Joey Bada$$ Pays Tribute to JAY-Z & Nas with Mashup

Joey Bada$$ pays homage to JAY-Z and Nas in a mashup for BBC Radio 1’s “Piano Series.”

Over Dave’s piano-rendition of Jigga’s 1996’s Reasonable Doubt classic, Jozif Badmon performed the hook, which was pulled from Nas’ “The World Is Yours” from 1994’s Illmatic. All of this was the basis of a mash-up that paired those iconic hip-hop references with “Amerikkkan Idol” off his latest album, ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$.

Wearing a military style beret, the Pro Era MC delivered his “message for the world.” “Watch out,” he raps on the track. “Another ni**a runnin’ in the White House / But I won’t stop ’til this whole shit painted in all black.”

As part of the series, Joey also performed a piano-backed version of “Babylon,” another single off AABA. “I can’t seem to win,” he raps while Dave continues playing the melodic keys. “I know the end is near, I just don’t know when / Turn on the CNN, look at what I see again / It’s another Black man, dead at the white hand of justice / To tell the truth, man, I’m fuckin’ disgusted.”

Featuring ScHoolboy Q, J. Cole, and Styles P, ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ was released in April and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, becoming Joey’s highest-charting project to date.