Joey Badass’ Shot at West Coast Sparks Diss Song From Ray Vaughn

January 9, 2025

Joey Bada$$ seemingly taking a shot at the West Coast on his new track sparks a diss song from Top Dawg Entertainment rapper Ray Vaughn.

Joey Bada$$ Bars Get Ray Vaughn Riled Up

Badmon Joey kicked off the year by releasing the new single “The Ruler’s Back” on Jan. 1. On the song, the Brooklyn rapper drops a line that appears to reference the reverence the hip-hop scene on the West Coast has been getting over the past several months.

“Too much West Coast d**k-licking, I’m hearing n*ggas throw shots really ain’t sh*t sticking,” he raps. “’Cause if we talking bar for bar, really it’s slim pickings/I rap like a draw pentagram and kill chickens.”

Apparently angered by Joey’s reference to the left coast, TDE‘s Ray Vaughn offered a response via the song “Crashout Heritage” on Wednesday (Jan. 8).

“What’s with the sneak dissin? Takin’ shots at us, then hide the uzi/‘Cause the only bada*s the world was recognizin’ is Boosie,” Ray spits.

“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,” he adds, referencing Joey’s guest spot on Ab-Soul’s 2022 Herbert LP.

In promoting the song on X, Ray made sure to try to get Joey’s attention. “2025 no sneak dissing only crash outs,” he captioned a clip of the video while mentioning Joey in the post.

On Thursday (Jan. 9), Ray continued to taunt Joey with the tweet: “Y’all chill he prolly shootin POWER or sum he ain’t see his phone give him some time.”

Joey has yet to offer a response.

While some fans believed Joey was taking shots at Kendrick Lamar with the bar on “The Ruler’s Back,” Joey has praised K-Dot in the past.

Watch Joey Bada$$’ “The Ruler’s Back” video and Ray Vaughn’s response below.