Joey Bada$$ Releases New Album ‘Lonely At The Top’

Key Takeaways:

• Joey Bada$$’ fourth studio album explores fame, solitude, and self-awareness with sharp lyricism and layered production.
• The project features Ab-Soul, Rapsody, A$AP Ferg, and Ty Dolla $ign, adding depth across 11 tracks.
• The album arrives ahead of Joey’s fall run, “The Dark Aura Tour,” kicking off in October.

Joey Bada$$ knows better than anyone that it’s Lonely At The Top. Friday (Aug. 29), the rapper finally unveiled his much-awaited fourth studio album.

Joining previously released singles like “ABK,” “STILL,” and “DARK AURA,” the 11-song effort has a bit of everything. Fans expect nothing less from an artist of Joey’s caliber, and there are quite a few records sure to satisfy Hip Hop purists. On “SWANK WHITE,” for example, the Brooklyn native and Westside Gunn trade bars about Blueface and Chrisean Rock, Michael Jordan in ’95, and wrestling icons like Mick Foley and Juice Robinson.

Joey has no choice but to rise to the occasion, considering who he’s rapping alongside. A$AP Ferg shows up on “HIGHROLLER,” Kai Ca$h and CJ Fly make for impressive collaborators on “BK’s FINEST,” and Ab-Soul and Rapsody bring their A-game on the aforementioned “STILL.”

Another highlight comes courtesy of the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted “READY TO LOVE,” which seems partially inspired by Joey’s relationship with Serayah. He raps about needing a queen to match his king so they can be “just like the Cartеrs,” and in the second verse, he references Saweetie’s “My Type”: “Pretty young thing, yeah, that’s my type / ‘Cause she icy like Saweetie, I know that’s right.”

Lonely At The Top was originally slated to arrive on Aug. 1, but according to Joey, issues with his label caused it to be pushed back to the end of the month. “They really don’t f**king contribute to nothing, especially this year,” he said of Columbia Records during a now-deleted video on Instagram.

Joey will hit the road with Lonely At The Top this fall. Starting in October, he’ll join forces with Ab-Soul and Rapsody for “The Dark Aura Tour,” which is scheduled to make stops across North America before wrapping up Nov. 20 in Philadelphia.