Joey Bada$$ has once again stirred the pot, this time setting his lyrical sights on none other than Kendrick Lamar. In his newly released track “My Town,” the Brooklyn MC continues his ongoing feud with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), but this time he throws some unmistakable jabs at the Compton legend himself.
While “My Town” primarily targets TDE rapper Ray Vaughn, Joey doesn’t hold back from suggesting that he’s ready to take on the top of the West Coast pyramid. In one standout bar, he proclaims, “I’m the real boogeyman, y’all n**s should be afraid / Get the general, I’m killing his troops,” clearly hinting at Kendrick as the “general” behind the TDE army.
Joey pushes the envelope further, rapping, “Don’t make me Pulitzer, better be wise because / I’m dottin T’s and cross your eyes like Whitaker,” referencing Kendrick’s Pulitzer Prize while flipping it into a clever threat. It’s a bold move aimed at one of the most respected lyricists in modern hip-hop.
This isn’t Joey’s first time calling out Kendrick. In a previous diss track titled “The Finals,” he extended an open challenge, stating: “I salute you Kenny but I know you well aware / You lookin’ for some competition? Then just know that I’ll be right here.” While still respectful in tone, the bar made it clear that Joey sees himself as a worthy opponent for Lamar.
However, the most aggressive lines on “The Finals” were reserved for Ray Vaughn, including: “The way you let Dot d** sit in your mouth / This that same d*** linkin’ I was talkin’ about / You n***s would do anything for the clout.” It’s a scathing verse that takes shots not only at Vaughn’s loyalty but indirectly continues to bring Kendrick into the narrative.
The conflict between Joey Bada$$ and the West Coast started earlier this year with his fiery track “The Ruler’s Back.” On it, he rapped: “Too much West Coast d** lickin’ / I’m hearing n**s throwin’ rocks, really ain’t sht stickin’… I rap like I draw pentagrams and kill chickens,” sparking responses from multiple TDE members, including Ab-Soul.
Ab-Soul fired back in a freestyle cypher with the bar: “Lyt was heavy and Ray definitely stepped / But this is Hip Hop, you know we still on that… Just be lucky that Soul ain’t stepping in,” signaling that while the West is watching, they haven’t fully unleashed their big guns yet.
As of now, Kendrick Lamar has remained silent on Joey’s provocation, but fans are eagerly waiting to see if the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper decides to respond. With Joey Bada$$ escalating his campaign track by track, and boldly naming Kendrick as a target, it seems this East vs. West narrative is far from over.
Whether this becomes another historic lyrical war or fizzles out remains to be seen—but one thing is certain: Joey Bada$$ is making it very clear that he wants the smoke.
