Pro Era

So I took Joey for High Tea and scones while he was in London on tour and to promote his album. We spoke girls, cream, jam, music and what he would like to do with Nicki Minaj!

Joey Bada$$ dropped his debut album B4.Da.$$ late last month. The album moved 58,000 in its first week, debuting in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 chart. Not bad for someone who just celebrated his 20th birthday. To acknowledge the changes in his life, when Joey stopped by Complex, we took a walk down memory lane to revisit his first release “Waves,” from his debut mixtape 1999. Joey describes writing the song in his mother’s room one afternoon after smoking bud. It was this song, of course, that earned him praise from Jay Z. We also spoke to Joey about his Malia Obama endorsement and the ensuing controversy that arose during a Bloomberg interview where it seemed like he didn’t know who she was. He sets the record straight, chalking up the confusion to media spin.

To celebrate the release of his debut album, B4.Da.$$, rapper Joey Bada$$ heads to Brooklyn-based chicken-and-waffles joint Sweet Check to hang out with proprietor John Seymour. The duo decides to turn “Curry Chicken”—Joey’s favorite childhood dish, and the title of one of his new songs—into a brand-new Sweet Chick dish. They’re so pleased with the results that they host a party and impromptu performance at the restaurant to share it with friends—but not before the “Bada$$ Waffle” gets the seal of approval from the Joey’s mom.

On his 20th birthday, two days ago, Joey Bada$$ aka Badmon dropped his debut abum “B4.DA.$$”. While celebrating the album’s release, Joey had a day of press which included hitting up our office for an interview. During the interview, the young New York rapper touches on how he’ll gauge the success of his album, as well as competing with fellow album releases like Lupe Fiasco. The rapper also talks about his relationship with Statik Selektah, names his favorite track off the LP (which he says changes all the time), and tell us what’s next with Pro Era. We also get Joey to break down “Teach Me” and his free joint “Born Day,” where he addresses the Bobby Shmurda situation in his lyrics. “It hurts me, it effects me, I don’t wanna see none of my brothers go down like that. I don’t know Shmurda personally, but it’s someone that looks just like me, you feel me. Even with the recent incidents of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, these are all brothers that are just like us,” he says. Take a look at the full interview above, and be sure to cop “B4.DA.$$” on iTunes.

“B4.DA.$$.” in stores now. Support!