Thoughts On: B4.Da.$$

Recommended Listening: Paper Trail$, Like Me, O.C.B

Oh can this be? Is Zeke finally getting around to talking about the album he should have done literally a month ago? Yes my beautiful readers miracles do happen and wishes do come true. Today I am going to be talk about the debut album of Joey Bada$$ very cutely stylized B4.DA.$$. With this I can start with the trend of talking about 2015 albums so when I make my end of the year list the write ups can simply refer back to my Thoughts On post. This of course implying that I'm so confident that all my top albums will already have Thoughts On written about them that I am willing to bet future Zeke's workload on it. I'm so good to myself. Dry wit aside I actually heard this album the moment it dropped, Joey is a very popular rapper from Bed Stuy, New York, and many people claim him to be one of the best lyrically in the game right now. So Naturally I had to check him out. After listening to his album and going back to his '1999' mixtape that was released a few years back I can see why there is so much hype around this rapper. In his young life he has manage to become a new golden child of rap and the potential new future of hip-hop, also did I mention he just turned 20?

It is not uncommon to hear people talk about how garbage hip-hop is now and how the future of rap looks murky and all that negativity. While there is reason to believe some of this if you only listen to what the mainstream thinks is good or important, but putting any effort into a search will lead you to numerous results of amazing talent just below the surface. Joey is one of those talents. Just turning 20 on the day of his album release (Jan 20^th) he is one of the youngest rappers in the public eye, making him a target for praise and harsh criticism in different ways. Joey is part of the third major generation of mainstream rap. With the First of course being the major 80's-early 90's trendsetters like NWA and Nas, the second generation from late 90'-2000's being people like Kanye, Common, Lupe, and Eminem, and the third generation from post Drake until now has people like Chance, Vic Mensa, Earl Sweatshirt, and Joey Bada$$ keep rap alive. So whenever Joey puts out work it is not only analyzed on its own but how it relates to hip-hop culture as a whole. For example Joey's music has a very jazzy smooth sound to it. It is not overly bass heavy or filled with a ton of electronic effects like a lot of mainstream rappers have steered toward. He does not try to make hits, rather he has a very artistic and seamless way of rapping over beats like it is what he is meant to do. So of course he is criticized for simply trying to re-create the golden age sound of rap and not being original enough, and if he ever strays then he is called a sellout. Putting all this pressure aside this young man has managed to put together some amazing projects in his few years as an MC and his debut album does not disappoint.

What does the album sound like though? Well for a last bit of information Joey is part of the Pro-Era group, a rap collective that he helped found back in 2009. During the recording course of the B4 album his cousin and fellow pro-era member Junior B passed away. Hearing him talk to Peter Rosenburg on Hot 97 about the after math (He and Rosenburg are very close, with Rosenburg often referring to him as little brother or nephew) and it was clear how much passion went into this album. Now a lot of albums can claim the same thing but B4 hits in a different way. This album is one of the most lyrically dense albums I have heard since J.Cole's 'Born Sinner' or Logic's 'Under Pressure'. It may not be as conscious or deep as Lupe's new 'Tetsuo & Youth' album (which Joey actually outsold in the first week) but there is just so much lyrical content in this album. There are 16 songs on the full version of this project and just about each one is lyrically handled solo by Joey. That is a lot of words and ton of talent to be able to handle solo. The albums starts with the Song 'Save The Children', a great intro that plays off the theme of, you guessed it, saving the children. It is all about saving this generation so that they can save the next one. I believe this is Joey's way of stating his musical mission and desire to share his story. It is a cocky yet inspirational way of opening album with the theme of making music before money ruined the industry (thus the album title). In the next song 'Paper Trail$' he claims that “before the money there was love/ but before the money it was tough”, and “they say money is the root of all evil but I say money is the root of all people”. This of course expressing the more modern blown up ideals of making art for the sake of profit and not expression. However the idea that money is the root of all people strikes me as interesting. Joey is clearly aware that selfishness is an inherit part of being human and is torn between his desire to be clean of money but also help his mother out financially. This young artist continues to lyrically express wisdom beyond his years, which is why he has often been compared to a young Nas. His poetic delivery is often accompanied by simple yet pronounced instrumentals. Traditional kicks and snares combined with tight bass rifts and catchy Keyboard chord progressions and flourishes flow so well together that they have become Joey's style. This is not Run The Jewels 2,  it is not really meant to bring a house down or get you super hyped up, rather it is meant for you to listen to. Like just sit and vibe and allow the narrative to unfold. In the vein of narratives, on the song 'Like Me' (my favorite song on the album) Joey tells a straight forward tale of what he goes through on the daily. From women to how people treat him to what he thinks of the police and how he prays for his future. This song was performed with the Roots and BJ the Chicago on Jimmy Fallon's stage and I fell in love with it. It has such a mysterious chord progression that reminds me of lounge jazz and is just a beautiful song overall. On one of his more upbeat tracks 'No.99' he talks about the negative police view on African-Americans and how he rebels against them. It is a reflection of tense minority relations that as of last year got more and more attention but is not necessarily news. He takes a very personal anti-cop stating that you can't trust the pigs. As harsh people may think it is it goings along with the album idea of creating for yourself and not depending on others to look out for you, or at the very least that is my opinion. Lastly in 'O.C.B' which stands for only child blues Joey sums up his journey and where he has had to come from being the only child to provide for his mother. How his dreams started with him staring at his walls alone in his room. Meanwhile a delightful ring of sustained chords, what sounds like a tuba, and saxophone plays in the background. Just a great track overall. I only touched on a few tracks but each song has so much going on in it that you should really experience for yourself.

Joey's first album certainly not dissapoint, with a myriad of lyrics to go though and perfect instrumentals that go with them I think it may be a while before the full depth of this album is understood. It is clear to me that rap has a bright future, for as long as there are words to be said there will be MC's to come along and say them. Here in this album we have the label beginnings of a young poet who may just come to be one of the greatest of his time. He still has a ways to go but the ground work is all there and he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. At the end of the day what you have is a fantastic album in which a young rapper is able to catch onto the very foundation of what Hip-Hop means and spread that message to a newer younger audience. I recommend that you all: Listen Soon. Phew I finally did it, and it was just as poorly written as all the others. Next week I will be review Big Sean's new album in an attempt to stay more current before I inevitably review things from years prior.