Mick Jenkins appears to have become the latest rapper to throw lyrical jabs at Joey Bada$$ following the release of his feathers-ruffling song “The Ruler’s Back.”
The Chicago rapper dropped a similarly chest-beating track called “Wars & Rumors of Wars” on Monday (January 13), and it seemingly contains several subliminal shots at the Pro Era co-founder.
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Making a thinly-veiled reference to Joey’s aforementioned song, Jenkins snarls over the menacing production: “Placeholders out here claiming ruler, we goin’ yard / Ferris Bueller, got no regard for the new school, I’m so appalled.”
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He also appears to take a shot at Bada$$’s pro-Black aesthetic and all-white outfit he wore while performing at the 2022 BET Hip Hop Awards: “These n-ggas ain’t Panthers / These n-ggas in white hoods like Klan movements.”
Later in the song, the Elephant in the Room MC raps: “Fuck is you talking about top three? / They tried to tell me it’s not yours [nachos], a bodega the way that I chop cheese / Second hand n-ggas can’t clock me,” seemingly rubbishing Joey’s previous claim that he’s a part of Hip Hop’s “holy trinity” alongside Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.
Further clues that Mick Jenkins has a bone to pick with Joey Bada$$ can be found in a series of tweets he fired off shortly after the release of “The Ruler’s Back.”
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“Lol if you gone talk like that you gotta come wit somn better than that,” he wrote, before adding: “I’m a fan of rap bro. I’m not holding my tounge about this sport no more. Ain’t no hate. At all. I got no reason to hate. My statement was a fact.”
Jenkins followed up with: “[Ab-]Soul told me last year this shit was back. I love it. I’m dropping too don’t worry.”
lol if you gone talk like that you gotta come wit somn better than that
— Mick (@mickjenkins) January 3, 2025
I’m a fan of rap bro. I’m not holding my tounge about this sport no more.
Ain’t no hate. At all. I got no reason to hate. My statement was a fact.— Mick (@mickjenkins) January 3, 2025
Soul told me last year this shit was back.
I love it.
I’m dropping too don’t worry.— Mick (@mickjenkins) January 3, 2025
Released earlier this month, “The Ruler’s Back” found Joey dismissing the praise that West Coast Hip Hop has enjoyed following a dominant 2024 thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s rap beef victory over Drake and chart-topping GNX album, as well as stellar projects from the likes of Tyler, The Creator, ScHoolboy Q and Vince Staples.
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“Too much West Coast dick lickin’ / I’m hearing n-ggas throwin’ rocks, really ain’t shit stickin’ / ‘Cause if we’re talking bar for bar, really it’s slim pickings / I rap like I draw pentagrams and kill chickens, n-gga / Fuck around with your soul like Ether, quick for a feature / This that black Air Force energy comin’ out your speaker,” he rapped.
TDE’s Ray Vaughn was the first to return fire on “Crashout Heritage,” a remix of Kendrick’s “Heart Pt. 6.”
He spit: “What’s with the sneak dissing? Taking shots at us then hide the Uzi / ‘Cause the only badass the world was recognizing is Boosie / Please don’t get confused with shooting them movies with really shooting / Was on Soul album so if you ask me, you look like a goofy / I hope this message reaches you well.”
