Brooklyn phenom Joey Bada$$ dropped his sophomore project “All-Amerikkkan Bada$$” last Friday and it has quickly risen up the charts. Not only has it made an impact on album sales, it also is being talked about as one of the most important albums to drop in 2017. On the follow up to B4.Da.$$, Joey is hungrier than ever to deliver his message out to the world. It’s not often that artists are able produce a full concept album, however, Joey has done just that. All Amerikkkan Bada$$ is special and here are 5 reasons why you should buy this album to support the rise of the one of the greatest rappers of the our generation.
1. Relatability
No matter who you are, Joey made at least one song on this project for you. On a majority of tracks, Joey empathetically depicts how a majority of Americans feel at the moment. This is clearly shown on the song “Babylon”, where he voices his frustration of America’s current downward spiral. He also gets more personal on “Y U Don’t Love Me”, when he raps about feeling out of place in the America. The dopest part of this album is that Joey also delivers another side of himself on more uplifting songs. This is shown on “Devastated”, where he shares the story of him transforming his struggles into strengths. Many people have pointed to artists such as J Cole or Kendrick as the most relatable artists in the game, however, after All Amerikkkan Bada$$ Joey is now in that discussion.
2. The Artwork
S/o Toney The Whlgn for the creative artwork and Gari Askew for the outstanding shots that made up some of Joey’s dopest pictures. Whether you’re buying this on Vinyl, electronically, or by CD, this artwork alone is worth the money. Check out some of the pics below.
3. The Variety of Features & Production
The features on this album are pure fire, Joey not only sticks to his roots with features from Pro Era and Beast Coast members Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight, and Meechy Darko, he also branches out to new features with J Cole and Schoolboy Q. He even reconnects with past collabs with Styles P and Chronixx making appearances on the project. From each feature the listener gets different perspectives and each compliment Joey’s sound perfectly.
However, the real difference in this album compared to B4.Da.$$ is the production, which takes similar sounds from B4Da$$ and elevates it times 100. Each producer is able to create their own specific vibe on each track, challenging Joey to match the energy bar for bar. This is heard on a majority of the Kirk Knight x 1-900 produced tracks from Land of the Free, Temptation, and Devastated, where Joey expands his sound the most. He also links up with long time friends on this, such as Statik Selektah on Legendary and Chuck Strangers on Rockabye Baby to bring this album full circle.
4. Longevity
Executing politically charged raps is a rarity these days and Joey does it to on this album. One aspect I love about this album is the conciseness of it, as its only 49 minutes and Joey gets straight to the point about his thoughts. Although the album is under an hour, every song he gives us is extremely thought out and likely took months to finalize. All of these factors together make the replay value of this project immense and will likely result in this album getting rotations for generations to come.
5. Supporting the Growth of an Artist
Above all else, the most important reason this album is a necessary purchase is that it is a essential to support the growth of a rapper. Especially in today’s industry, where many rappers burn out fast and if not only produce one decent album. Both of these examples are not the case with Joey, who has not only been in known since 2012, he’s also improved on each project he’s released. Over these past five years, he has been hard at work experimenting with his sounds and it finally all comes together on this. Joey is here to stay and supporting him will continue to put a rapper with an important message at forefront of the rap industry.
