Joey Badass' new song "The Ruler's Back" caused quite the stir in the hip-hop world not just for its quality and return to form, but also for its bravado and competitive energy. Moreover, a lot of people assumed that the following sets of lines took aim at Kendrick Lamar: "I got murals in my city, f**k a nomination / This for every time they left me out the conversation... Too much West Coast d**k licking / I'm hearing n***as throwing rocks, really ain't s***t sticking." That last set of bars is a reference to Jay-Z's "22 Two's" off of Reasonable Doubt: "Too much West Coast d**k licking / And too many n***as on a mission, doing your best Jay-Z rendition."
Furthermore, many Kendrick Lamar fans up in arms over this new Joey Bada$$ song probably forgot that same competitive fire within "Control," so props to Joey for stepping up to bat and reminding fans of that spirit. Jay-Z reference aside, hopefully more MCs strive to put their best foot forward and feel inspired to drop their best material possible, which is the greatest and most important aspect of hip-hop competitiveness. But amid all the rap beef discussions of this year, it would be tough to call this a direct K.Dot diss by any means rather than just a solid flex.
Joey Badass' Confident Lyrics On "The Ruler's Back" Have Kendrick Lamar Fans Excited
Back in April, Joey Bada$$ even reacted to the whole Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and J. Cole beef by reminding fans of his response to Kendrick's "Control" verse. "No escaping, you in a swimming pool of champagne," he rapped on the cut about 11 years ago. "You set yourself up for that one, mane / The King of New York? Ha! We ain’t just gon’ let that one hang."
As such, it seems like Joey Bada$$' biggest issue is with hip-hop fans counting him out of the best rapper conversation, and other MCs not following suit. While his 2024 came to a turbulent end on social media, his 2025 seems like it'll be an amazing one, regardless of whether Kendrick Lamar or anyone else decides to step into the ring. Joey's definitely ready for the sparring, but let's not turn every little competitive statement into a scathing diss.