New York rapper Joey Bada$$ is committed to ‘stirring the pot’ in 2025, releasing his second diss track of the year, “Sorry Not Sorry.” This time his aim is on J. Cole, with the line, “Might Delete Later, I know damn sure that Joey won’t / F**k it, I want all the smoke.” This bar is a reference to Cole’s Grammy-nominated 2024 mixtape, Might Delete Later, which prompted his withdrawal from the rap feud with Kendrick Lamar.
Bada$$ has been pushing for a West Coast/East Coast feud since dropping “The Ruler’s Back” on January 1 2025. In it, he criticizes the music industry’s lauding of the West Coast hip hop scene, particularly Lamar, with bars like, “I got murals in my city, f**ck a nomination / This for every time they left me out the conversation…Too much West Coast d**k lickin’ / ‘Cause if we talkin’ bar-for-bar, really it’s slim pickings.”
A few days later, California rapper and Top Dawg Entertainment signee, Ray Vaughn replied to “The Ruler’s Back” with his own diss track, “Crashout Heritage.” In it, Vaughn defended the praise West Coast hip hop has been receiving and his former labelmate Lamar. Bada$$ did not reply to Vaughn, nor did he make any mention or reference to him in “Sorry Not Sorry.”
Produced by Conductor Williams who’s known for his work with Griselda records, the song incorporates a classic East Coast sound, combining abstract jazz instrumentals with a subversive drum-set beat. The release also coincides with Bada$$’s birthday, who turned 30 years old today.
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