Joey Bada$$ Claims He Influenced JAY-Z's New Album

Joey Bada$$ has a reputation as one of the most thoughtful young rappers around for a reason. His album All Amerikkkan Badass offers a considered perspective on the state of things in the US today (and it also helps that it slaps), so a new interview with the Brooklyn is always ripe with interesting comments.

His latest chat was with Montreality, where JAY-Z's much-praised 4:44 came up as a topic of conversation, and he said he feels like he was an inspiration for the album. While #heads might raise an eyebrow, his full explanation makes some sense. Kind of. In a way. Maybe. See below:

"I put a certain pressure on these OGs in the rap game, they know what they gotta talk about now," he said. "Joey Badass talking about this shit before they got the chance to talk about it. I feel like I was an inspiration to 4:44. I loved the album, it's great, and I'm glad I could be an inspiration. 4:44 sounds just like the neighbourhood [Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn], I didn't feel that way about Magna Carta."

It's definitely true that younger MCs tend to be more in touch with the culture they're talking about, and considering that JAY-Z is a multi-millionaire who owns his own champagne company, it's possible Joey's words have some weight. Elsewhere in the interview, he talks about his favourite anime series (it's between Pokémon and Dragonball Z, which are "classics," and Full Metal Alchemist, so now you know), and his experiences with psychedelic drugs ("super magical"), so there's definitely something for everyone. Watch the whole thing above.

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