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Joey Bada$$ Missed Out On An Obama Biopic For Coachella

Pass The Popcorn: Joey Bada$$ Joins The Cast Of 'Mr. Robot'

Season two of television series Mr. Robot begins tonight and chances are you'll recognize one of the latest faces to join the cast: Joey Bada$$. The rapper will portray Leon, a Seinfeld-loving character that befriends protagonist Elliot Alderson, when he retreats to a computer-free exile in Brooklyn. The 21-year-old "Beast Coast" artist spoke to Rolling Stone not only about Leon, but how a high school play prepared him for the role.

John Cusack Is Not A Famous Actor, the name of the high school play Joey was a part of, was written by an upperclassman when Joey was a freshman. He was also in a rendition of Alice In Wonderland. You can see the Brooklyn rapper's high school acting chops in the former, here.

Joey also reveals in the interview how he was casted in an upcoming biopic about Barack Obama called Barry, but ultimately couldn't participate because he was performing at Coachella during filming. "The week that they wanted to shoot was the week that I had to play Coachella," Joey said. "So I missed out on the Obama movie for Coachella."

When asked if he was casted to play the current President of the United States, Joey said no and explained, "I was supposed to be his best friend. I was the guy who was supposed to show him the projects, and show him how black people was living in America at the time."

Music-wise the latest thing the rapper has released is single "Devastated," which showed him departing from the throwback stylings he became known for and utilizing more contemporary sounds. "During the making of this song, I wanted to give people something different from the rest of my catalog, and something more uptempo," Joey told Rolling Stone. "My main objective was to give people a feel-good, uplifting song, 'cause a lot of music in my catalog is really introspective or meditative, critical-thinking type of vibes, or really aggressive type of vibes. So I wanted to switch it up and give my fans something new, like something they can listen to and feel good about. Something that you could play for the whole world — you know, kids, grandmoms, everyone. Something that everyone could relate to."