On A$AP Rocky’s posse cut “1 Train,” Joey Bada$$ recalled a meeting that he had with Jay-Z about signing to Roc Nation and how he decided not to go with the house that Hov built.

During an interview with Fuse, the young rapper explained why he decided to stay independent and how he’s learning from other rappers who operate without major backing.

“For right now, I feel like independence is the best thing for me. In what I want to do, it’s definitely the best thing for me right now,” he said. “I definitley got to thank the team I have for that. I couldn’t do it if I didn’t have such a strong team. Everybody around me, even the Cinematic camp, from Smoke DZA to Big K.R.I.T., just going on tour and watching them perform, it was like a performance camp. I would just look at them like, observe how they would take on crowd control and things like that and just do it my own way.”

HipHopDX | Rap & Hip Hop News | Ad Placeholder
AD

AD LOADING...

AD

He also said that he’s not exactly focused on recording one particular project, but is instead laying down tracks and building relationships with established producers. “Right now I’m pretty much making records. Meeting dope people, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Q-Tip… Building bonds, relationships and making dope music,” he said.

Joey, who released his breakout mixtape 1999 last year, most recently announced his “Beast Coast” tour featuring Flatbush Zombies and The Underachievers.

RELATED:Joey Bada$$ Announces Collaborations With Q-Tip & Pete Rock