Joey Badass Talks New Album, Jay-Z, Diddy, Emotional Intelligence, Processing Grief + More

I hadn't gotten a chance to listen to it. Man, I listen to it a couple of days ago. Phenomenal body or worth my brother like phenomenal like rap album of the year category. They should be mentioned in that kind of conversation. That means a lot coming from you, You know what I'm saying. I appreciate that. Definitely worked really hard on that. Um, I'm super satisfied with the project. I feel like all of the feedback has been really good.

And those are my guys too, Sho, Hovan, Rob b Dot just some the other day, you know, I'm now I text him, I text him I was like, yo, well, I only tell me Joey bad As I was so good. It was like we did and listening and he told me, he said, you said that with rap Rado recently came out to shout out to Elliott as well. You know that was good. Those are my guys. Man was just keeping the conversation going. Heavily inspired by the mixtape game.

It seems like, oh yeah, but with some of the first couple of samples, something in the way you make me feel like, yeah, so let's talk about that. Because as soon as I heard, I was like, oh, you could tell he was raised on mixtapes, So let's talk about that a little bit, right, Yeah. I mean, you know, it was like an older and every day pulled up on my man's statics shout statics, selected um and he played that joint and I ain't gonna lie. I laid that ship and I don't even care about it really.

I was just like, you know, because that at that point, I was experimenting a lot, you know, with my sound, so when it came to, you know, the boom back or the traditional style, I would just kind of be bored with that. The sun I could do on my sleep, so I just kind of laid it and then think about it. But I was listening to with the next day and then the next day and the next day. I'm like, Yo, this shit is fired, you know what

I'm saying. But definitely like with the whole mixtape, influence direction, you know, that's why I was raised on. That's what I grew up on. And this project, Um, you know, I'm more of a conceptual type of artists, but this one, I really just kind of wanted to speak towards my lifestyle and things that I was living on a day to day basis. You know what I'm saying, bring people

to my world. I feel like it's been ten years since I've been in the game, and I feel like it was a perfect time for a reintroduction to Joey Badass. So that's kind of how structured this joints. So every time I see I feel like you you should have been You should have grew up in the in the hole of the naz Era. That's what Even when I see you acting, I'm like, you are from that error, Like your whole embodiment fits that error. That's why I told him this morning. I was like, yo, I said,

it's very New York but still fresh. Yeah, that's how you moved to me. Very New York but still fresh with it. Yeah, man, you know I was when I came out at the time. Man, it was like nobody has seen what I was doing, you know. But for me, it was kind of like a natural reaction to what was going on, you know what I'm saying, Circle twenty ten, twenty eleven. You know a lot of stuff on the radio was like young money dominant. Then they started going

West coast with it, you know what I'm saying. And I just felt the need that New York needed something that like represented it again, you know what I mean. And that's kind of just where I fell in and I feel like I felt that void kind of in a way. And yeah, now it's just kind of part of my DNA radio at that time, I know that. Well, you know, I was a kid. I hated everything. I hated literally everything. I didn't want to have talked to nobody,

I ain't want to see nobody. I had no type of gauge or really what was going on into the magnitude of how it was going and when did that change? Because you know, when when you first came out, I guess you could consider the introvert, like you really didn't fuck with too many people. You were just kind of

on your own, and and it's changed a lot since then. Yeah. Man, you know, when I first came out, I was very crew based, you know what I'm saying, Like I didn't want to go nowhere without my crew, you know what I'm saying, Like if I'm in the spot, my whole gang is in the spot, and if they can't get in, then I'm not going in, you know. And that really had kept me in my own bubble, so a lot of people couldn't like approach me. And I was being told things earlier in my career like yeah, I'm gonna

approach the bone and stuff. I was like, what, Like, I feel like I'm the nicest guy, you know what I'm saying. I could have a conversation with anybody. You know. It's really just time and experience that went on and kind of realizing how many opportunities I was leaving behind because I was straight up not go to certain rooms and tables because I couldn't row five dep you know what I'm saying. And I had to smarten up as I got older and I realized, you know, you pack light.

The lighter you pack, you know, the further you could fly, the further you could have sen what's the quote they say, if you want to go fast, go along. If you want to go far, go together. You know what I'm saying. So it's kind of like, now that's real because I remember when you came out, people loved your music, but they didn't know anything about Joey Badass. Besides, he's from Brooklyn and he runs with a lot of people. But like today, you came in and you're talking about cars.

I'm like that, I never even know Joey was in the car. Yeah, and I know I do so much cars. I'm like that. But it's I'm glad to see you opening up people getting that understanding you a lot more. You know when it's when you're a new artist and you're coming into the game. And that's why I have a lot of like empathy and like patience for like these newer guys. It's like you're still introducing yourself, you

know what I mean. People only can identify with the version of you where you caught the moment at So, say you got a song and it's about cheeseburgers. They like this. Nigga like cheese. They like Nigga, Why are you eating the glizzie you know on the street, Like you know what I mean. So it kind of just becomes a part of your identity and shit like that. And the more you grow and expand as an artist, you can introduce different size of yourself, you know what

I mean. So for me being here ten years, it's like I've been able to implement you know, different size at the time goes on and I'm grateful for that. Why did it take so long? Why why ten years between projects? Oh No, I wasn't five years ago. Um, five years was my last album, All America, All American, right, But five years is a long time too, and this business. Why five years? Man? It wasn't no specific reason, Like, it wasn't like I finished my last time and be like, yeah,

I'm gonna take five years or nah. It just it just happened that way, man. You know, I was experimenting, trying to find a new direction, trying to figure out which way I wanted to go. Um. In addition, I had my first kid, you know, my daughter, she's four years old now, um started doing a lot of TV and film stuff started taking off. So it was just really getting used to a new balance, and then the

pandemic set me back. Like I had a project, but when the pandemic started, I got connected with myself in a different way, you know, and it became a whole different thing, you know. So it's just it's kind of the way it lined up. But I'll tell you this, like I ain't never planning on going away for that

long again, you know. Well you're still on TV a lot though, so it didn't feel like for sure for sure, but like it felt a little weird because I would be going to interviews with like music people and they want to talk to me about acting, but you didn't win the Oscar. Yeah, you know what I mean. It's kind of big. Well yeah, the movie wanted the movie right, Yeah, you know, But does that make you feel away when you go to interviews and people don't know you as

a rapper and they know you more as an act. No, you don't ever make me feel a way. But it just made me feel as I, Okay, it's been too long, these niggas about to forget that you rap? You know what I'm saying, these niggas about to just identify you as an actor, like you need to come with some shit now, you know That's That's kind of was more

the pressure I was feeling. But I think it's ill when people, you know, notice me and they only know me for film and TV, because I actually like that opportunity to get to get to introduce myself to people, you know what I'm saying, Like they meet the person

first and then they go check out my music. I feel like it always hit different that way because right there you could see, Okay, this nigga is not no one dimensional type of nigga, you know what I'm saying, And then you get into the music, like, oh, you know what I'm saying, Being an act opens up a lot more doors, I'm sure though, Yeah, yeah, absolutely absolutely. You know, they made a lot of connections, you know

what I'm saying, with a lot of great people. I mean, shout out to everybody in the Power universe, from Sa Chapin, Cortney camp Fifth, shout out to my man James Samuel's you know what I'm saying. Even these are just people who've been looking out for me in the film and TV world and kind of like helping meet guide and still myself into the right places because that shit is hard,

you know what I mean? That shit is harder than music, Like to be the lead role in a movie requires ample amount of time, like you got no time for yourself. I mean, I'm talking about from breakfast club hours old all the way to uh late night with Rosenberg hours every day Monday do Friday for about seven months, you

know what I'm saying. With music, I mean, you know, the most strenuous part about being artist is like probably tour and even tours like okay, yeah, you probably gotta go to the next city, stay on the bus all day, but the work really is only for about an hour or two hours that night, you know what I'm saying. Everything else is kind of like just the ship that comes with it. But acting is a way tougher y'all. How did you get into acting? For people that don't know? Um, So,

I was at theater student in high school. I went to Edward Armorrow. Um I had like audition for a bunch of different like drama theater programs because when I was coming up, when I when it was time for me to go to high school, like I always was into music, but at the time there was no program to go to, like work on my rap skills or the Rapper Show. My next like best thing to me was film, you know, I know, I always wanted to get into that, so I kind of just tried my

little early start. I got accepted into Edward R. Murrow. They kicked me out after myself more year though for what My attendance was just poor. It was poor. I was like one out of three black kids. And the great thing about that is I was one out of three black kids. It was me and the homie Sadique who played ghost Face on Wu Tang Wow. So it was dope, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, you know what I mean, connecting back with him the whole full circle joint. Did you ever think you would lose your

rap identity as Joey Badass playing Inspected Deck. Um? No, I didn't think I was gonna lose my rap identity. But that is a good question because I was always reluctant about playing roles that were too close to who I am in real life, especially a rapper. I'm like, I don't want to be a rapper because I am a rapper. But when I got off of that, you know,

it's Wu tang like that's a big honor. And then Rizzi has been one of my mentors in this game for a long time, so I definitely wanted to come through for him, like I felt he's come through for me a lot of the times. But then I got power and then I got on Vivid or Full Team. The album two thousand, right, it's called two thousand. By my calculations, you were five and two thousands. So what do you what do you remember about that year? Man?

I remember so vividly being in pre k. This is like, this had to be like right before I went to kindergarten, probably like May or some shit. I just remember seeing my teacher right on the chalkboard, like May first or something. Two thousand. I just remember that shit being a big thing. And I also remember being terrified because as a kid hearing about the watch, I'm like, mine's the world gone?

And boom, you know, two thousand came and it was just like a whole It was a new millennium, you know, because most people two K and ship my ship, So because most people talking about they talked about those years and it was teenagers. Is they're formative years, Like I mean you were five, Yeah, yeah, I was five, but I was very aware. I was soaking up game. You

know what I'm saying. I was serving tell me about the jay Z connection because you referenced that a couple of times on the album will make you feel and I might be papreate and wo you say, peep game like Jay, That's that's why he didn't sign me. That's why I didn't. He didn't sign this. Get the Game at Bay, like the forty nine is like that line is inspired by you know, Jay is like definitely, Jay is like an idol of Yeah, you know what I'm saying.

So I read his book The Coded, and that line was inspired by piecing the coda when he said he met with Russell Simmons for the first time and he details experience as him like remembering sitting at that table and looking at them and thinking to himself like damn, Like I don't want to be signing these niggas. I want to beat these niggas, you know what I'm saying. So that was kind of the inspiration behind that line. It's like, you know, shit didn't work out or whatever

for whatever reason it didn't. Um, but shit, you remember the first conversation with Jay, you first sit down on him. Yeah? Yeah, I was seventeen years old. You know, he flew me over the tour. I was in Denvil. He flew me back out to New York to meet with him, and you know, I was a funny little nigga. So I walked in and I'm like, yes, like nigga whatever it is.

He was sitting like behind his desk, kind of like how it looks Charlemagne is right there, but he was standing up like you know, doing the pacing back and forth and shit. And it was a dope experience, man,

because at seventeen years so, I felt so limitless. Like it was probably like when I was fifteen or sixteen, like I visualized in my mind like I want to be signed at jay Z. So when I was going up in that rock Nation Building like a year or two later, I'm like, damn, I could do anything, you know what I'm saying, Like I'm already I'm already intersecting with my idol. I'm already in alignment with my idol.

Anything is possible, you know what I'm saying. That's how I looked at it no matter what happened, whether it worked out or didn't. You know, did he tell you why he didn't sign y'all? It's funny like I always see him now and I'll be wanting to have that conversation, but the time, I feel like the time never permits.

Like where we at, you know what I'm saying, be stuff going on, but I'd be wanting to ask him that, Like you know what I'm saying, because I was so young at the time, and to me, there was no reason to not sign a jay Z. But you know there was other, um you know, factors involved and shit like that. So I'm not really sure what exactly happened, like if the communicate, if the communication channels was like

sabotage or something like that. Like, I don't know what happened, you know, because based off the album, it seems like y'all used to be up there a lot, like skateboarding in front of the building. Well, yeah, they showed us a lot of love, you know what I'm saying. To this day, you know, he looks out for me, shows me a lot of love. So it's just always been, um, you know, what's more like three degrees of separation, you know what I'm saying, like knowing mutual people and a

lot then also Chan that's the rap. We had a chance to wrap up here and he said, you guys are really close. Yeah, how did y'all develop that relationship?

How y'all get so close? Man? Since the beginning? You know, Like I think I was probably the first dude in the industry to like Collid with a Chance, you know what I'm saying, back in the day, and I remember seeing his video for Hey Miles, like his first single, and I remember seeing that ship right away, Like, Yo, this dude is a star, you know what I'm saying. And you to Chicago. We had connected one time and from there we was just cool, you know what I'm saying.

He was always a good dude to be around, good energy, good spirit, and like, you know, just like mindedness. You know, shout out to my dog Chance. We got the hogs and the lows out right now. I think it's definitely one of the best songs that dropped this year, you know. And I like what you said about this being a reintroduction to Joy Badass, because you do tell so much about yourself. You talk about your cousin Richie rich writing your writing your first rap? Yeah, but what kind of

battery did that? Putting your back? Man? I mean, he just like really gave me structure, you know what I'm saying, Like he taught me how to count balls and all that, because I'm like, what is the sixteen and he kind of broke it down for me. It's kind of like he's like, it's kind of like a line a line

by line, you know what I'm saying. So having characters like that in my life at an early age definitely gave me like the extra confidence, you know what I'm saying to do it, because while other kids was like kind of struggling trying to figure out what they were doing, I actually had guidance, you know what I mean, some type of guidance like you know, look, that's how you write a rap. Boom boo. Let me write your first

rap for you. Let me get you set up. And then you know, I had other older cousins who's a rapping shit like that For a long time. It was a running joke because when I was a kid, I used to always tell them, yo, yeah, y'all need to bring me to the studio. Boom and then my ship blew up and I was like, ah, yeah, niggas, do you remember writing your first rap um my first rap? Nah? Nah?

Like I don't remember in my first rod, but it must have been in like first grade because that's when I was introduced the poetry and I identified it as like I was like, Oh, this is shit that biggie doing. That's like what my brain said, you know what I mean. And if from there I got into poetry, but I would always do like rap style poems. What did your family say back then when you when you started rapping because you got accepted to this this great school, but

you wanted to rap. Well, the thing is I was already rapping before the school, you know what I'm saying. My family already knew that that's what I like to do. I ain't gonna out of My family always been supportive, you know what I mean, Like they was pretty much more like amazed by my conviction because you know I

used to My mom used to kicking me out. We used to fall out, and then I would go by my grand mom's and I would set like a make I would set up a makeshift studio in the basement, so It's like, you know, it would be a running joke in my family, like, Oh, you don't go down there and mess with javon studio stuff, you know what I mean. I would have like the towels hanging from

the ceiling, create like a whole little booth. But I remember the first time I spent that verse that my cousin wrote for me for my mom's I was like nine years old, and she went something like, my name is little Jay, and I got the nain you messed with me, and I blow off your mind. They hating cousins. I'll be on my ground and I always shine while you acting like your shelf clocks for I put a pipe bomb in your mailbox some shit like that, right, I'm not I don't even know what. Nah. She even

stat for me me. She was like, do you know what a nine is? And I was like, I'm to me, I'm like, I'm nine, so it just sounds nine years old for me. I'm like, nah. She was like it's a gun. First of all. I was like word. And then she gave me the realist advice. She was like, yo, look, if you want to do this, you could do that, but you just gotta be true to yourself and from there I just kind of took that in rand with

She didn't saying about the pipe bomb. Nah. I think she kind of figured out that it wasn't my words, you know what I'm saying, somebody who else was involved in that. Now I love written in the stars too. You mentioned your daughter earlier. You said your daughter was your wake up call that What did that wake up call look like? Do you? Yeah? You know when I had my daughter, it was like, oh shit, I only

got one kid, you know what I mean? I was I felt so obligated in the earlier years in my career to take kid people and you know, look out for people and to the point where, you know, a lot of the times it burned me out, you know, um feeling that get feeling like guilt survivors guilt and things of that nature. But you know, when my baby girl came, I was like, oh, okay, this is really the only person I'm responsible for, you know what I'm saying.

And now that she's his different, Like, if you can't respect that, then you know we can't even be cool no more. How's your life change? How do you move differently now that you have a girl? You have more conviction, do you invest more? Like? How do that change you as a father to man? Well? Yeah, you know, definitely more focused, definitely more intention and everything that I do, especially when it comes to you know, spending and living. I mean shit, I was I'm a very spontaneous type

of due. So one thing that I realized quick was like, oh shit, I don't got the same free you somebody used to have, Like I would be able to go to Africa tomorrow now, you know what I'm saying, I gotta set it up, make sure hey, things good, she good, like weeks in advance. You know. I say it made me more patient, It made me more gentle, It made me more willing to learn and listen, you know what I'm saying. Like, especially with a baby girl, I feel like it's way more delicate. You know. How did you

change your overall perspective of women? Um? Definitely, Like you know, from time to time I would have the thought like I wouldn't with my daughter to you know what I'm saying being in a situation like that, So it definitely

kind of gives you a heightened state of awareness. I would say, you know, when it comes to that interaction but I mean, I've always been a super respectful man anyway, but like you know, with my baby girl in my life, it definitely kind of shapes my mind in a way, like, all right, let me try to be more like the version of the man that I would want my baby

girl to grow up. Man, you know, be with deal with Do you ever look at it like I was this way as a man and now I gotta change because I don't want my daughter to like that as a man. Um Yes and no, because you know, life is about growth. You know, nobody's gonna come straight off with a tree like boom, perfect solid, the full man that they're supposed to be. Like, Nah, you gotta experience,

and you know I want, I want. I don't want none of that to be hidden from my child, Like I don't want her to ever view life as a thing where you could skip steps and still get by. You know what I'm saying. It's like everything counts to whatever point in time. You you know what I mean, Everything is added up. You know we all got we all got all types of childhood traumas that we couldn't even run from if we tried to. You know what I'm saying, it was inevitable, there was no way to

get off that path or whatever. And these are the things that affect us saying, you know what I'm saying, ultimately shape who we are, you know what I mean. But as long as you know, you got that growth mindset, or as long as whoever she's with got that growth mindset, then I got some patience, you know, I got some sympathy. You talked about that being your only child, like did

that inspire the line on cruise control? And I'm know I'm paraphrasing again, but it's like you basically said you had to cut off friends you outgrew because you were just holding onto them because of the history, right that y'all had together. When did you realize that fully? Um? Yeah, I want to say definitely closer that time that I had had my child, you know, and starting to kind of put my life into perspective, looking at assets versus liabilities,

like what was what was? Um? You know, my dad always give me this analogy, especially when it comes to money, is like it's like having a bag, right and you're filling it up with water, but it got a hole in it, and the hole is representative of your liabilities or your overhead. So I was really starting to look at it like that, like who's helping me close this hole? Who's helping me make this shit bigger? And that's where

my discernment started to come in and to develop. And you know, that's how I was able to separate the real from the fake. Really, and now I'll just roll. I just the way I'm moving around is like way lighter, you know what I'm saying. Like, and that's part of it too. But then also you have the friends who even if you're doing for them, they feel like it's never enough. Yeah, man, like they're entitled. That's where the

entitlement creeps in, you know what I'm saying. M Yeah, you gotta you gotta, you gotta be real careful with that. I mean, I'm on some I'm in a headspace now where as soon as I feel those negativities or those disconnections, that's it. I'm you know what I mean, Because I ain't about to sit here and drain myself out and try to, um, you know, make somebody happy who can't make theirself happy. You know, that's that's like a waste

of your time. You know what I'm saying, and I'm done wasting my time, like I'm trying to elevate, trying to be the best of me and like that type of shit is just uh detours. What did they say, Joey's Joey Hollywood Now? Not because I ain't never moved out of New York, you know what I mean? Shit, I mean, you know, New Drules, but you know I'm still here now in the baddest. First of all, you and you and Diddy seemed like y'all have a strong relationship. Absolutely.

How did he get so cool and so close? Man? I met Diddy? Uh when it was this twenty sixteen or twenty fifteen, twenty sixteen coming out to Rihanna met gala after party and want to know, he was walking out, I was walking in and he was just like, yo, King, I've been trying to connect with you for years, Like I was trying to sign are you back in the day, and I'm like, this is all news to me, you know what I mean, It's the first time. I mean,

you know, I'm like wow, word boom. And in that same week I had rolled it out in Miami and then I ran into him again and if from there it was just like we would just roll dogs, you know what I'm saying, Like he would be going soon, yo, Joe, I'm being in New York. Boom pull up, you know. And we just kind of developed that relationship like that. And it's like I'm too yeah, exactly shit because of me, you know what I mean. I got him on that project, I got him involved. I made a phone call and

made it happen, you know what I'm saying. And this, I'm super grateful for that relationship because me, I'm a sponge. So it's like you bring me around to the right wounds and tables, like I ain't taking that ship for granted. I'm connected, I'm networking, I'm you know what I'm saying, I'm using the opportunity fruitfully, you know what I mean, as it should be. So that's how he's always he's the fact that he could identify that in me. I'm

very appreciative for that, you know what I'm saying. And it's like as like his little bro, like I want to maximize on those things. I don't want to let him down. You know what I'm saying. I want to return plus interest. You know what I'm saying, Return on investment, and it ain't even that type of situation. There ain't no business involved. It's just really just love. But that's just my mindset, that's my character. You know. He did

the intro and the outro. On the outro, he said something to the effect of, um, you know, we gotta we gotta bring that New York feeling back, Like you know, people are sometimes we lost ourselves a little bit by those conversations that y'all have. And do you think that you can actually bring New York back if you live in someplace like Miami, La. But you gotta be here, Yeah, I think you gotta be here for show because you gotta connect with the pulse of the city, you know

what I'm saying. Like I was talking to my boy Fur the other day and we definitely plying on like just bringing some synergy back here, you know what I mean, having like different events. I feel like the city is kind of disconnected. It's dead right now. Like there's a lot of disconnection, you know what I'm saying, Like we

all know each other, but ain't nobody linking up. Ain't nobody got no central spot, no safe spaces, ain't enough safe spaces, No more just random little events here like shut go here, shit, I don't know, you know, um what was the question? The question was do you all have those conversations about bringing the feeling back? Oh? Yeah, you know, yeah yeah, me and Puff we've spoken about that over the years, Like you know, I'll play him

some songs. He's like, yeah, like this is the vib this ain't the vibe, or you should do this, you should go more here. You know, but that's usually the focus of the conversation. You know what I'm saying. We're always trying to stay in that essence. He still got it. En said he don't got no end no more. Fifty said did he ain't got no? That's a lot, that's a lot. Puff. I feel like he always gonna have it. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. Now, who do you respect

lyrically now? Because you know, of course in the battles you talk about of course Kenny, yourself and Cold. So who do you respect lyrically now? Um, lirial clyar. Shit. You know, I feel like there's a lot of people doing anything right now, Like you got Grizelda, you got Freddie Gibbs, you got j I D you know, you got my homie Flapper zombies um been doing their ship and people I don't never mentioned flat Ba Zombie slew

the flat Ba Zombie. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm a real Booklyn, New York nigga, the East Coast nigga. So I'm gonna putting on from my city and ship. But you got Denzel Curry doing this thing too. You know that's just a few. I want to be loved. I love that hookies. I want to be loved and you know, not judged. Why why is that so hard for us to just love and not judge people? Man?

Because societal norms, you know what I mean, like the society, the world that we're living in, the agreements that we have, the ego, you know what I'm saying. I mean social media in itself, it's just a judgment app. You know, you're scrolling down and you're just analyzing and judging and making observations inferences, and you know, you're just looking at everybody highlight reels and you think, you know you saw

comparing it to yourself and to your life. Like you know, I feel like if we could just learn how to love and you know, detach ourselves from go like, you know, the world will be a better place obviously. You know, I never realized too, man, just listening to that, I never realized how much you sound like most death YO people be saying. I don't hear it. On this project especially, I was like, damn, it's like he really sound like

most I don't hear it. I most is like, you know, one of my favorite rappers, like Whomi says, it's probably one of my favorite songs all time, So I would love to sound like that, but I don't hear it. Though, not hear it, I mean, and it's not you know, the rhyme start. It's not like you're imitating him, and it's just the voice like that sound like most YE

people always say that. Now you can tell that you've really been doing the work on yourself mentally too, you know what I mean, Like you go to therapy, I do, Okay, you go to therapy. U. I started going to therapy back at twenty twenty. You know, as unfortunate as that pandemic was for a lot of people, you know what I'm saying, Like, I definitely don't want to be insensitive when I say this, but for me, I needed that shit, you know what I mean, Like I didn't know stillness

in my adult life. Like I hit the ground running that seventeen years old. I was still a kid still in high school and had to like was forced on accelerated growth, you know what I mean, just pushed out there, just had to keep it going. And I didn't realize for about five six years, I didn't stop. I hadn't stopped. I hadn't gotten any type of still time. I hadn't like had real time to connect with my family even

more appointedly myself, you know what I mean. So when I finally got that space in that time, it's like I just I just went real deep inside, you know what I mean, and I realized things that I needed. I was like, Okay, I need that, you know what I mean, Like I need to be held accountable for

my shortcomings. I need those to be pointed out to me because I'm what you call a self improvement junkie, Like I'm committed and devoted to being a better version of myself every time I show up, you know what I'm saying, Like you could see the evolution in all the Breakfast Club interviews. I think this is our third one. Yeah, you know what I'm saying. So I pride myself on that. You know, so therapy was definitely an outlet that I saw too bring me closer to a higher self awareness

and just state of being. What it induced you to it? How did you decide to do it? What that decision? Well, you know, I've always been open minded, and I started to resonate with the idea that black people tap therapy being so tabboo to us. You know what I'm saying, Like, what it was is I was introduced to the concept of emotional intelligence and that kind of blew my mind.

That opened so many doors for me because I'm like, wow, like we really wasn't taught this how important it is to identify your own emotions in relation to the people around you. You know what I'm saying, Like, shit, we might just wake up in a bad move and you wearing that moved and now your household is feeling that move and you don't even realize you just passed that moved on to your son. Now your son is in school with that moved and he passed that on to

You know what I'm saying, energies. Energy is so contagious and once I kind of like realized that it started to you know, open little pathways in my brain, like them even identifying with frustration as an emotion, you know what I'm saying, Like you tell a lot of black men if you if you tell a black man you're you're being emotional. That's like offensive. But people don't realize that. Yo, if you're angry, if we're having a conversation, you're just

screaming because you're mad. You're in your emotion, you know what I'm saying. People get emotion emotionally hijacked every day, be every day like blinded by emotion, blinded by rage. So I just kind of started on that path for understanding myself more. Because I grew up I had like anger issues and stuff like that. It was hard to me to identify a lot of things that I was feeling. Did you figure out where that anger came from? Now?

I think now that I think about it, looking in the hindsight, I think a lot of it came from when my parents split, you know what I'm saying, and me not knowing how to process that manifesting the something else, like me trying to find a reason for elsewhere. You know what I mean, I can't. I can't that same realization in therapy, Like I didn't realize how much my parents divorcing had impacted me and how angry I was at my pops for that word up world up. You

know what I'm saying. So, and that that should do something that you especially as a black man, you know what I mean, because now you got that separation from your father and it's like you need your father or as a black man, especially in this fucking world. That's why I love that Kendrick record. Uh is it ay the time? Man? Because I'm like, Yo, that's how every black man feels when it comes to their relationship with

their dad, Like that's our first hero. That's who we really want validation from, and when we don't have that, it does make you feel like less of a man. And he might implement, you know, ideas of manhood and you that aren't really manhood. But it's like a gift in the curse because what he's saying on the song too, it's like his pops is on something like like fucky emotions nigga, like ye ain't nobody don't nobody cared nigga working?

You know what I'm saying, like, yo, I was just my pops just went on a vacation for the first time in like thirty years. Wow, you know what I'm saying, Like I'm super proud of him, Like to him say that, like they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, you know what I mean. So, like I was, I was very excited to hear that, like he something awoken

in him to like break past his comfort zone. You know, because especially with our parents and shit, like, they locked into a lot of their mindsets and a lot of their thinking and anything like. This new generation is way more open minded. It's a lot of new concepts being introduced and stuff like that that our parents were seeing. You Like what you know, did you ever had that

conversation with your pop? Because you know, one of the best things that helped me was having a conversation with my pops and realizing that he was going to therapy two or three times a week back in the day he tried to kill himself. Back in the day, he was gonna tend to twelve different medications. It made me give him more great because I realized, damn, he was somebody before he was my parents, right, and you know, he was just doing the best he could, but what

he had, Yeah, you know, I have to. I have great conversations from my dad all of the time, and it's like I have my own interpretations of it because I feel like my understanding and his understanding is definitely different, and it's like a generational difference. And I came to kind of growing accept that because I just for me, what fulfills me, what I appreciate. What I'm grateful for is that I could hear my old man's wisdom, you know what I mean. And it's like it's up to

me to interpret that however I see fit. But just being able to hear that, Like, you know, I might feel a little bit more spiritually advanced than my dad, but I could never be more experienced than him, you know what I'm saying. And Dad alone just make me so grateful for any time we connect, you know what I'm saying, because I feel like it's a meeting of the minds and you can learn from anybody, you know what I'm saying. Like I like to say, I'm a

student in every room. You know, shit, i could be the teacher in the room and I'm still student, right do you really meditate every day? You say that on the album, So you meditate every day? Nah, it's hard to meditate every day, like you know, that's more of like a manifestation. I would like to meditate every day at a point, I was, you know, in the pandemic

for show. But one thing I try to do is pray every day because I feel like it's a form of you know, meditation or just a form of being able to like program you're thinking in the right way. How were you during the pandemic with with everything going on? Because you were in New York during a pandemic. I was in Jersey years in Jersey. But how were you during that time? Man? I was just to myself, bro, Like I call it a time of internal retreat, you know, like I was. I was doing a lot of things.

I was practicing celibacy. I was reading a lot of books, you know what I'm saying. In six months, I probably read like ten or fifteen books. I was like the most in one setting, you know, um, watching a lot of videos. I started cooking. I was making salads, you know, cooking to make it salads. Well, yeah, facts, I was making salads. But I learn how to make salmon all of that. You know, my ship was slapping too. What

did you see about it? Because I always say, you know, the pandemic, like you said earlier, made all of us be still for the first time. A lot of us had to like really be still for the first time and deal with ourselves. Couldn't run from our traumas or nothing. What did you see that made you be like, oh no, I gotta go do some work on myself. I saw. I felt like I saw how much I was settling

for the short end of the stick. Like you know, I spent a lot of the like the first half of my career really focused and obliged to taking care of other people, and in that I put a lot of people before myself. So when the pandemic, it kind of put things a perspective to me. It's like, damn, I got I did this one for that one, that one for this one. But what the fuck do I have to show for myself? What have I done for myself?

And then that ship was a whole reset because then I came out the pandemic damn selfish, but in the best way possible, because I've never been that person, you know, like the shit is evident too, Like, I'm glad you noticed that. You said, Yo, you look healthy, Like this is what I look like when I'm focused on myself. This is what I look like when I take that time to you know, take care of myself, like to

love myself. This is what it looked like, you know, like before that it was it wasn't too much love for self. Did the pandemic finally give you the opportunity to grieve? Steve's the right way. Um, it definitely gave me opportunities. But um, I would say my grieving has probably like finally, I don't I don't know this this this grieving, is it a complete process? Does it get

I don't know if it's a complete process. But I was gonna say, when I listened to Survivor's Guilt, I feel like you have finally started processing Yes, you know his death. Yeah, and that's why I was getting that, Like this is the first year where I definitely feel somewhat like a little bit of peace, you know what I mean. It's ten years later, it's like I'm finally feeling that sense of peace. But just with Stesus, you know, I still I'm still majorly grieving my cousin junior there. Yeah,

because it was just a whole different situation. You know, how did how did you how are you processing it? Like? You know, did it make you look at because I had a friend committed suicide in twenty twenty and when she did that, it made me look at suicide differently. Well, listen, man, it definitely brought me to a very dark place. And

you know me, I'm very intuitive. So something inside me told me because I remember coming from the funeral for me and CJ was on the way back to the crib and I remember telling him like, yo, bro, we gotta be strong for everybody else, you know, because it's easy to fall right now, you know, it's easy to get pulled into that low energy. And I got pulled

into that ship. Even after saying it, even after having that a witness and that understanding that I couldn't go there, I still got sucked into that, you know what I mean. It brought me at a very low, low place. I was depressed, like I felt so many ways. I'm like, damn, like seventeen years old, Like I know, so many people were so much older than me and they've never lost somebody this close to them, you know what I mean.

It was just it was a lot of unsettling emotions and feelings and at the same time, dealing with fame for the first time, dealing with you know what I'm saying, Like the ills of that. It was bugged. That's a

natural though. I'm sure your therapist told you that you gotta lights up to feel your feels like yeah, and that's what I realized too, Like for like I was, first of all, I'm grateful for the fact that I was able to put a lot of my trauma off because I was so busy, because I don't know what I would have did with that idle time, you know what I mean. Like I was hottied, pressed, like I felt suicidal all of that, you know what I mean.

Like I was very convinced that I wasn't gonna live past twenty five, Like at seventeen eighteen, I was very convinced to that. I'm like, there's no way, Like I didn't see life after twenty five. Even when I turned twenty five. I was a mind fuck for me because I'm like, damn, like it really hit me home. I'm like, I did not realize life. I did not visualize life this far. Wow, And then right there I drew up

a twenty year plan. Did you look at suicide differently because a lot of people, especially in New York, it's probably all over wheld, but especially in New York when growing up as a kid, when you think of suicide, the first thing that people think is your soul for your week. But then when you start having those emotions in that feeling, you realize far from that. First of all, like it's weird to say this, but like I think

suicide is an incredibly brave thing. You have to have a lot of fucking like audacity to do that to yourself, you know what I'm saying. And then it's like who withstand that pain or whichever way? Like you know, like it's heavy, it's heavy, but it's like that shit, there's nothing soft about that, nothing at all. It ain't nothing

soft about that, you know what I'm saying. Like I remember when I was at that point, I'm feeling low, and like as low as I was feeling and as convinced I was that like I didn't really want to live, I couldn't find that courage to actually do it, you know what I'm saying. Like I just couldn't find that, Like it's it's a lot my home girl, Jazz rest in peace. She did it in twenty twenty, completed suicide.

That's what they say to say shanty dass. But Jazz said she was so intentional and so calculated and so strategic that when she did it, in my mind, I processed it like she just knew it was her time to go, Like I, you know, I've never had that feeling like it's time for me to exit, you know. But even if you go look at her Twitter, she was saying things like I wonder what my next life is gonna be like and things like that. So something came over her when she knew today is my day.

You know, Steve, it was the same way with Steve's you know what I'm saying, Like he definitely was vocal about it leading up to it happening, you know what I'm saying, and like when it was just it was weird. Man. It's so now that the deported buying that new portion nine eleven, did it really help your mental health? That? Yeah, a little bit, you know what I'm saying, Because sometimes you gotta show yourself like what you can like achieved like it with it being a superficial item and a

material thing. To me, it was more represented like me having a goal, you know, and me proving myself once again, like anything that's possible, Like that was my dream car and I could have got it for a long time, but then one day I just decided, y'all gonna do it. And I remember ship like waking up the next morning

and seeing it in my garage. I'm like, damn, like and yeah, it really did something for my state of being, my state of mind, you know what I'm saying, Like I had to prove to myself, like I know, all I gotta do is be connected to the soul, but now I need to poor. Now. What I love about you, Joey Man, is like when when when when you see a black man doing the work, it does reflecting his life, It reflecting the way he looks and reflecting his career professionally.

This is probably your best body of work album way you see what you're doing in Hollywood. So that's why, man, when I see you, when I see that and I hear you telling these stories about going to therapy and everything, I'm like, that's gonna convince So many more black men

to go go do the work. Absolutely. Man. It's like, you know, I always probably myself on being some type of role model because it's like with this position I got, with this stature, with this platform, It's like I got so many people listening, and I feel like the least I could do is implant seeds that will sprout, like, you know, more opportunity for these people, or just you know, wisdom that will transcend you into the right directions for these people and stuff like that, and also just making

them not feel alone. Like I realized that, like my most relatable work is my most vulnerable work. And usually when I go to like a survivors guilt or show Me, people relate to that ship more. You know what I'm saying, Because Yeah, let's get into a joint off the album what you want to hear bro on, Let's head Where I Belong, Where I Belong. We appreciate you for Joey Badass Man, keep growing my brother, Joey Badass. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning,