Rapper Joey Bada$$ recently cancelled his Dark Aura Tour with MCs Ab-Soul and Rapsody to his fans’ surprise. The reason, he divulged, is that the artist wants to focus on his mental health. During an interview with the Earn Your Leisure podcast’s Black Out With Ian & Rashad, Joey went deeper into his reasoning.
“I thought about how to address this, and I’m gonna choose honesty,” he said. “My honest truth of why I canceled the tour was my mental health was just not aligned with it. I did not feel mentally fit enough to embark on this journey. I got my 5-month-old son. We trying to figure out vaccinations and all this stuff. It’s just such a critical time. My energy level is at a all-time low.”
The actor recently welcomed a son with fiancée Serayah McNeill, so his hands are certainly full. The first chapter of their love story took place in 2021 when the couple met on a boat during a mutual friend’s birthday party. They revealed they were engaged back in July, shortly after she gave birth.
The multi-talented artist also debunked rumors that the tour, which was set to run Oct. 16 through Nov. 17, was canceled due to low ticket sales.
“I see a lot of people saying, ‘Obviously, the tickets didn’t sell,'” Joey added. “Listen, I been touring a long time. Tickets sell…I had to choose me. And I’m really sincerely sorry about all of my fans that I’ve disappointed and let down…I just didn’t have the bandwidth myself.”
Although the rapper, also known as Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott, is currently raising a five-month-old, this isn’t his first rodeo as it relates to fatherhood. He also has a seven-year-old daughter named Indigo Raine from a previous relationship.
During an exclusive interview with ESSENCE, the Power Book III: Raising Kanan actor emphasized the importance of building a strong family structure. Sometimes that means putting yourself first and hitting the pause button on work, as he’s doing.
“I think we’re excited about doing things our way with something that’s equally important to both of us individually and collectively, and that’s having a strong family structure, especially a strong Black family structure,” he told us. “Breaking those generational curses and setting an example for the future.”