Title: B4.Da.$$
Artist: Joey Bada$$
Release Date: 20 January 2015
Cinematic Music Group(US) & Relentless Records(UK)
Rating: 6.8/10
The golden-age channeling ProEra stalwart. otherwise known as Joey Bada$$ has released his debut album following two critically acclaimed mixtapes (1999 & Summer Knights). This has definitely been a much-anticipated drop and I'm thrilled to review it.
It seems, right off the bat, that while the underlying theme is money, and attaining it, Joey is doing it for different reasons. It drives him to succeed so that he can end the cycle. Almost as if he feels the continuity of cycles as a weight on his shoulders personally.
The album opens with a chanting applause, implying a very upbeat beginning track. In this way, the track ends up being underwhelming. While the lyrical content from Joey bada$$ is refreshing at the least, (and might be the strongest on this album) this beat kills any momentum that he could have possibly began to build up. With that being said, he keeps a really well-timed flow to the beat, though it seems a little forced and not very relaxed in the way this beat calls for. The breaks between the verses in this first song.(I wouldn't really call it a hook) are full of scratches and samples, which I personally love.
Paper Trail$ stands out with more of the scratching that the soulfully inclined rap fan in me really loves. When he starts rapping, this begins to gain him a sort of momentum that would have been really nice to see as Track 1. His rhyme schemes are always written to flow really well, though in this one his cadence and vocal style begin to really grip the listener. "It's the dollar bill that kills, y'all" once again contributing to the bigger picture.
"Big Dusty" starts out super gruff and intense. You know, that 95' til Infinity Joey that first made me perk my ears up and say "Holy shit, this kid is really good." This track really gets more calm, but for the first time he finds himself keeping balance between the slow, earthy beats he thrives on & the momentum of the album
I feel that Joey really finds his place in the next few songs. The album becomes a calm, groovy, beautiful mesh of lyricism and he begins to work his vocals not only in the realm of being impressive lyrically, but beginning to use his voice as an instrument. BJ the Chicago kid hops onto "Like Me" but, only as a backing vocalist.
This album begins to move into something more soulful with Chronixx's vocals on Belly of The Beast and the bass on No. 99.
Throughout the album, you get the sense that this kid is trying to survive and find his footing in a world that doesn't want him. What he lacks in wordplay and cohesiveness compared to the work he pulled on 1994 and Summer Knights, he more than makes up for with an aggressive, biting passion, technical ability and an overall clean sound. This theme continues through the rest of the album, which to me is sad. IF Joey can drop into the melting pot something more cohesive and creative, and not hippie filler (frugally littering phrases like "mother nature" and "half extraterrestrial" once in awhile), he may be able to pull out a near-perfect album.
Raury stands out with one of the best verses on the album with Track 12, sounding somewhat like a young Andre 3000. Action Bronson's verse might be the only thing as nice. He takes a Joey Badass song that he's featured on, and with the level of personality he always brings, makes it feel like the opposite is true.
Through the album, he rhymes "mental" with "mental" more times than I care to count. He also drops a lot of "first" "verse" "rehearse" rhymes which feel played out really quickly. Curry Chicken is almost painfully mediocre, especially coming from someone who, just 2 or 3 years ago was being heralded as the king of the new resurgence of the golden age of hip hop.
Good, but you can do better, Joey.
We'll be watching closely.
Prime Mover raps, and writes reviews on other rap. You can find him on Twitter @ twitter.com/primemoverraps
Comments
Post a Comment