Ray Vaughn doesn’t seem to like Joey Bada$$. Just a day after Bada$$ released his Red Bull Spiral Freestyle (May 13), Vaughn has responded with the diss track, “Hoe Era”, released today on YouTube via Top Dawg Entertainment. 

The drama started as early as January 2025, when Bada$$ released the track, “The Ruler’s Back”, swinging at the critical and commercial success of West Coast rap in 2024. Vaughn replied to the diss with “Crashout Heritage”, calling out Bada$$ and defending the West Coast scene’s success. 

Bada$$ never replied to Vaughn nor addressed his comments, but dropped another single, “Sorry Not Sorry”, where he appeared to throw shade at J. Cole.

Things stayed quiet until May 13, when Bada$$ released a Red Bull Spiral Freestyle video on YouTube alongside Big Sean and Ab-Soul. Bada$$ addressed the shade being thrown at him by Vaughn, as well as rapper Daylyt, and also said he “could never hate the West Coast, but since [they] comin’ for Joe, f**k it then, let’s go."

Vaughn took no time to respond, quickly dropping “Hoe Era”. On the track, he mocks Bada$$ for throwing shade at Kendrick Lamar for clout, prioritizing acting over his rap career, and for performing with Ab-Soul in order to appear more in-tune with West Coast hip hop. He ended the song mocking Bada$$’s influence on the New York scene with the lines: “You washed, you ain’t carryin’ no torch / You let Ice Spice turn into the king of New York.”

Bada$$ is currently acting in the television show Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Vaughn is promoting his debut mixtape with TDE, The Good The Bad The Dollar Menu.