INTERVIEW: Joey Bada$$ On 'Devastated' & Plans To Release New Music | On The Verge
By Nicole Mastrogiannis
June 13, 2016
Brooklyn-born hip hop artist Joey Bada$$, born Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, may have just celebrated the four-year anniversary of his first project, his mixtape 1999 (released in 2012), but in 2016 Joey is picking up speed as he is looking towards putting together his sophomore studio album -- the follow-up to 2015's B4.DA.$$. In fact, this year is already off to a great start for the 21-year-old with the arrival of his latest single "Devastated," an uplifting hip hop track ready to dominate the radio waves this summer. The new song was produced by Adam Pallin, Kirk Knight and Powers Pleasant.
We recently caught up with the Flatbush native, who is iHeartRadio's newest "On The Verge" artist, while he was at iHeartRadio HQ in New York City, and during our one-on-one interview, he talked to us about his new single and what else fans can look forward to hearing from him this year (Hint: Be prepared for a lot of new music!)
"Devastated" is now officially on iTunes, but you may have heard the song if you watched Joey's Coachella set. He performed during the mega-festival in Indio, California this year, which is where he first gave fans a taste of the single. The song lyrics reflect Joey's life pre-fame, now moving on to a successful career in hip hop. The chorus goes, "I used to feel so devastated/At times I thought we'd never make it, yeah/But now we on our way to greatness/And all that ever took was patience." And Joey tells us that the song came to him very organically.On his new song "Devastated"
“It was just pretty much like a natural vibe. Like as soon as my guys cued up the beat it just came, like, ‘I used to feel so devastated.’ I really wanted to create something that was uplifting and upbeat at the same time. So it was kind of like the best of both worlds. It was inspiring, uplifts you, I can party to it.”
"Devastated" is only the beginning of what fans can expect to hear from Joey Bada$$ in 2016. He tells us, “My fans can look forward to a lot of new music this year. I'll be dropping some new singles. I have my record label in place, so I'll be releasing some more projects under that with some artists that I've signed under my primary label. It's going to be a really interesting year." He adds, "From my camp we're planning to put out like three more projects."
On The New Album and Record Label
When asked if he plans on putting out his second studio album this year, he replied, "Who knows?Maybe.We'll see how it goes you know." 🙏
Joey's debut studio album B4.DA.$$, which was released on January 20th, 2015 via Pro Era Records/Cinematic Music Group was a big success selling 56,000 units in its opening week alone. This made the record the No. 1 rap and No. 1 independent album in the country, hitting the top spot on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Album chart. And after now hearing "Devastated," we can only imagine Joey's sophomore album will be even more amazing.
In case you didn't already know, Joey isn't just a hip hop artist, he's also co-founder of the collective Pro Era. The hip hop star told us about h is label imprint, explaining that the artists signed under him are life-long friends. “All of my guys who are signed under me now are pretty much my buddies who I grew up with. So we started out as just a crew, but then we started taking off and everything. We made it official. Turned it into a record label, got all my guys signed, and now we're putting out all new projects."
Although he's an artist himself and always creating, Joey is also very involved with the artists on his imprint. He explains that they all learn from each other, and help one another while in the studio whether it be working on a hook to a song or just simply providing motivation.
On working with the musicians signed to his label Pro Era
"I kicked in the door so, they really watch me and my evolution, and they can learn from that and take it for themselves. And even when we get into the studio, I like to be there. They like to be there with me. We just help each other on hooks or something. Just finishing songs and just giving each other that positive motivation. It really works out.”
And Joey doesn't plan to stop there, he also tells us his plans to form another imprint. He says, "I want to make another in print where I could sign anyone that I want."