Joey Bada$$ plans to capitalize on the bicoastal rap battle he’s currently winning by releasing a new album this year.
While appearing on UPROXX’s video series Sound Check, the Brooklyn rapper and actor told host Jeremy Hecht that he plans to drop his first full-length project since 2022 in the summer. “The goal is to get the album out before August 30,” he said after being asked if there was an album in the works.
Joey Bada$$ has been controlling the conversation in rap since he dropped “The Ruler’s Back” on New Year’s Day, kicking off a monthslong rap battle between the East Coast and West Coast that features close to 30 diss tracks and around 10 rappers. In his latest track “Crash Dummy,” he called out Kendrick Lamar hoping for a response, as the Compton rapper is on his Grand National Tour with SZA. And according to Compton rap vet Glasses Malone, Joey may very well get his wish, saying that he should be expecting a response at any moment.
Elsewhere in the episode, he spoke on the influence the late MF DOOM had on his career early on, revealing that his late friend and collaborator Capital STEEZ put him on to the masked villain. “I actually wrote that verse to an MF DOOM beat called “Monkey Suite,” he said of his and STEEZ’s classic track “Survival Tactics.”
“Rest in Peace my brother STEEZ because he put me on to MF DOOM and I remember I fell down a crazy rabbit hole. I would just listen to a bunch of MF DOOM beats, just improving my flow, and my lyrics. But then STEEZ sent me the Styles of Beyond beat that we actually did that song to.”
You can watch the full episode below.