Joey Bada$$ is coming into 2025 ready for all the smoke.
On his new track, “The Ruler’s Back,” the Brooklyn MC is in his aggressive bag, making it clear that he wants to be respected as one of the best rappers in the game by specifically taking shots at the West Coast and proclaiming that he is the king of New York.
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On the track he raps, “I got murals in my city f**k a nomination / This for every time they left me out the conversation / I’m back by popular demand and world domination / I’m finna bomb niggas plans fresh off my vacation / I was sittin’ back, watchin’ from an eagle eye tryin’ not to react / Just give me one reason I swear I’m on full attack / East coast n***a ‘til I die / It’s clear show the heir apparent king of NY.”
He later continues, “Too much West Coast d**k lickin’ / I’m hearin’ n****s throwin’ rocks really ain’t shit stickin’ / Cause if we talkin’ bar-for-bar really it’s slim pickings.”
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Unsurprisingly, these bars caught the attention of many hip-hop fans on social media, who assumed that Joey was taking shots at Kendrick Lamar considering the 2024 he had and how he put West Coast back to the forefront of rap.
Others felt Joey was simply being competitive and “setting the tone for hip-hop in 2025.
This isn’t the first time Joey has challenged the West Coast and Kendrick Lamar.
In 2013, following K. Dot’s explosive verse on “Control,” in which he claims he’s the “King of New York,” Joey was one of the many East Coast MCs who took offense to his challenge, releasing “Killuminati Pt. 2.”
Joey is doing the same thing here and ensuring he’s no longer left out of the discussion when the best MCs in the game are mentioned.
Straight From 
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