Joey Bada$$ Plots Festival Benefit for Deceased Labelmate’s Family

Joey Bada$$ has detailed the first annual Steez Day Festival, an event honoring late collaborator Capital Steez, who founded the Brooklyn hip-hop collective Pro Era in 2011 and took his own life in 2012. The festival will feature performances from Bada$$ and Pro Era, along with Flatbush Zombies, the Underachievers, Smoke DZA, Phony PPL and more. Steez Day, part of New York City’s SummerStage series, will be held July 7th in Central Park. Proceeds from all tickets – which are available to order at TicketFly – will be donated to Steez’s family. 

Joey also shared a gritty video for “Paper Trail$,” a cinematic track from his 2015 debut LP, B4.DA.$$ (one of Rolling Stone‘s 45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far). Directed by Tom Gould, the black-and-white clip focuses on the rapper’s life prior to his burgeoning hip-hop career, as he hustles on crime-filled streets to provide for himself and his mother.

“They say money is the root of all evil / I say money is the root of all people,” he rhymes over producer DJ Premier’s strings, piano and scratching. “It’s the dollar dollar bill, it’s the dollar bill that kills, y’all,” he warns – in a nod to Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” And his words turn prophetic, as the clip ends with a violent climax. Watch below.

Joey is currently on the road for his West Coast leg of his World Domination tour, which kicked off June 16th in Santa Cruz, California. The rapper has dates scheduled throughout June and July, including a number of European festivals.