Joey Bada$$ is fresh off the release of his crew's new mixtape, PEEP: The Aprocalypse, and also recently got his own DJ Premier beat. All this from a kid, who just celebrated his 18th birthday last week. Joey stopped by Sway In The Morning to speak on how his success came together.
Joey cited the importance and structure of his Pro Era crew, explaining that it's not all about hip hop. “It consists of fashion designers, graphic designers, and just all around thinkers”, said Joey, but insisted that not just anyone is accepted as a member. “Everybody is most definitely not welcome”, Joey set the record straight, “We real strict and we real tight." The Brooklyn emcee gave some insight into how an audition for the team works. "They start chillin around with the crew, and someone will just take up a specific line of duty." he said. Once initiated though, the crew members are fairly tight-knit, as joey explained, "It's a brotherhood. It's all about the relationship, the bond."
The young rapper also revealed how we was able to hook up with legendary producer DJ Premier, saying it came from an endorsement. “I did a one off single with mountain dew and they linked that up for me”. Joey, whose sound is very indebted to boom-bap beatmakers like Premier was very excited about the collab, calling it “ a dream come true”.
On his 90s demeanor, Joey was insistent that he is just doing him. “I'm a 90s baby. That's how i look at it” said Joey. "That's never what i try to do", Joey said of his seemingly referential flows. He concluded. "When I rap, that's just what I give off, it could be a subconscious thing, but that's just me right there."
Watch the full interview below.
