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Six months into 2025, a new hip-hop beef appears to be brewing between rappers Ray Vaughn and Joey Bada$$. The former dropped a brand new diss track on Thursday (May 15) titled H*E ERA.
Their beef seemingly kicked off when Joey dropped his triumphant record, The Ruler's Back, at the start of the year on January 1, 2025.
While the song primarily spoke on themes of confidence and status, the New York rapper took several shots at the West Coast hip-hop scene.
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He appeared to call out Kendrick Lamar when claiming he got murals in his city, referencing Lamar's wacced out murals record, included on his sixth studio album -GNX.
Joey also suggested there was "too much West Coast d**k lickin" going on last year, seemingly alluding to the 2024 Rap Beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, when he rapped:
"Too much West Coast d**k lickin' / I'm hearin' n****s throwin' rocks, really ain't sh*t stickin' / 'Cause if we talkin' bar for bar, really it's slim pickings / I rap like I draw pentagrams and kill chickens, n***a"
Ray's latest response appears more cutthroat when compared to the disses Joey sent his way on The Ruler's Back and his recent Red Bull Spiral Freestyle appearance. On H*E ERA, Vaughn raps:
"He had y'all fooled like he do it for the sport (For the sport) / I'm Snoop Dogg kickin' over his lil' fort, ayy (Aw) / B***h, you washed, you ain't carryin' no torch / You let Ice Spice turn into the king of New York, what the f**k? (Yeah)"
Bar-for-Bar: Breaking down Ray Vaughn's latest diss track against Joey Bada$$ 'H*E ERA'
The hottest rap beef in the game right now is heating up between East Coast and West Coast MCs, Joey Bada$$ and Ray Vaughn.
The California native's latest response to Joey appeared on a record titled H*E ERA. The title in itself is a diss, acting as a play on the name of Joey's record label, Pro Era.
Throughout the record, which was uploaded to TDE's official YouTube channel a day after Joey took shots at Ray Vaughn in a Red Bull Freestyle, the California rapper openly calls out the New York City veteran, poking fun at his legacy in hip-hop.
His latest diss track is filled with fun one-liners aimed at Joey Bada$$ and is supported by an effortless production credited to producers Tariq and Ohgodc. Notable themes Ray Vaughn explores on H*E ERA have been provided below:
- Status
- Legacy
- Competition
- Rivalry
- Luxury
- Wealth
- Success
- Lifestyle
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.
(Chorus)
"Ayy, Hoey, is you stupid or you dumb? / Poppin' it, then screamin' 'bout a twenty-v-one (Twenty-v-one) / Ayy, Hoey, is you finished or you done? (Done) / We don't give a f**k where you from, where you from"
After a short introduction, flexing his quick response time to Joey's Red Bull Freestyle diss, Ray Vaughn introduces listeners to H*E ERA's chorus, where he refers to the NYC rapper as "Hoey".
Ray calls out Joey for claiming he's battling 20 rappers at the same time, a line he dropped in his February-released EP Pardon Me, where he interpolates the "20 v 1" line that both Kendrick Lamar and Drake flipped during the 2024 Rap Beef.
Ray Vaughn suggests that Joey was the instigator and is now attempting to back out of this beef.
(Verse 1)
"Baby teeth, you ain't even got a plaque yet / Fact check, we wanna see the numbers like a math test / Run, Joey, run, we gon' aim it at your backpack / Real sh*t, you should act more, you should rap less"
Ray Vaughn opens on his first verse seemingly discrediting Joey's contributions to hip-hop, citing a lack of notable accolades or "plaque" for his work.
He suggests the New York City rapper is still in the amateur stage of his career, hence the term "baby teeth". Vaughn also claims Joey should focus more on his acting career.
The word plaque also acts as a double entendre, with Ray referencing the expensive grills rappers wear on their teeth, implying that Joey can't afford the luxury procedure.
"Every verse a**, what that BBL cost? / West Coast get in season, now you heavy on the salt (What?) / Catch him at the Staple Center, bet you I'ma spark (What?) / Goofy, don't let Power get your TV turned off"
This bar is interesting as Ray Vaughn uses a play on words to suggest that Joey is salty about the West Coast's recent reign on hip-hop.
The final line is a reference to the New York rapper's appearance on 50 Cent's TV series, Power Book, with Ray simultaneously shouting out Kendrick Lamar and his fan-favorite 2024 record tv off.
"N***a, what? You done ran into them steppers who don't tap dance / Gucci trash bands just for you to put them raps in / Conductor got you soundin' like you in a jazz band / Why you goin' after Dot? He think he Pac-Man, woo"
Ray Vaughn continues by suggesting Joey's picked a battle with a "real stepper," identifying himself as someone who gets active and doesn't play coy with his opponents.
Vaughn highlights his affiliation with Kendrick Lamar and TDE when calling out Joey's producer Conductor Williams, who composed the instrumentals for The Ruler's Back and Sorry Not Sorry.
Ray Vaughn ends the bar by calling out Joey for taking multiple shots at Lamar this year, comparing him to the Pac-Man video game character, whose main objective is to eat all the dots while avoiding ghosts. Kendrick is popularly known as K-Dot or Dot.
It's important to note that over the past year, Williams produced two major records that dissed Lamar, namely 7 Minute Drill by J. Cole and Drake's Fighting Irish Freestyle.
"CJ like forty and he on drugs / Clickbaitin' for the honeycomb, get your own buzz / Skeletons inside my closet playin' Bone Thugs / I'll put the whole Pro Era on a Pro Club (Doo-doo-doo-doo)"
The final bar is aimed at Joey and members of his record label Pro Era. Ray Vaughn calls out rapper CJ Fly, claiming he click baits to remain relevant but has no real buzz in the hip-hop game.
Pro Club is a clothing brand known for making shirts. On the final line, Ray suggests he intends on putting the entire Pro Era roster on a shirt, a slang used to highlight one's fatal intentions against their opposition.
(Verse 2)
"N****s want smoke, I'm a vape lord / Walk around with 9 on me, feel like I'm in grade four (I'm in grade four) / I can send him to the stars, he get paid for (He get paid for) / But standin' next to Soul ain't gon' save yours (Ain't gon' save yours)"
After a second run of H*E ERA's hook, Ray Vaughn returns with vicious bars for Joey Bada$$. In the opening few lines, Vaughn uses a double entendre to suggest that the Paper Trial$ rapper would lose this rap battle, claiming to send him "to the stars".
This also alludes to the New York rapper's recent work in Hollywood, which Ray cites as Joey's main source of income, claiming he doesn't belong in hip-hop.
"But every verse, Hoey talkin' 'bout, "I'm back" / We don't give a f**k 'bout where you was or where you at (Where you at) / See, the fans only know you for the acts, not the blaps / I know where you wasn't, you was never on the map"
On Joey's Pardon Me EP, a major theme that is brought up is his return to hip-hop, following a short acting detour. Ray Vaughn, however, flips this by claiming nobody cares about his music.
He cites that Joey's fanbase only wants to see him acting now, claiming that he believes the New York rapper was "never on the map".
"Look, sleep with one eye open, I'm in Futurama / Old-heads ain't try to school you, let me do the honors / Stupid-a** n***a, I can tell he never been in drama / Who a nobody? I was writin' for your baby mama (For Serayah)"
After a pop culture nod toward the animated sci-fi show, Futurama, Ray Vaughn continues his onslaught but decides to take shots at Joey's partner Serayah, an actor and artist who began dating the New York rapper in 2023.
Ray Vaughn attacks Joey by claiming that he wrote multiple records showcased in Serayah's music catalog.
"Call yourself speakin' for the coast without backup / Dropped a lil' three-track EP and, n***a, that sucked / Seen what happened last time an actor beef with rapper / How you on TV and your homie usin' CapCut? (Ah) / Get active (Get active), stop actin' (Stop actin') / Get active (Get active), gain traction (Get active)"
Ray Vaughn references Pardon Me once again, expressing his disdain for the project when claiming the EP "sucked".
Building on the several claims of Joey being a better actor than a rapper, Ray directly mentions the Drake and Kendrick Lamar rap beef when suggesting a similar outcome of their diss battle.
The final line of this bar makes fun of CJ Fly's HIYU Freestyle, which received criticism online for a poor mix quality, with reports suggesting the record was compiled using a free version of "CapCut".
"Your last slap was in 2017 / And I play ball, I can deal with n****s on the screen / Ray Whoppa, quick to turn a n***a to a rollout / Heard they moved the goalpost every time we show out / Hair-salon convo, it really is a blowout / Dot didn't respond, now you tryna call Cole out? Dumba**"
Ray Vaughn ends his second verse with slight praise for Joey's music, claiming the rapper's most memorable track was released in 2017. This was the year when the New York City native dropped his highly acclaimed ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ album.
The final line calls out Joey for attempting to diss major hip-hop stars, like Cole and Kendrick Lamar, who Ray considers close associates.
(Verse 3)
"Ayy, rock him, stupid-a** n***a think he Rakim / TDE superstar is jealous he ain't locked in / I done peeled so many caps, I go to med school / Bullets flyin' by, sound like sounds on the Neptune"
After a short hook, Ray Vaughn introduces listeners to his third and final verse where he compares Joey Bada$$ to fellow New York rapper, Rakim, who many suggest as one of the greatest MCs in hip-hop.
He uses the comparison to suggest Joey isn't the best rapper in New York, an idea he reinforces toward the end of this verse.
"Thought the beef was livestock, really it was Deadpool / For that energy, I gave him wings once I read bull / Sorry, not sorry, sh*t was weak, pardon me (Pardon me) / He made a whole EP coppin' pleas (Coppin' what?)"
Ray Vaughn then references the Red Bull Freestyle, where the New York City rapper sent disses toward him. The West Coast MC uses the titles of two songs on Joey's Pardon Me EP to "fake-apologize" for his project being "weak".
"Black man, let him breathe, let him breathe / Nah, f**k that, hang him from the popular trees / He had y'all fooled like he do it for the sport (For the sport) / I'm Snoop Dogg kickin' over his lil' fort, ayy (Aw) / B***h, you washed, you ain't carryin' no torch / You let Ice Spice turn into the king of New York, what the f**k? (Yeah)"
Ray Vaughn ends his final verse by suggesting he intends to destroy Joey's career, claiming that he's "washed," i.e. past his prime and irrelevant.
Vaughn uses that claim to suggest that Joey is not "carrying the torch" for the East Coast, before questioning him on how Ice Spice, a relatively newer rapper, managed to garner significantly more attention than him in his own city.
From 'The Ruler's Back' to Red Bull 1520 freestyle: Recapping the 2025 beef between Joey Badass and Ray Vaughn
Following The Ruler's Back's release, Ray Vaughn, who is signed to Kendrick Lamar's former label Top Dawg Entertainment, did not take kindly to Joey Bada$$ calling out the Compton legend and the West Coast hip-hop scene.
Ray would respond on a record titled Crashout Heritage, flashing his sharp writing skills over Kendrick's heart pt. 6 instrumental. He interestingly chose a record from Lamar's GNX which Joey seemingly dissed on The Ruler's Back.
"What's with the sneak dissin'? Takin' shots at us, then hide the Uzi / 'Cause the only bad*ss the world was recognizin' is Boosie / Please don't get confused with shootin' the movies, we really shootin' / Was on Soul album, so if you ask me, you look like a goofy / I hope this messagе reaches you well," Vaughn raps on 'Crashout Heritage'.
While Ray Vaughn did have targeted bars saved for Joey, the TDE signee also took shots at Tory Lanez, DDG, and more.
Joey would seemingly return a mini-response during his featured appearance at the Red Bull 1520 Spiral Freestyle series, which was uploaded to YouTube on May 13, 2025.
Joey was invited onto Red Bull's Spiral Freestyle season three, performing alongside Detroit's Big Sean and California's Ab-Soul. While Sean Don opened up the freestyle, Soul and Bada$$'s verses appear to caught major attention amongst the hip-hop community.
"I shine through the late night / I ain’t gotta lose no sleep to break Daylyt / Shouldn’t give you n****s time of day / But f**k it shine a light on em, I’m a light Ray / If you need the attention, tell Top he gotta pay," Joey Bada$$ rapped.
Toward the end of the Red Bull Freestyle, Ab-Soul hilariously interjects Joey preventing him from taking further shots at his former TDE label mate Kendrick Lamar.
The Soul Burger rapper touched on the rising West Coast vs East Coast beef, that sparked following the release of The Ruler's Back, rapping:
"Pro era the masters that ain’t ever incorrect / But it’s still TDE till 3000 and forever / Lyt was heavy and Ray definitely stepped / But this is hip-hop you know we still on that / It was healthy for the sport sticking to the roots / Keeping it competitive"
Last month, Ray Vaughn released his debut mixtape, titled The Good, The Bad, The Dollar Menu. The project was distributed to all major streaming platforms on April 25, 2025.
