Ladies and gents, the rappers are rapping in 2025. Inspired the pugilistic vibes of the year previous, respected word slingers like Joey Badass and rising stars like Ray Vaughn are stepping into the booth with cruel (but sportsmanlike) intentions. The latest dispatch comes from the Brooklyn rapper, who responds to the Long Beach Top Dawg representative’s day-old diss “Hoe Era” with the deprecatory (and timely) “The Finals.” The NBA finals are still a couple of weeks away (at best) but hey, it’s never too early to get a jump on the search engines.
This time, Joey goes for the jugular, making sure to mention Ray’s name multiple times and predicting a short stay on the TDE roster for his opponent. “I let ’em rot while I charge ’em for top dollar / You’re the next n**** gettin’ dropped off thе Top roster,” he sneers. “And I’ma be the Rеason, okay, bet / You sick dog, lookin’ for beef with a seasoned vet.” Reason, of course, infamously agitated for a release from his contract with the label last year, releasing his first independent project this year (check out our interview with him about it here).
At the end of the track, Joey returns his attention to his true target: Kendrick Lamar, with whom he’s had a friendly competition since Kendrick’s notorious “Control” verse put the rap game on notice in 2014. “I salute you Kenny, but I know you well aware,” he warns. “You lookin’ for some competition? Then just know that I’ll be right here.”
Listen to Joey Badass’ “The Finals” above.