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Joey Bada$$ is putting his mental health first—even when it means pressing pause on his career.
The Brooklyn-born rapper made headlines earlier this fall when he abruptly canceled his Dark Aura Tour just weeks before it was scheduled to kick off. Now, he’s opening up about the decision in a candid conversation on the Earn Your Leisure podcast, explaining that it came down to one thing: protecting his peace.
“My honest truth why I canceled this tour is that my mental health was just not aligned with it,” Joey shared. “I did not feel mentally fit enough to embark on this journey. I got my five-month-old son… It’s such a critical time. My energy level was at an all-time low.”
The tour—which was set to feature Ab-Soul and Rapsody—was one of the year’s most anticipated hip-hop lineups. Fans were understandably disappointed by the news, and online speculation quickly swirled that slow ticket sales were to blame. Joey didn’t shy away from addressing the chatter head-on.
“I’ve been touring for a long time. Tickets sell,” he said firmly. “This goes back to freedom. I had to choose me.”
Choosing himself, however, came with a price. Joey bada$$ admitted that stepping back meant walking away from a significant amount of money already on the table. Still, he credits his team for backing his decision once he opened up about how he was feeling.
“They really made me feel supported,” he said. “It’s not like there wasn’t money on the table that I was walking away from. But I had to choose me. My mental health is important to me, and I just had to choose me. The honest to God truth is that I just couldn’t do it.”
In an emotional moment, Joey also addressed fans who had been eagerly waiting for the shows. “I’m really, sincerely sorry about all of my fans that I’ve disappointed and let down,” he said. “Y’all money has been refunded… I was excited to see y’all too. But I just did not have the bandwidth myself.”
Rapsody, one of the artists slated to join the tour, also came to his defense, denying rumors that ticket sales were the reason behind the cancellation and echoing Joey’s emphasis on well-being over speculation.
The Dark Aura Tour was set to support Joey’s latest album, Lonely at the Top, which dropped earlier this year. Though the project didn’t chart, it carried the introspective tone and lyrical depth that’sdefined his decade-long career—a reminder that Joey Bada$$ has never chased hype, only truth.
And in this moment, that truth is clear: sometimes stepping away takes more strength than staying the course.
