Joey Bada$$ Explains Why He Canceled Tour With Ab-Soul & Rapsody

BY Gabriel Bras Nevares 4.1K Views
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Joey Badass Explains Canceled Tour Ab Soul Rapsody Hip Hop News
Oct 9, 2022; Brooklyn, NY, USA; American rapper Joey Bada$$ performs after the annual Practice in the Park at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images
Rapsody previously denied rumors that Joey Bada$$ canceled his "Dark Aura" tour with her and Ab-Soul due to low ticket sales.

Joey Bada$$ is still feeling quite Lonely At The Top, but that hasn't discouraged him from facing his challenges and roadblocks head-on. In fact, he recently explained why he canceled his "Dark Aura" tour with support from Rapsody and Ab-Soul, and it's a bit more complicated than logistical issues.

In a clip caught by Ahmed/The Ears on Twitter, the Brooklyn MC sat down with the Earn Your Leisure podcast, where the hosts asked him about the tour cancelation, his label situation, and where his career is at. Joey revealed that this was his first time addressing all that, and that he thought a lot about how he wanted to do it. He said he chose "raw honesty" despite others advising otherwise.

"My honest truth why I canceled this tour is that my mental health was just not aligned with it," Joey Bada$$ revealed. "I did not feel mentally fit enough to embark on this journey. I got my five-month-old son. We're trying to figure out vaccinations and all this stuff. It's just such a critical time. My energy level was at an all-time low."

In addition, the "BK'S FINEST" spitter also denied rumors that the "Dark Aura" trek didn't manifest this time around due to low ticket sales. "I seen a lot of people talking about, 'Oh, yeah, obviously, the tour tickets didn't sell,'" he remarked. "Listen, I've been touring for a long time. Tickets sell. This goes back to freedom. I had to choose me.

Joey Bada$$ Tour

"And I'm really, sincerely sorry about all of my fans that I've disappointed and let down who was excited in seeing me," Joey Bada$$ continued. "Y'all money has been refunded, I seen that... I was excited to see y'all too. But I just did not have the bandwidth myself. I had to choose me. And it's funny because I really was just going to go through with it, despite me knowing that I was going to be suffering inside. And I happened to open up to one of my team members.

"They really made me feel supported," he concluded. "I really do appreciate that. It's not like there wasn't money on the table that I was walking away from. But I had to choose me. My mental health is important to me, and I just had to choose me. [...] The honest to God truth is that I just couldn't do it."

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.

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