The Concert Committee has revealed that rapper Joey Badass will headline Spring Fling, the annual on-campus concert that occurs at the end of each spring semester and will take place on Thursday, May 8 this year. Concert Committee member Romy Beckman ’25 delivered the announcement on behalf of the Concert Committee in an email to The Argus on Monday, March 31.
“I am…excited to announce that Joey Bada$$ will be headlining Spring Fling 2025,” Beckman wrote. “Joey is a generational talent, widely regarded as one of the most skilled lyricists in hip-hop history, known for his intricate wordplay and electric live performances.”
Joey Badass (often stylized Joey Bada$$) is a rapper, actor, and Brooklyn native whose career took off following a series of viral music videos that he published on YouTube in the early 2010s. He is also a founding member of the Brooklyn-based hip-hop collective Pro Era, which was gaining traction on a national stage during this period. Additionally, Badass was fundamental to the formation of the supergroup Beast Coast, another New York-based rap collective that included members of Pro Era, as well as Flatbush Zombies and the Underachievers.
At the age of 17, Joey Badass was featured in publications from The New York Times to Complex as an up-and-coming rap star after the release of his debut mixtape, 1999, and the accompanying music video for his single, “Survival Tactics.” The mixtape was noted for its late ’90s musical and thematic influences, as well as Badass’s unique flow and razor-sharp lyricism.
“‘1999’ is what it’s called, and 1999 is what it evokes, so faithfully that it doesn’t grate, particularly because the narrative of that year he’s partial to isn’t the glossy success but the underground countermovement it necessitated,” New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica wrote.
About a year later, Joey Badass released his second mixtape, Summer Knights, to critical acclaim. He followed this up with his first studio album, B4.DA.$$, which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart ranking in 2015 and reaped further critical praise. Since then, Badass has continued to enjoy critical and commercial success with his second and third studio albums, All-Amerikkkan Badass (2017) and 2000 (2022). He also wrote and performed several tracks on the Beast Coast album, Escape from New York (2019).
In 2016, Joey Badass made his first foray into acting with a recurring role on seasons 2–4 of drama thriller “Mr. Robot.” Following that role, Badass made several cameo appearances on television series, including “Grown-ish” and “The Eric Andre Show.” Badass also starred in Netflix’s Oscar-winning short film “Two Distant Strangers” in 2020, and he currently plays Kadeem “Unique” Mathis in crime drama “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” which was renewed for its fifth season on Starz.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, Badass has proven himself a force to be reckoned with in academia and philanthropy. In 2023, he founded ImpactMENtorship, a program that provides free mentorship for men of color over the age of 18 in an effort to help eliminate the large resource and opportunity disparities faced by men of color in the United States.
“With men of color being under-resourced and thus underrepresented in leadership roles, only six black men CEOs lead companies on the 2023 Fortune 500 list,” the organization’s website reads. “We believe wholeheartedly that mentorship can help provide a path to professional and financial independence. In addition to career guidance, one of the most critical gifts the mentees receive is confidence.”
In September 2024, The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music—a subsidiary college at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts—announced that it would host Joey Badass as its artist-in-residence for the Fall 2024 semester, a position previously held by music powerhouses Swizz Beats, Pharrell Williams, and Jack Antonoff. Badass’ invitation to this residency was based on his commitment to service and positive social impact with the creation of ImpactMENtorship, as well as his artistic successes.
“The 29-year-old is already more than a decade into a commanding career anchored by three studio albums, two mixtapes, and a role as East Coast torchbearer in perhaps hip-hop’s most nebulous era,” Nate Von Zumwalt wrote in an article for NYU Tisch. “Amidst tales of artists imperiled by premature success, Bada$$ has cast himself as a steady hitmaker and a credible tastemaker well-schooled in rap’s golden age.”
In coming to Wesleyan for Spring Fling, Joey Badass follows in the footsteps of monumental names in rap music who have performed on this campus in years past.
“Wesleyan has a rich legacy of hosting world-renowned artists at Spring Fling, with past performances from Kendrick Lamar on his Good Kid, M.A.A.D City tour and Chance the Rapper during his Acid Rap era,” Beckman wrote. “This year, Joey Bada$$ continues that tradition, bringing his timeless sound and critically acclaimed discography to Foss Hill.”
Before Joey Badass takes the stage, R&B singer-songwriter Ravyn Lenae will perform. Lenae, a Chicago native, has been a critical darling since the independent release of her debut EP, Moon Shoes, in 2015. After the release of her second EP, her career picked up steam, and she performed at South by Southwest, was noted on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists You Need to Know” list, and opened for SZA on her Ctrl Tour.
In the last year, she released her sophomore album, Bird’s Eye, announced a solo tour of the same name that will take her to 12 cities in 7 countries, and was added as an opener for Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour.
Spring Fling will also feature a selection of student artists based on the results of the Battle of the Bands and Battle of the DJs competitions.
“The student bands and DJs who will be performing at Spring Fling will be announced in mid-April, following the Battle of the DJs on [Friday,] April 11[, 2025] in the [Memorial Chapel],” Beckman wrote.
Beckman expressed the Concert Committee’s excitement for the upcoming event, which will take place on the day after classes end for the semester, as is tradition.
“With Joey Bada$$, Ravyn Lenae, and an incredible lineup of student bands and dance groups, this year’s Spring Fling is shaping up to be the biggest and most exciting since its post-COVID return in 2021,” Beckman wrote. “We can’t wait to celebrate with the entire Wesleyan community on May 8th.”
Sulan Bailey can be reached at sa******@******an.edu.
Leave a Reply