Joey Badass Feels Like He Was an Inspiration for Jay-Z’s ‘4:44′ Album

JAY-Z still has the hip-hop community in a frenzy after releasing his highly-anticipated 4:44 album on June 30, and some of the pieces to the lyrical puzzles are slowly coming to the surface. Joey Bada$$ not only loves the album and what it represents for Brooklyn, but he feels he was an inspiration to the project itself.

During a sit-down interview with Montreality, the "Devastated" rapper was asked about his thoughts on Hov's 4:44 album, and he shared his praise for the LP. While he described how important it was for a Brooklyn native like himself, as well as the messages it serves, he went on to state that he feels he was an inspiration for it.

"And you know, honestly, I feel like I was an inspiration to that album. Honestly, I know I was an inspiration to that album. It's nothing nobody could tell me," Bada$$ says during the interview. "I put certain pressure on these OG's in the rap game like they know what they gotta talk about now because they got this young nigga Joey Badass coming out, talking about this shit before they got the chance to talk about it. But it is what it is."

While Joey is certainly not calling himself the sole inspiration for the album, he does mention how listening to 4:44 has already impacted his own motivation levels moving forward.

"I love the album. It's great. I'm glad he spoke about everything he spoke on and I'm glad I could be an inspiration. It keeps me hungry. It keeps me wanting more. It keeps me wanting to go harder. Like right now, I'm at my best. I'm at my most ultimate."

Also during the interview, Joey speaks on his close ties to TDE and his relationship with the label's members, conscious rap vs. mumble rap, and his message to anyone contemplating suicide.

Watch the full interview from Joey Badass in the video below to see what else he has to say. The 4:44 bit starts around the 3:47 mark.

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