Wolfacejoeyy, recently named one of Complex’s 24 Rappers to Watch in 2024 and highlighted in publications like Rolling Stone and HYPEBEAST, is quickly rising in the New York drill and Jersey club scenes. This Staten Island-based artist is carving his niche with his distinct blend of smooth flows, melodic vocals, infectious beats, and an undeniable energy.
Best known for tracks such as “buku (remix)” featuring SoFaygo, “wya,” and “weekend,” Joeyy has continuously collaborated with some of New York City’s top talents, including producer Cash Cobain and “sexy drill” trendsetter Chow Lee, as well as actor-producer WhereIs22 (Michael Rainey Jr.).
Fresh off his first headlining show at Baby’s All Right, I sat down with the 21-year-old musician and internet sensation to talk about his experience touring with Eem Triplin, his thoughts on fans labeling his sound “cutie patootie” music, and his latest releases, “cake” and “don’t be dishonest.”
[Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
How did the show go tonight?
Joeyy: It’s my first headlining show. I’ve always dreamed of this shit, and hearing people scream lyrics that I made in my bedroom is insane. Normally I perform in front of other people’s fans – maybe a couple fans of mine would be in the crowd but the majority are people who don’t know who I am. I’m pretty sure that everybody who was there tonight is a fan of mine. There were people screaming lyrics, people standing on the wall, people in the back just vibing and dancing. It was just people who like my music.
Complex named you one of their 24 artists to watch in 2024. What’s it like seeing your name on that list?
Yeah, that was crazy. I’ve been watching Complex since I was 16, so being on that platform is insane. I used to watch all their YouTube videos and read all their articles, so it’s a really cool, full circle moment.
I noticed your profile picture on TikTok is of Tyler, the Creator, and I couldn’t help but make a connection between Tyler and your stage name, Wolface. Wolf, like the name of his album, and Ace, like one of Tyler’s alter egos. How big of an inspiration is Tyler to you?
My favorite artist of all time is Tyler, the Creator. Somebody cracked the code. Yes, somebody knows! When I made the name I was around 16 and that’s also when I really started getting into Tyler. I had no idea that it was gonna be my actual name that people know me by. Somebody knows it though, that’s fire! I’m glad somebody cracked the code.
I watch Tyler’s performances all the time. You know when you were little and you would watch a cartoon over and over again that you’d be able to copy the voice and style of the character? That’s kind of what I did with Tyler. I took a lot of notes from him.
Who else would you say has influenced your music?
Definitely Drake. Everybody and their mom loves Drake. Travis Scott – without Travis Scott I would’ve never been curious to figure out how people actually make and produce music. Also a lot of my friends: SoFaygo, Skaiwater, Cash Cobain, Chow Lee, all the guys. It’s a bunch of inspirations.
I’ve heard that your fans refer to your sound as “cutie patootie music” and “sexy drill,” but how do you define your sound?
It’s a lot of labels. It’s Jersey club, obviously sexy drill, cutie patootie – it’s a wide variety. I don’t even know if I could categorize my sound myself. I just make music that I wanna make and that I think sounds great. So no matter what it is: pop, rap, sexy drill, Jersey club, r&b, I just kind of do my thing and feed it to the world and see how they react.
How did growing up on Staten Island and in New York culture influenced your sound?
I was born in New York but I didn’t start growing up here until I was around 14 because I moved to Nigeria when I was really young. But being around people who are from here and who have been here longer than me I grabbed onto a lot of things from them. And you know, just shit I experience. A lot of my music is fun and all but I always base every song off of an experience. Being on Staten Island gives me the time and ability to sit down and think because it’s quiet over there, it’s not like here where everything is always going on. I can just sit down, really think, and come up with cool concepts, video ideas, all of that. New York is fire.
You’ve collaborated with producer Whereis22 on your EP 22Joeyy, as well as Chow Lee, Cash Cobain, SoFaygo and more. What was it like working with them and who are you looking to collab with in the future?
I’ve known Faygo for years because I used to be a producer and I had produced a couple of songs for him. I always knew it would happen and I specifically told him ‘yo, if I need a feature from you it has to be something super important,’ I’m not just gonna get a feature from you and then your fans go and make a ‘SoFaygo only’ version. The stars aligned when I asked if he wanted to be on the Buku remix, and we got it done.
Cash and Chow have been showing love – the reason why I chose this venue [Baby’s All Right] is because it was my first introduction to the New York scene. My scene used to be very underground: YEAT, SoFaygo, all of them, so this is my first time performing for specifically a New York crowd. That’s why I kind of knew how this show would go because over the span of 6-7 months I’ve cultivated more of a New York fanbase.
My dream collab is obviously Tyler. If I had to be more realistic definitely Eem Triplin and OsamaSon. I really fuck with Osama, that’s my guy. Also Skaiwater, Che Romani, Vontee the Singer, and definitely Brent Fiyaz. Just all the homies that I haven’t made music with yet.
You recently opened for Eem Triplin on his “Still Pretty” tour. What was that experience like and how do you think the tour has helped you grow as an artist and performer?
It was fucking crazy bro. That was my first ever tour and there were so many things happening at once. It was very fun. I gained a lot of experience and it was great just watching Eem. On the outside looking in I always thought he was really cool, but being round him and seeing how his creative process is really taught me to be more intentional in how I think about things and plan ahead, cuz I’m a very chaotic person. I could literally wake up tomorrow and be like ‘I wanna drop a song,’ but you know, it doesn’t work like that. I learned a lot from him. His mentality of ‘this is what I want, I’m gonna do it my way and fuck everyone else’ realy inspired me.
You guys played across 21 cities. What was your favorite city your favorite city you got to perform in?
Not gonna lie, it was Denver, Colorado. It was fucking crazy. There was a fight, somebody brought a DS, the crowd was lit, and they didn’t even know who the fuck I was but it was just super crazy. I loved it.
There was a viral video of a fan who brought an old iPod to one of your shows. Was that also in the Denver show?
No that was in D.C. That was another show that was really fun. My favorites were Denver, D.C., and honorable mention to Salt Lake City, Utah. It was fucking crazy.” It was definitely Denver. Denver is at the top of the list, I definitely need to go back. And Sacramento, California was really good because there was a lot of beautiful women in the crowd and and the crowd was really turnt.
Can you tell me a little about your tracks “cake” and “don’t be dishonest” that are dropping this week? Snippets of the songs have been going viral on TikTok, with your fans begging in the comments “yo drop it already!”
Yea my fans were on my head a couple days ago. They were like ‘yo, keep the song we don’t want it no more ughh’. But I’m like, you know you fucking want the song like don’t play. It’s crazy to have another moment like this where I’m blowing up on social media. I have this thing I call ‘the abundance mentality’ where I know if I do something one time that I can 100% do it again. For the past 3-4 years I’ve realized it might not happen with every song I drop, but it’s about learning from the last experience.
In 2021 I had a song called “miss me” and it was the first song I had blow up on TikTok, and then right after that was my song “dnd.” Another moment didn’t happen for another 6-7 months. But having those moments has taught me what I should do, and how I should and shouldn’t approach it. I’m happy I’m having a moment again, and it’s not just one song this time – it’s two. Every time I have these moments I’m continuing to grow my fanbase and it’s just crazy.
Are you tight with a lot of the people who came to your show tonight?
Yeah the host Lizzy and the crew, they’ve embraced me and they call me family at this point. It’s very cool because I come from the underground scene where it’s just a bunch of kids. It’s hard for them to really accept you unless you’re on some crazy shit. But being in the New York scene now and being around all these people has been crazy. It’s like, I made the song “weekend” with Cash and Chow, and then all their fans were like ‘oh we fuck with Joeyy now.’