Coming Of Age

The past two years have been a roller coaster ride for Joey Bada$$. Now with his debut LP finally on the way, the Brooklyn MC plans to take his Pro Era movement to the next level.

Words Dan Rys

Images Jason Goodrich

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the October/November 2014 issue of XXL Magazine.

At the corner of State Street and Flatbush Avenue stands Atlantic Terminal, the monolithic train station dwarfed only by the nearby Barclay’s Center as the symbol of Brooklyn’s new world order. But State Street itself is a throwback to an older era, with leafy trees looming over weathered Brownstone walkups that recall a time decades earlier when Jay Z kept his stash house at 560 State Street.

Five bulidings down, 19-year-old rapper Joey Bada$$ sitson the stoop outside the apartment of Cinematic Music Group founder and CEO Jonny Shipes, eating chicken and rice his mom made out of a Tupperware container. It’s one of the first cool afternoons in September, and the young rhymer is rocking jeans and a navy Supreme hoodie to protect against the chill. Lately, Joey’s been dealing with the pressure to finish his debut album, B4.Da.$$, due out by the end of the year, but he’s in no rush to get moving.

Life has come fast for the young MC. Born Jo-Vaughn Virginie, the teenage rap prodigy landed like napalm on an increasingly stale New York rap scene with his breakout mixtape, 1999, in June 2012. The tape earned praise for its blend of uncompromising lyricism and old school,