I wonder what he'd be like if he got signed to the Roc. Might have been a great humbler for him. Bad investment by Hov though.
Like Jay Electronica? He'd be the same IMO, but would actually release a mixtape or two (no album). We troll Cole but he figured out how the game works and mastered it, single wise.
My problem with Joey is his lazy faux Jamaican flow. Shit sounds horrible, results in verses that sound like mud, and put him in a box sonically. He can't rap over much of anything outside of boom bap and piano loops.
He willingly turned himself into a regional artist. That retro shit might have been hot in other cities for awhile but now only some kids in NY give a shit about him (I'm sure he can get good shows overseas tho). And most would probably rather see Ferg live and have fun instead of getting beat upside the head with "lyrics" and no hooks. What part of 90s rap are they listening to? They clearly skipped the part about having good hooks that translate live (Cream, Represent, Buck Em Down, etc etc). Underground rappers today either skip the hook or turn it into a mini verse - both of which rarely work unless you have a crazy beat.