Joey Bada$$
B4.DA.$$ Album Review
Cinematic Music Group
Released January 20, 2015
Genre: Rap, Boom Bap
Let’s just get this out of the way: this is good. This is really good. This is rapper Joey Bada$$’s most consistent release to date, and represents the young spitter’s ability to grow exponentially skill-wise in the future. All previous mixtapes and singles aside, Joey Bada$$ drops one of the most impressive rap debuts of the nascent year.
Lyrically, Jo-Vaughn throws ingenious punch-line after punch-line, peppy flow after flow, etc. What he’s been admired for in the past is evident on this full-length, but, of course, on a grander scale. Every song on this 17-track affair packs lyrical heat, with endless poetic nuggets to be found. Enumerating all of these creative lines is nearly impossible, but a favorite of mine is “They say money is the root of all evil/…money is the route of all people” off of “Paper Trail$,” as well as “Got dragon b***s like my name was Vegeta” off of “Christ Concious.” There are call-outs, similes and homages galore, each one totally different from the last in context, but similar enough in delivery to keep the record cohesive.
Beat-wise, every-sample, every boom-bap loop, every synth meshes well with each other element on every single track. It doesn’t feel too dated throughout, but there are total throwback beats (A Tribe Called Quest used the exact same sample on Joey’s “No. 99” in another song) for the old-heads, and hype beats for the younger listeners (“Escape 120”). The skits spread out through the track-list also add to the aesthetic, a story of Joey’s rising popularity and reputation.
One minor issue that I have with the LP is that some of the songs, although well-written, jump topics too much or are raps about rap. “Paper Trail$,” while I enjoy it, jumps from being wary of money to being lady-obsessed almost sporadically. “Like Me” falls into the same trap as well but isn’t quite as gripping as “Paper.” “Christ Conscious,” another song I enjoy, is another rap about rap. I can overlook this to an extent, but this may bother other listeners to no end. There are plenty of topically focused tracks like “On & On,” which deals with death and destiny, and “OCB,” which stands for Only Child Blues.
This will not disappoint any fans of Bada$$, and it probably won’t offend newcomers either if listened to in whole. I say offend in reference to the last paragraph, because this is definitely not a “safe” album or anything like that. This is solid, consistent and fiery hip-hop. And you know what’s crazy? This is just the debut; this is just the beginning.
FAV TRACKS: No. 99, On & On, Christ Conscious, Paper Trail$
LEAST FAV TRACK: Like Me
SCORE: (8.8/10)
FAV TRACKS: No. 99, On & On, Christ Conscious, Paper Trail$
LEAST FAV TRACK: Like Me
