Ray Vaughn Hates that People Think It’s Joey Badass vs West Coast

TDE‘s Ray Vaughn is squabbling for respect. After Joey Bada$$ sent an apparent shot at the West Coast on the January track “The Ruler’s Back,” Ray felt obliged to clap back and represent for his coast. One week later, the Long Beach, Calif. MC did exactly that in the form of “Crashout Heritage.” It’s been up ever since.

Both rappers have been licking shots on songs over the past few months, including new disses this week. Joey has released five tracks, while Ray has put out four to date. However, instead of being a one-on-one, it has turned into a bicoastal rap battle with several artists from both the East and West getting involved.

California battle rhymer Daylyt was actually the first rapper to clap back at Joey. However, his first response flew under the radar until Ray went in a day later. Reason has jumped into the melee. As well as New York artists like Nyck Caution and CJ Fly. Now it’s a full-on battle royale.

XXL recently chopped it up with Ray Vaughn in an exclusive interview to talk in-depth about the “smoke” for Joey Bada$$, other West Coast artists jumping into the fray, his battle strategy and how this all could end.

XXL: Why engage in the battle with Joey Bada$$? Did you feel like it was your responsibility?

Ray Vaughn: Yeah, it was definitely my responsibility for our coast. It’s like somebody gon’ say something, we gotta say something. Can’t just let him talk like that without grounds to stand on. He ain’t had no grounds to say it. I just take it like, “you calling somebody out and who you calling out [Kendrick Lamar], ain’t gonna even mention you.” So, it’s like, “Alright, for sure, here you go. I’m right here.” That’s all it was.

Between you, Daylyt and everybody else, there have been talks that it’s become a West Coast versus Joey beef. Is it like that?

I hate that perspective because it makes me feel like people don’t respect what
I’m doing as much because everybody else is jumping in on him. So, it’s like when I drop, it don’t have the same impact or effect because somebody else just dropped, and it looks like, “Oh, they’re going in over there [on the West Coast].”

I don’t like it. That’s fun for the sport part of it. But for the culture part of it, if it was just me and Joey head-on, then that’s like, “Oh, let ’em buck.” It was OK for some people to get off, I guess, but for me, I can handle Joey on my own. But no matter what, it’s gon’ to be perceived differently because if 10 people is jumping one person, then they gon’ look at it like, “Oh, he’s a man. He hard for even standing up and fighting all 10 of them and talking about, ‘Come on.'” So, you’re going to always champion that person.

He was the top dog in this situation when it started. He came down off his high horse to me. So, it changed me from being an underdog because now he’s getting jumped and nobody like to see nobody get jumped.

I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m just saying the timing of when everybody [from the West Coast] cracked off, they cracked off on the second time we sparred. The first time we did it was in January and nobody was paying attention. So, now, when it’s getting covered, and people see the numbers and the views, everybody got something to say and want to come battle for the West. I’m not saying “don’t do that,” but now it looks a certain type of way toward my situation against him.

How do you go about formulating diss tracks like this and what is the strategy behind it? Obviously, you come with bars no matter what, but what is it that you look for to win a battle?

I look for shock value, I look for bars and I look for subject matter. Those are the main things for me. You know, other people’s opinions might be different, but that’s what I like to see. If I see a lot of that going on on one side, then it’s all good. They probably going to tip the scale.

Do you feel as though you’re getting the upper hand?

I feel like I was getting the upper hand until everybody started jumping in. When everybody
jumps in, again, it changes the narrative on how it’s going to be painted out to people. So, it don’t matter, my punches aren’t as effective. I might say something that somebody just dropped and said. So now, my shock value doesn’t hit the same because somebody else probably has said that. It’s like people were looking to me and him the most. They treated it like us. But when you accept the outside noise, it clouds everything up. For that simple reason, it looks like it’s slighted, in my opinion, where I can’t argue that.

So what’s next in the battle? Where does this battle go from here?

It’s hip hop, man. I don’t know. I know not negative. It ain’t smoke. We don’t got no real smoke. It’s more like sport. Say it to your worst, I’m saying my worst, we rappers. If you a man and you engage in battle, it’s like, “OK, you putting yourself on a platform for somebody to say the craziest sh*t about you.” You expect that. I don’t put nothing past nobody. So, I go straight there because I know that I’m putting myself on a platform for the same f**king thing to be done to me.

From a sport perspective, what marks the end of a rap battle?

Say if somebody make a hit. If I don’t drop something that’s smacking, a smash, too, Then it could of jade the opinion, “OK, well, this done because y’all got into a space of hits. Then, you just go into just making music again. I think that’s what stops the battle because if not, you’ll just have lifelong spars. And there’s nothing wrong with that, because we’ve seen that throughout people’s careers, too. They might throw a light jab at somebody, and it’s been 10 years, and then throw a jab at them again. They just competitive.