On his 20th birthday (20/1/15), Joey released possibly the most eagerly awaited hip-hop record of the year, B4.DA.$$. The hype surrounding Joey has snowballed ever since his '1999' mix tape that I for one was a huge fan of, thanks to Joey's refreshingly old school flow and dogged word play. These techniques were recycled, explored and evolved by Joey on his second solo mix tape 'Summer Knights' and also within projects from his hip-hop collective 'Pro Era' (The Progressive Era).
With a heap of features under his belt and excessive touring, it was clear Joey was in the rap game to stay.
B4.DA.$$ to me is a creative extraction of all that Joey has experienced/ hopes to experience since his exposure from '1999' and the scope that Joey now finds himself looking through due to this exposure. Though the album lacks some of the '1999' charm and at times Joey's extensive and experimental flow sacrifices the clarity of his word play, what he does do is cement the hype that he created into a cohesive and concise project that showcases his mental and technical development.
8/10
There isn't a beat on this album that lags behind, despite the variety of style, from Statik Selektah's boom-bap to Chuck Strangers drum and bass endeavours on track 'Escape 120', each producer holds their own and supplies Joey with challenging and thick instrumentation for him to work around.
I found the lack of influence from his Pro Era counterparts a surprise, as although I firmly believe Joey is leaps and bounds ahead of others in the collective in terms of rap ability, I had assumed they would appear more on the album in order for Joey to use this platform to exhibit the group as a whole. However, I am grateful for this not being the case and for Joey's overall eye for detail surrounding the features that made it onto the album, especially Raury's guest verse on 'Escape 120' which is my favourite feature on the record.
Though on the whole, there are very few features from anyone on the album and Joey works alone on ten out of the fifteen tracks. After all, it is HIS album and it seems he has a lot to say. Talking mostly of how his life has changed over recent years in terms of wealth, travelling the world and how the passing of two of his close friends threw a spanner in the works during the rise of Badass. Joey's song concepts seem closer to home on this record as he now raps about his personal experiences of violence and the passing of life with first hand experience.Joey takes a refreshing stance on how money effects a young rapper as the hook "money ain't a thing if I got it" rings throughout track 'Paper Trails'. Presumably this is Joey's way of reassuring his fans he won't sell out and "sign to no major" as he understands that while this money is life changing for him and his mother who he hopes to support, it is part of a bigger picture. Joey doesn't use his new found affluence to speak for him in this way, and instead allows his talent to speak for itself on hype tracks like 'Big Dusty', 'Christ Conscious' and 'No.99' that tell us Joey will remain hungry for as long as there's progress to be made, in these, his most hard hitting tracks yet.
It's Joeys ability to move from these brag-filled, pun-slinging dimensions into subtle, ballad type tracks like 'OCB' and heritage exploring 'Curry Chicken' and 'Belly of The Beast' that cause B4.DA.$$ to be a captivating listen and one that I have grown to thoroughly enjoy after several listens. I feel like a proud father having watched Joey grow and surpass his promise with success and critical acclaim, despite a personal worry of whether or not he could continue to live up to his own prestige.
FAVE TRACKS: Big Dusty, Christ Conscious, Escape 120, Black Beetles, OCB.
LEAST FAVE: No.99 (only for its cringeworthy video and similarly cheesy 'BADMON' hook).
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