LIVE AT MARATHON MUSIC WORKS
JOEY BADA$$ - DARK AURA TOUR
with special guests AB-SOUL & RAPSODY
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Joey Bada$$
Hip-Hop/Rap
Few rap artists have been as instrumental in keeping hip-hop alive as Joey Bada$$. Since unloading his breakout mixtape, 1999, the East Flatbush-raised artist has been at the center of boom-bap lore for more than a decade. In the process, Joey has established himself as a compelling storyteller in the culture at large. Before he had a legacy to contemplate, Joey was born and raised Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott in Brooklyn. He attended Edward R. Murrow High School – a school dedicated to the arts – for two years before dropping out to pursue a rap career. While there, he founded the rap collective Pro Era alongside Powers Pleasant, CJ Fly, and late rapper Capital Steez. Joey went on to develop a successful solo career, proven repeatedly through a series of EPs and genre-defying albums: 2015’s B4.Da.$$, 2017’s ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$, and 2020’s 2000. Beyond music, Joey is still pushing forward and continuing to raise the bar, branching into acting, where he’s best known for his role as “Unique” in Power Book III: Raising Kanan. He’s also become a familiar face in the philanthropic world, underscored by his reverence for advocacy and social impact with the creation of ImpactMENtorship. At just 30 years old, Joey’s prestige has grown considerably. He recently participated as the Artist-In-Residence for NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, and is now gearing up for his next Artist-In-Residence at Columbia University’s Edmund W. Gordon Institute. In addition, the Brooklyn native was honored by Mayor Eric Adams with the proclamation of December, 20, 2024, as Joey Bada$$ Day. Now, with new opportunities on the horizon, the Oscar-winning actor, artist, philanthropist, and style icon continues to empower the next generation while creating impact beyond visibility.
Ab-Soul
Hip-Hop/Rap
Ab-Soul is a rapper and singer native to Carson, CA . In 2007, he officially became a member of the TDE roster where he would have an abundant number of accomplishments. In 2009, he formed Black Hippy a rap group that consisted of fellow TDE members Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, and K-dot. Two years later he would drop his long-awaited first album: Longterm Mentality.
Over the years, Ab Soul gained more and more popularity as he continued to work with a variety of artists. Flash forward to 2014 and his third album These Days would debut at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Currently, Ab-Soul is working on his 5th album.
Rapsody
Hip-Hop/Rap
After a four-year hiatus from releasing her own solo music, Rapsody resurfaces for her fourth studio album “Please Don’t Cry” slated for 5/17/24. The 22-track album prepares to pull back the curtain on who Marlanna Evans is. The new album is a more self-aware version of the prodigiously gifted rapper as she explores the depth of her talent with more vulnerability than prior releases. The album rollout initially kicked off with the release of “Asteroids” featuring 3X Grammy Award-winning producer Hit-Boy, and more recently debuting “3:AM feat. Erykah Badu” at Erykah’s Birthday Bash, and releasing the emotive music video for “Stand Tall” featuring acclaimed actress Sanaa Lathan. The campaign has been accompanied by a series of intentional moments including billboards plastered across her beloved home state of North Carolina, featuring tweets from her fans in support of Rap’s return to hip-hop that incorporated the hashtag #RapIsBack. The album has been four years in the making, serving as Rap’s first full-length album since 2019’s Eve. “Please Don’t Cry” is primed for widespread acclaim and features collaborative contributions from Phylicia Rashad, Erykah Badu, Lil Wayne, Alex Isley, Niko Brim, and Baby Tate to name a few.