Did Joey Bada$$ reignite an East vs. West war? With Big Sean and Ab-Soul in tow?
Red Bull 1520 Kicks Off New Season With Big Sean, Joey Bada$$, and Ab-Soul — And Rekindles a Bi-Coastal Lyrical Feud. Or did he?
Red Bull’s music platform, Red Bull 1520, returned with a fiery new installment of its Spiral Freestyle series. The energy drink tapped into a trifecta of heavyweights: Big Sean, Joey Bada$$ and Ab-Soul. We love these dudes! But this was more than just a freestyle session.
Joey Bada$$ used the moment pop off lyrical war. The Pro Era rapper reignited tensions that began with his track “The Ruler’s Back,” where he called out the West with the lines: “Too much West Coast d**k lickin’/I’m hearin’ n###s throwin’ rocks, really ain’t sht stickin’/Cause if we talkin’ bar for bar, really it’s slim pickings.” (This is a throwback to JAY-Z doing the same when the West was on top.)
That verse drew responses from TDE’s Ray Vaughn and Daylyt, who responded with “Crashout Heritage” and “Hiyu.” Joey’s bars in the “Spiral Freestyle” made it clear: this ain’t dead.
Addressing Daylyt directly, Joey spit: “I shine through the late night/I ain’t gotta lose no sleep to break Daylyt/Shouldn’t give you fn time of day / But f##k it shine a light on ’em, I’m a light Ray/If you need the attention, tell Top he gotta pay.”
What I was shocked at was how Ab-Soul, a TDE soldier, handled this. He was diplomatic.
“Pro Era the masters that ain’t ever incorrect/But it’s still TDE till 3000 and forever/Lyt was heavy and Ray definitely stepped/But this is Hip-Hop, you know we still on that/It was healthy for the sport, sticking to the roots/Keeping it competitive.”
Big Sean stayed out of it. Remember, his song “Control” was the start of a lot of tention years ago.
Look at Red Bull starting mess in 2025.
-illseed out
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