Joey Bada$$ Says He And Ab-Soul Discussed “The Ruler’s Back,” Believes Internet “Fueled” West Coast Beef

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Billboard / Contributor via Getty Images and Gilbert Flores / Contributor via Getty Images

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Joey Bada$$ at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players 2025 and Ab-Soul at the 11th Annual TDE Holiday Charity Concert

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Key Takeaways:

Joey Bada$$ clarifies that his “West Coast” lyric was a JAY-Z homage, not a diss.
He and Ab-Soul spoke privately and agreed the line was not meant as disrespect.
Joey believes social media and stan culture exaggerated the tension into a full-blown rap beef.

Joey Bada$$ says the internet made way too much out of his West Coast line on “The Ruler’s Back,” which dropped during his feud with Ray Vaughn. On Friday (Sept. 5), he revisited the moment during the “New Rory & Mal” podcast, even revealing that he checked in with Ab-Soul about it.

The 1999 rapper really didn’t think the “Too much West Coast d**k lickin’ / I’m hearin’ n**gas throwin’ rocks, really ain’t s**t stickin’” bar would amount to much, especially since it was borrowed from JAY-Z. Joey explained, “It ain’t like I said, ‘Yo, f**k the West Coast.’” He added that Ab-Soul also felt it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Reflecting on his conversation with the “DO BETTER” artist, Joey mentioned they talked for “10, 15 minutes” and laughed about the whole thing. “I’m like, ‘For real, you took any disrespect from that?’ He’s like, ‘Nah, n**ga, n**gas was rapping.’ His favorite thing to say is, ‘You in the gym,’” Joey said.

In the Brooklyn native’s opinion, what really blew the lines out of proportion was social media and stan culture. “The internet nowadays fuels s**t,” he explained. “This narrative started developing and when the narrative started developing, I was like, ‘OK, somebody’s going to take this bait.’”

“I honestly wasn’t prepared,” Joey admitted. “I rolled with the punches.” Check out the clip below.

As most fans know, Vaughn responded to “The Ruler’s Back” with “Crashout Heritage,” which sampled Kendrick Lamar’s “heart pt. 6.” That record set off a string of back-and-forth shots, with both sides trading jabs on tracks like “Impossible Patty,” “Pardon Me,” “H** Era,” “THE FINALS” and more.

Joey and Ab-Soul are set to hit the road together in October for their “Dark Aura Tour” alongside Rapsody. See the flyer below.