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Joey Bada$$ at House of Creed Dinner
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Key Takeaways:
- “DARK AURA” adds fuel to Joey Bada$$’s feud with his major label.
- The track follows delays to his album Lonely At The Top, which he blamed on Columbia Records.
- With “DARK AURA” and “ABK,” Joey is building momentum ahead of his Aug. 29 album release.
Joey Bada$$ is back with vengeance. On Monday (Aug. 18) morning, he fired off at major labels on his latest single, “DARK AURA.”
Over Chuck Strangers’ production, the Brooklyn rapper dishes out lines like, “You ain’t talkin’ money, you must be talkin’ a different language / Independent mindset, we ain’t f**kin’ with the majors / Can’t get back our time spent, gotta treat it like it’s sacred.”
Joey might’ve just been speaking in general terms on the track, but it’s probably no coincidence given his recent frustration with Columbia Records. In July, he accused them of delaying his forthcoming album, Lonely At The Top, which was originally set to drop on Aug. 1. Check out the music video for “DARK AURA” below.
“I’ma just rip the Band-Aid off,” Joey told fans in a since-deleted video. “The album is not dropping Aug. 1. I’m f**king sorry. I’m ashamed, I’m f**king disappointed. I wanted to take accountability and responsibility because I’m not ever gon’ leave y’all high and dry.”
In that same clip, the 1999 artist revealed that he just hasn’t been “f**king with” Columbia Records for a while now: “They really don’t f**king contribute to nothing, especially this year.” At one point, Joey even suggested he’d leak Lonely At The Top on YouTube.
Joey’s forthcoming project — which is now slated for an Aug. 29 release — has plenty of momentum already, especially after he’s gone bar-for-bar with West Coast rappers like Ray Vaughn and AZ Chike. Plus, the Pro Era frontman gave fans a taste of the album by performing its lead single “ABK” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Outside of music, the rapper welcomed his first child with Serayah in May. During the actress’ two-month postpartum update, she confirmed that they were engaged. “My fiancé has held it down, you hear me! Through and through, that’s a good man, Savannah,” she wrote.
