 Through the Rain,\u201d seeing reactions of people when they catch the bars. Right now, we in a culture where there\u2019s a lot of reactors, so when I see them reacting to the music and they catch a bar, and it\u2019s like them having that reaction. They get up out the seat, they shaking they head, they start hitting sh*t.<\/p>\n<p>\u2019Cause it feels that way to me when I\u2019m writing \u2019em. But one real thing, though, is there\u2019s always gonna be a crowd for lyricism. And I\u2019m glad 2025 happened because I feel like it really put an emphasis back on the lyrics.<\/p>\n<p>There was a point in my career where I deliberately was like, OK, let me focus on songs because I\u2019m putting a lot into these lyrics, and people are not getting it. It\u2019s like going over they head, and it\u2019s like, you don\u2019t get that artistic satisfaction when you feel like your art is not being appreciated properly, you know what I\u2019m saying? So, I\u2019m glad that we\u2019re back at a point where it\u2019s like, oh, so, y\u2019all listening now. Y\u2019all actually are breaking down double entendres now. OK cool. Watch me cook.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You say, \u201cCame to claim my position\u201d on your song \u201cStill.\u201d In hip-hop, where do you<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>feel like your position is?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My position is amongst the greats, you know what I mean? My position is part of the ecosystem of what our culture is today and influencing that and having a profound voice. I feel like we get caught up on like, \u201cthe king,\u201d this, that and the third or The Big 3, but I think that everybody is contributing in they own kind of way. Everybody\u2019s special in they own regard, \u2019cause there\u2019s only one of each person. So, I would say that, playing my position as one of them. One of the ones.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Between you and Ray Vaughn, and some others, you were battle-tested this year, and you showed and proved. Looking back on that experience, what was an accomplished moment for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, shout-out to Daylyt. One of the things that made me be like, OK, I\u2019m gonna engage, is, one, I love battle rap, and I think Daylyt is arguably one of the best battle rappers there are. I was just like, bro, you know, I\u2019ve never battle rapped in my life, but if my pen could go with one of the greats in that sport, then I think that says a lot about me as an MC, as a rapper. So that was one of the main deciding factors of why I even engaged.<\/p>\n<p>And then two, I felt that, at first, I didn\u2019t see the opportunity, \u2019cause I\u2019m like, I\u2019m a more accomplished artist than my adversaries were. But then I started realizing that there\u2019s a lot of people who actually not hip to what my pen could do. So, I think that just engaging. I\u2019m proud that I did because I really was prepared to just kinda take the high road the whole time and not really engage, because I\u2019m like, what do I get from it? But in the end, I did see a win and came out with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What did you enjoy about that competitive standpoint?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just being on my toes, and like having to be fast on my toes. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever had to do that. That\u2019s like a lyrical exercise in itself. No, it really was. \u2019Cause to perform at such a high level so quickly, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever been challenged like that.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of the times, we work on songs for years, and then by the time we put it out, they\u2019re like years old, or we had a lot of time to refine lyrics to perfect it, you know? This was definitely an instance of give it the best you got and let\u2019s go. So, that was cool. I don\u2019t think I really knew how well I performed under pressure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You showcase different sides of yourself on the album by rapping and singing. \u201c3 Feet<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Away\u201d is a highlight of that. Why do you want to put that part of your artistry on<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>display at this point in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think if it doesn\u2019t grow, it dies. I\u2019m a firm believer in that. So, I\u2019m always looking to grow and to expand. I like to look at music in a food type of analogy, right? Where it\u2019s like people go to the restaurants that they like. You go to an Italian restaurant for Italian food. And I do have that understanding, but at the same time, I think that I\u2019m always trying to find ways to introduce my consumer base to new dishes.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019m always having that fettuccini for y\u2019all. That\u2019s always gonna be there, but try this crudo. It\u2019s a new flavor. Like \u201c3 Feet Away,\u201d \u201cWhat the f**k? This ni**a\u2019s singing.\u201d I\u2019ve never rapped like that on a song. The vocal inflections. It\u2019s one of my favorite songs, for real, and I\u2019m glad that I put it out.<\/p>\n<p>That was one of the later additions to the project, too. I knew I loved that song, but I was just like, are they ready for it? And I\u2019m like, f**k it. This is the moment in my career where there\u2019s no fear. Do it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It takes a lot of time for certain artists to get to that point. Why are you in that place<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>now where you have no fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2019Cause I think that I\u2019ve done it, and you know what? I think the year that I\u2019ve had gave me<br \/>more confidence, too. It\u2019s like, don\u2019t y\u2019all ever try to play with me when it comes to the bars, you know what I\u2019m saying? I displayed I can do that whenever I want to, and you should know that by now. Don\u2019t ever try to play me. Let me show you something new now.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align:center\">Listen to Joey Bada$$&#8217;s <em>Lonely at the Top<\/em> Album<\/h3>\n<div class=\"single-post-image \">\n<figure class=\"img-tag has-sizer alignnone\">\n<p><span class=\"visually-hidden\">Joey Bada$$ xxl magazine fall 2025 digital cover<\/span><\/p><figcaption>Ahmed Klink\/XXL<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"photogallery-title\">See Photos From Joey Bada$$ and J.I.D&#8217;s <em>XXL<\/em> Magazine Fall 2025 Cover Shoot<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align:center\">Watch Joey Bada$$ and J.I.D&#8217;s Interview With <em>XXL<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><script 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