Joey Bada$$ Defends Chris Brown Collab Amid Backlash: "People Make Mistakes"

Joey Bada$$ says that he's not "justifying anybody’s mistakes" by working with Chris Brown.

BYCole Blake
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Joey Bada$$ further defended his recent collaboration with Chris Brown during an interview with TMZ published on Thursday. Joey had faced criticism from fans for working with the singer for his song, "Welcome Back," off of his new album, 2000.

Joey first addressed the backlash during a Reddit AMA on Monday, remarking that Brown is one of the "most talented artist musicians of all time" and fired back by asking which one of his fans is "perfect."

“Yeah, I mean… Like I said, I think Chris Brown is one of the best artists of this generation, of our times… Of all times, know what I mean?” Joey elaborated to the outlet.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

He continued: “So, for me personally, it was an honor working with him. You know, I’ve been a fan of him as long as I can remember. Since I was a kid, you know, and… People make mistakes, and I’m not justifying anybody’s mistakes in any type of way, but… after a while there’s a growing opportunity for everybody.”

Joey went on to say that sometimes his fans can be "fickle."

He explained: “You know, they have this idea… It’s actually a lot of respect, really. They got so much respect for me and they hold me in such a high regard that they want everything that I do to be super clean. They don’t want to feel like I aligned with something or someone who necessarily, I don’t know… I look at it as more of a reverence thing. They’re very sensitive over me, so it’s not a bad thing but I need them to understand that I have my own interest in favorites and things that I’m into as just a person.”

In 2009, Brown infamously pled guilty to felony assault of his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. He's also dealt with a series of other legal issues throughout his career.

Check out Joey's interview with TMZ below.

[Via]


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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.