Born Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, Joey Bada$$ grew up in Bed-Stuy reading the works of Harlem
Renaissance writers and beyond, building a natural transition to rap by bringing a careful artist’s eye to
what was already familiar to his hometown’s hip-hop audience. At 17, he dropped his career-launching
mixtape 1999, which merged the gritty New York of the past and his present with a technical skill set,
making him one of the most sought-after young talents in the industry.
Joey’s debut album, 2015’s B4.DA.$$, debuted at No. 5 on Billboard and topped the hip-hop charts. His
2017 album, All-Amerikkkan Badass, showed his chops as a political writer with a gift for melody,
translating his world-wearied observations into unifying anthems. Amidst the music, he’s brought his
creativity to a new medium that same year, appearing in a well-reviewed, fan-favorite role on USA
Network’s hit show Mr. Robot. In 2019, he released a collaborative project with Pro Era, Flatbush
Zombies, and The Underachievers, Escape From New York, and toured the country as a collective.
Continuing his pursuit of acting, he recently starred in the Oscar award-winning short film Two Distant
Strangers and debuted his starring role as the villain, Unique, in “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” from the
successful “Power” franchise on Starz. His latest performances on the screen cemented the fact that he is
an ambitious and skilled actor who will be around for a long time.
In early 2022, Joey began teasing that he would be releasing a new album this year with his single “Head
High” and recently announced that indeed his new project titled 2000 will be released on the 10-year
anniversary of his breakout mixtape 1999 in June. Following the release of the project, Joey will embark
on a 20 date summer tour. 2000 is set to start a new chapter for the 27-year old multi-hyphenate while
closing another one. The album title serves as a reminder for the world that time is a concept and it’s
really just been one long year since Joey and Pro Era exploded onto the scene in 2012.