Joey Badass Explains Why He Doesn't Mind Being Called Underrated

Joey Badass hasn't dropped an album since 2017's All-Amerikkkan Badass. But he's made a few controversial statements since then. 

He called himself the king of rap once, claimed he was the inspiration behind Kanye West's song "Real Friends" and said old heads at Hot 97 have ruined New York's Hip Hop scene.

Joey recently spoke to Complex and was asked about being called underrated, which is heard from time to time depending on which rap circles you run in. But the Pro Era spitter said he doesn't think being underrated is a bad thing.

"I think it’s a great thing," he stated. "I’d rather be underrated than overrated, because I always have this place to get to. You know what it is? It’s social currency, and social currency is one of the main aspects of virality or marketing agenda. People want to feel as if they’re empowering you with something. So the fact that you could still put people on to Joey Badass makes it exciting. If you can’t put nobody onto something, there’s no social value. You don’t feel relief or joy by sharing this with somebody else. So I think being underrated is good."

Do you think that Joey is an underrated rapper?