Pusha T Co-Signs Joey Bada$$ And Ray Vaughn’s Rap Beef, Says "It Was Good"
BY Malcolm Trapp / 7.22.2025
Key Takeaways:
- Pusha T praised the Joey Bada$$ vs. Ray Vaughn beef as a healthy lyrical exchange that stayed competitive.
- The back-and-forth helped boost Vaughn’s profile and build momentum for Joey Bada$$’ next album.
- Pusha T also shared his thoughts on the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar feud, calling it “1,000 percent” entertaining.
Joey Bada$$ and Ray Vaughn’s rap beef is Pusha T-approved, which says a whole lot. On Monday (July 21), Clipse appeared on DJ Hed and Gina Views’ “Effective Immediately” podcast, during which they weighed in on the East Coast-West Coast rivalry.
“It was good in the sense of just rap,” Pusha T said. “I felt like [there] wasn’t no real ill intent or malicious intent on nobody’s end.” Having navigated his own fair share of beefs — and famously having dismantled one of the greatest artists of our time — he clearly knows a thing or two about “ill intent.”
The Virginia-raised artist continued, “It was just good for them to bust it up like that.” He’s not completely wrong. Joey Bada$$ and Vaughn’s beef ultimately had no real losers or winners. In fact, it helped propel the Top Dawg Entertainment signee onto XXL’s Freshman cover and fueled anticipation for the “Christ Conscious” rapper's upcoming album, Lonely at the Top.
Their battle stemmed from Joey Bada$$ seemingly sending shots Kendrick Lamar’s way on “The Ruler’s Back” in January. Vaughn responded on the “heart pt. 6”-sampling “Crashout Heritage,” which led to the two throwing jabs and subliminals across a string of other tracks. Among them were “Impossible Patty,” “Pardon Me,” “H** Era,” “THE FINALS” and more.
Their feud obviously occurred months after what’s undoubtedly one of the most-discussed beefs in Hip Hop history: Drake vs. Lamar. When asked about it, Pusha T said he was “1,000 percent” entertained. “I was enjoying that s**t like everybody else,” the DAYTONA rapper noted.
It should also come as no surprise that his favorite song to come from that whole exchange was Lamar’s “euphoria,” in which he was name-dropped. Earlier in the month, Pusha T told “The Breakfast Club” that he actually spoke to the Grammy Award winner while he was going at it with Drake.