A week ago, Brooklyn rapper Joey Badass kicked the year off issuing an open challenge to the rap world with his song “The Ruler’s Back.” Equally inspired and irked by the fanfare over Kendrick Lamar’s outstanding year prior, Joey carried the combative energy of “Like That” and “Not Like Us” into his song while declaring there was perhaps a bit too much praise being heaped on the West Coast as a result.
Well, Kendrick’s former labelmate Ray Vaughn has taken issue with Joey’s new song, publishing his response with “Crashout Heritage.” “What’s with the sneak dissin’? Takin’ shots at us, then hide the Uzi,” he wonders. “‘Cause the only badass the world was recognizin’ is Boosie / Please don’t get confused with shootin’ the movies, we really shootin’ / Was on Soul album, so if you ask me, you look like a goofy.”
Meanwhile, Badass wasn’t the only target Vaughn aired his grievances with on the song. Among the hip-hop figures who get mentions in “Crashout Heritage” are Tory Lanez, DDG, and Mal from The Rory & Mal Podcast. However, the track overall is geared more toward uplifting Los Angeles’ hip-hop community than sending darts at potential enemies. “We raised Pac, Dre and Nip, that’s a heavenly trinity / And all we had was DJ Hed to back us in the industry,” he reminds listeners. Thanks to Kendrick, that’s begun to change, and it doesn’t sound like any of Kendrick’s contemporaries have any plans on letting that change anytime soon.
You can watch Ray Vaughn’s “Crashout Heritage” video above.