The Joe Budden Podcast Reacts To Ray Vaughn’s Joey Badass Diss: “He Went Absolutely Crazy”

It seems like we’re still in for some West Coast pride and a possibly revived New York City rivalry thanks to Joey Badass’ recent drop, “The Ruler’s Back.” In it, he basically dissed or challenged the West Coast following their historic 2024 run led by Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator, ScHoolboy Q, Doechii, Vince Staples, and many more. It elicited a bunch of responses, including a particularly scathing one from TDE signee Ray Vaughn that calls the Pro Era rapper out directly. The Joe Budden Podcast are the latest media figures to speak on it, and they’re impressed.

The Joe Budden Podcast was overall very praiseful of Ray Vaughn’s lyrical ability and performance in responding to Joey Bada$$’ “The Ruler’s Back.” However, they did make it clear that they didn’t like how fans were responding to Ray’s freestyle by downplaying his career and visibility rather than actually appreciating the bar work. In addition, they debated whether or not Joey should respond, and they realistically assumed he would little-bro Vaughn despite their distaste for that. Still, they posited that the Brooklyn MC’s line didn’t necessarily warrant a full-on diss, but they still celebrated the overall display of great rapping that’s going on right now.

As we mentioned before, Ray Vaughn’s “Crashout Heritage” is not the only notable Joey Bada$$ diss over these initial 2025 weeks. Daylyt also came through with “Hiyu,” which is comparably more of a respectful and nuanced response to “The Ruler’s Back” when paired up with Ray’s offering. The big consensus seems to be that people are rapping again, and this competitive and elated spirit is something that hip-hop fans at large should prioritize when it comes to its celebration and attention.

Meanwhile, whether or not Joey Bada$$ directly meant to diss Kendrick Lamar on “The Ruler’s Back,” the West Coast took it upon themselves to carry the torch forward. We still have plenty of time left in the year to see what this results in or what else could develop in this regard. We’re all for regional unity, so if these lyricists keep it rap, we could get some truly amazing hip-hop moments like this one.