Joey Badass Channels Prince on New Song “Thugz Cry”

Last month, Joey Bada$$ appeared on Australian radio station Triple J to try his hand at their Like a Version series. Backed by a live band and background vocalists, Badmon flipped a classic Prince track, "When Doves Cry," putting his own spin on it. The Brooklyn rapper surprised many by flexing his vocals on the cover. Now, we get the official audio.

Produced by 1-900 and Nastee, Joey's version is slower and more dense than the original, which has a poppy, bounce sound despite the serious lyrics. Joey keeps the same themes as the Prince song, but adds a personal twist. "Maybe I'm just like my brother/He's never satisfied/Why do we shoot at each other/This is what it sounds like when thugs cry," Joey croons.

The Pro Era boss makes the song his own on the verses spitting, "Can't explain the pain/All I know is chains/All I know is whips/And all I know is gang, gang, gang, gang/Don't even know my name, and the place from which I came/Niggas love to talk but niggas never change." There are also additional vocals from Raury and Kirk Knight on the track.

The Purple One would be proud.

In other Joey Bada$$-related news, the MC recently teased a possible joint project with XXXTentacion. Outside of music, he recently donated $10,000 to Colin Kaepernick's charity campaign, along with Meek Mill and Nick Cannon.

Listen to the new Joey Bada$$ song "Thugz Cry" below.

Check Out the 2018 Hip-Hop Music Festivals You Need to See