Joey Bada$$

American actor and rapper Joey Bada$$ emerged on the hip-hop scene in the early 2010s as a prominent figure in the resurgence of East Coast and boom-bap-influenced rap. He was born on January 20, 1995 in Brooklyn, New York with the name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott. With his father hailing from Jamaica and his mother from St. Lucia, Joey Bada$$ was the first in his Caribbean family to be born in the United States.

From an early age he was interested in acting as a career and developing his rapping skills as another aspect of performance. When Jonny Shipes, the president of the record label Cinematic Music Group, saw a video posted online of a then 16 year-old Joey Bada$$ freestyling, he quickly became his manager. Collaborating with a school friend and fellow rapper, Capital Steez, Joey Bada$$ hit the underground music scene dropping the music video "Survival Tactics" (2012) on Youtube. With an increasing fan base, he followed that with his first solo mixtape "1999" (2012) on streaming platforms.

This got the attention of critics and music insiders and by 2013, he was named in XXL Magazine's Freshman Class. His first EP "Summer Knights" (2013) reached number 48 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. On his 20th birthday, Joey Bada$$ released his debut studio album "B4.DA.$$" (2015). Following his dream of becoming an actor, he was cast as a supporting character in the second season of "Mr. Robot" (USA Network, 2015-19).

Around the same time, he released his most popular single to date, "Devastated" (2016). His successes opened opportunities for collaborations with other artists, notably being featured on XXXTentacion's album "?" (2018). He continued to grow his acting career earning recurring and main roles in the shows "Boomerang" (BET, 2019-20) and "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" (Starz, 2021- ). Amidst it all, Joey Bada$$ released his third studio album "2000" in 2022.