Joey Badass Reigns Over Brooklyn’s ‘New Golden Age,’ Buckshot Says

It’s hard to look at Joey Bada$$ and not see remnants of Buckshot, the veteran Brooklyn MC who first captivated the world 20 years ago as a part of Black Moon with their debut album Enta da Stage.

Buck hails from the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, while the younger Joey reigns from the neighboring Flatbush. Last week, the two met up on the boardwalk of Coney Island, Brooklyn’s amusement capital, that may still be most known as the backdrop of the 1979 gang film “The Warriors.”

With the summer winding down and the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards looming, the two MCs took the opportunity to link up and bridge Brooklyn’s generational gap, as the “RapFix” cameras captured it all to celebrate our Brooklyn Hip-Hop Week.

“BK, how was that like for you when you were coming up,” an inquisitive Joey asked, as the Boot Camp Clik leader began to paint a 1990s-era Brooklyn picture.

Buck told stories of his days coming up alongside the Notorious B.I.G., putting out hip-hop gems like “Who Got the Props?” and “I Got Cha Opin (Remix)” and while he celebrated the past, the insightful vet didn’t ignore Brooklyn’s rap future. “When it comes to right now; you are that n—a,” he told Joey, who was taken aback by the adoration. “Y’all are the new golden age. Thanks to y’all the age has survived.”

Like Buckshot, Joey is celebrated for his deep and measured timbre, love for classic jazz hip-hop fusion and rap independence. Back in the ’90s Buck was courted by Def Jam Records, but opted to start his own Duck Down label. Similarly, Joey and his Pro Era rap squad have chosen to do things their way.

“A couple of majors had wanted to grasp at us. The way I look at it is I always had an independent vision,” Joey told Buckshot. “I always seen it as us doing it on our own, because we were so young I felt like we could build our base just off of our core fans.”

As the two sat on the bench and chatted, Buck marveled at Joey’s youthfulness and raw potential. They spoke of the contributions of elder statesmen like Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and of course, Biggie, as well as the boast of rap’s newest superstar Kendrick Lamar.

On Big Sean’s the Compton-raised Kendrick made a reference to the coveted “king of New York” title and challenged a number of new-school MCs to step their rap game up. Joey wasn’t name-checked in the song, but many fans, including Buck look to him to issue a competitive response.