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What was shaping up to be the next Summer classic from Joey Badass ended up delivering some underwhelming results.
His new album Lonely At The Top moved fewer than 9,000 units in its opening week, failing to chart on the Billboard 200 — the first time in his decade-plus career the Brooklyn MC has missed the cut.
On paper, the drop-off doesn’t add up. Joey Badass is still regarded as one of the sharpest lyricists out, with a loyal fanbase and a résumé that stretches from 1999 to his work on Power Book III: Raising Kanan. Fans had been waiting on this comeback, especially after the “Righteous Minds” rapper turned his sparring matches with West Coast rappers like Ray Vaughn, Daylyt, and AZ Chike into lyrical exercises that reminded people he’s still a problem on the mic.
But the momentum stalled long before release day. Back in July, Badass went live on Instagram to air out frustrations with Columbia Records, claiming the label was holding the project hostage.
“I’ma just rip the Band-Aid off,” he told fans, visibly heated. “The album is not dropping Aug. 1. I’m f—king sorry. I’m ashamed, I’m f—king disappointed… This is literally an Exhibit A of the label getting in the artist’s way.”
The “Paper Trail$” rapper doubled down, saying the album had been done for weeks and the holdup wasn’t about samples, features, or scheduling conflicts. “I’m signed to Columbia Records but for the longest time I just ain’t been f—ing with them,” he vented. “All they do is get in my way. They really don’t f—king contribute to nothing, especially this year.”
The tension spilled into the music in August, when he dropped “DARK AURA.” Over Chuck Strangers’ production, he laced bars that felt like thinly veiled shots at his own label:
“You ain’t talkin’ money, you must be talkin’ a different language / Independent mindset, we ain’t f**kin’ with the majors…”
Joey Badass claimed that “the matter had been handled” later that month while speaking to TMZ.
“We had a moment of falling out of alignment, but everything is good now, we on common ground. I got they support,” he said.
Still, the first-week numbers tell a different story. For an artist who once looked like the torchbearer for New York’s next generation, Lonely At The Top’s flop raises questions about whether label politics, delays, and industry red tape have cut into Joey’s momentum.
It’s been a rollercoaster summer for the Brooklyn rapper — battling on wax, battling with his label, and now battling the numbers. The talent is still there, but the business might be catching up.
