In a way, we can thank Kendrick Lamar for reinvigorating the genre with the competitive spirit that's frankly been lacking for some time. Sure, there were plenty of other beefs at the start of 2024. But more of a shift was felt when he first sent out shots on "Like That." Fast forward to the first day of 2025 and Joey Bada$$ is aiming to keep that brazen energy alive. In one way or another he fired off some bars for K. Dot on the cutthroat "The Ruler's Back." However, it was even more of a diss toward the entire West Coast region, and it seems that Joey has a broader goal he wants to accomplish.
With the West really dominating last year, his mission is to remind everyone who's region is really the best. It wouldn't be long though before a California native decided to clap back. Ray Vaughn did so with "Crashout Heritage," taking shots at MAL from the New Rory & Mal, DDG, Tory Lanez, and Joey. He even savagely tagged him on X with a short clip from the track writing, "2025 no sneak dissin, only crashouts." Now, Watts, CA battle rapper Daylyt is throwing himself in the ring, although doing so in a more polite manner. He's responding with "Hiyu." It's a figure of speech that involves comparison, for example, to express an idea or emotion. Daylyt goes about it by showing love to MCs like A$AP Rocky, Joey, and even the late Capital Steez whom he has a tattoo of. However, he's making it clear that his region is taking over in the same breath. This is turning into a great foundation for the rest of 2025 for hip-hop and Joey, Ray Vaughn, and Daylyt deserve all the flowers for this.
"Hiyu" - Daylyt
Quotable Lyrics:
Chopped cheese, fresh butters, LA hat in Soho
With my brother Soul, told me it's another road
You gotta go east to tackle the beast
I went east to actually feast
And came back with eight hundred k in them black bags, fleece, uh
They said he couldn’t do it cause it's battle rap
