Videos by According2HipHop
In a candid and emotionally charged livestream shared to Instagram on Tuesday (July 29), Joey Bada$$ revealed that his upcoming album Lonely at the Top will no longer be dropping on its scheduled release date of August 1—and he didn’t mince words about why.
“I’ma just rip the Band-Aid off,” the Brooklyn rapper began, visibly frustrated. “The album is not dropping Aug. 1. I’m f—king sorry. I’m ashamed, I’m f—king disappointed. I wanted to take accountability and responsibility because I’m not ever gon’ leave y’all high and dry.”
But as he explained, the delay wasn’t due to creative setbacks or logistical issues on his end. “This time, it’s not my fault,” he said. “There’s a lot of s**t that goes on behind the scenes in this music industry that us artists don’t never expose to y’all fans. Because at the end of the day, it’s just us standing on the stage. Y’all don’t see Tom, Dick, and Harry behind the scenes.”
According to Joey Bada$$, Lonely at the Top has been finished and handed in for more than a month. “This ain’t ‘cause of no sample clearances. This ain’t ‘cause of no features. This ain’t ‘cause of no clashing with another artist on the date,” he said. “This is literally an Exhibit A of the label getting in the artist’s way.”
He called out Columbia Records directly, tagging them in his post and making it clear this isn’t a new conflict. “I’m signed to Columbia Records but for the longest time I just ain’t been fucking with them,” he told viewers. “All they do is get in my way. They really don’t fucking contribute to nothing, especially this year.”
Over the past year, Joey Bada$$ says he’s taken the DIY route, dropping music primarily on YouTube to avoid delays and bureaucracy. “I ain’t got time to wait on nobody, bro. I’m way too fucking independent-minded and self-sufficient to sit around and wait for people who is not getting in line with the vision. I refuse to do it.”
Before signing off, he issued a blunt warning to the label: “These motherfuckers got ’til Monday to straighten up… That’s me being generous.” He paused, then added for clarity: “Fuck Columbia Records.”
The rapper’s words tap into a long-running tension between artists and the major label system—a reminder that even a decade into his career, with critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase, the business still finds ways to stall the art.
There’s no new date for Lonely at the Top yet, but Joey Bada$$ is clearly ready to get it popping–the label just needs to catch up.
