Joey Badass and Diddy Have Something Special in the Works

Don't look now, but it seems like Joey Bada$$ and Diddy have struck up an alliance concocted in New York hip-hop heaven.

Over the course of the last several weeks, the Bad Boy Entertainment mogul has been something of a mainstay on Joey's Instagram, and recently, Joey accompanied Diddy to his first studio session in a year. As DJ Booth points out, during a recent appearance on the A Waste of Time With ItsTheReal podcast, Statik Selektah—who's worked with Joey extensively in the past—shed some light on the Pro Era MC's blossoming relationship with the iconic tastemaker while promising the two will "drop something special" in the future. Apparently, their recent stream of hangouts began at the 2017 Rolling Loud Festival.

“So basically Diddy watched us rock [at the 2017 Rolling Loud Festival] and Joey had met Diddy during Kendrick’s performance — Diddy was like, ‘Yo, come watch it with me!’ And they ended up getting real cool," Selektah explains.

From there, Joey and Selektah continued their hangout sessions with Diddy. "The rest of the week we were in the club with him every night, we had a crib — I don’t want to give away too much — but we had a real good time, Puff was real welcoming," Selektah recounts.

Selektah, who recently inked a deal with Roc Nation management, says it didn't take too long for him to begin conjuring images of Bad Boy's peak glory days. "The way Puff was talking to Joey was reminiscent of that Bad Boy, Brooklyn — it was a good vibe. Something amazing’s going on with that. Joey’s been in the lab with Swizz Beatz — this is all stuff you can see on Instagram. What’s about to happen next is going to be great.”

In a lot of ways, Joey's linking with Diddy makes sense. Like The Notorious B.I.G.—whom Diddy famously signed to Bad Boy in the 1990s—Joey, who's album All Amerikkkan Bada$$ might be his best yet,  is a skillful lyricist with an ultra-nimble flow. He also hails from Brooklyn, so it's only right.

Listen to the Selektah's story about himself, Joey and Diddy in the podcast below. That bit begins at around the 56:38 mark. Peep Joey and Diddy's social media posts featuring each other below that.

See Photos of Joey Bada$$ in XXL Magazine Spring 2017