Joey Bada$$ Thinks The Government Is Tapping His Phone

Joey Bada$$ thinks someone is watching him. After a photo of President Barack Obama's daughter Malia wearing a Pro Era t-shirt made the rounds earlier this month, the Brooklyn rapper came under fire from groups and observers who painted Bada$$ as violent, cop-hating, and anti-White. Now, he believes the government is surrounding his house and tapping his phones.

It's been a big week for Joey: his debut album, B4.DA.$$, finally came out, topping the iTunes charts in the process. And as specific as his sound is to the five boroughs, Joey is fresh off the plane from Australia, where he played a series of dates (and, he joked, hung out with joeys, the baby kangaroos). And to top it all off, on Tuesday (Jan. 20), the precocious rhymesmith celebrated his 20th birthday. But in an interview with Sway, he reveals that he hears "clicks" during his phone conversations. Additionally, he says that he doesn't sleep for fear of being stalked by government agents.

Though there is no evidence to corroborate Bada$$' claims at this time, American government bodies do have a history of watching rappers. The Wu-Tang Clan's late Ol' Dirty Bastard was famously the subject of an FBI dossier; NWA received the infamous cease-and-desist letter from the Bureau after "Fuck The Police" hit MTV. Last year alone, there was the New York Special Narcotics Prosecutor's monitoring of Bobby Shmurda and his GS9 crew, not to mention the revelation that the CIA had infiltrated the Cuban hip-hop scene for political means.

Joey Bada$$' B4.DA.$$ is available now.

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