Joey Bada$$ takes a shot at J. Cole on his latest track after Ray Vaughn diss

The season of diss-tracks continues.

Joey Bada$$ kicked off 2025 with “The Ruler’s Back.” The Brooklyn rapper was accused of dissing the West Coast and got a response from TDE artist Ray Vaughn on "Crashout Heritage.” Now, two weeks later, Joey is back again with “Sorry Not Sorry,” which some consider a response to Vaughn. Joey also took shots at J. Cole on the new track, which came as a surprise to many.

Cole has been catching strays ever since he apologized to Kendrick Lamar for his diss track “7 Minute Drill” and for taking it off streaming platforms. Cole was ridiculed by fans on social media for the half-hearted attempt and for backing off from a fight.

Even when Drake and Lamar were exchanging diss tracks, Cole was mentioned several times on some songs. On “Sorry Not Sorry,” Joey had a few words for the West Coast, but to make his words hit harder, he used Cole as a reference, insulting his decision in the process.

The 30-year-old rapped, “51 Hart street, 193 Vernon avenue / N----s with Attitude mad / I'm bigging up my city, that's something I had to do / Do or die, home of the gully where we let lead fly / 2025 on my bully, I know that men lie, Women lie but Joey don't / Might Deletе Later, I know d--n sure that Joey won't.”

While it’s understandable that Joey used the title of Cole's mixtape Might Delete Later in his diss, taking shots at Cole comes off as a surprise. The two artists don’t have an ugly history between them. In fact, during a 10 For 10 segment with Genius in 2017, Joey praised Cole’s artistry.

When asked to name the last song that made him cry, he gave a shoutout to Cole’s 2016 classic 4 Your Eyez Only. He said, “I ain’t gon’ lie, I was on a plane, and I was listening to Cole new album, and I got to that last song, ‘4 Your Eyez Only.’ When that s--t ended, I was on the verge of crying.”

Cole has established that he prioritizes his peace over any petty beef in hip-hop. So, it’s unlikely that he will have a response for Joey. However, some fans are speculating a clapback from the Dreamville rapper, because he only backed off from the last beef because he considers Lamar a friend.