Over several mixtapes and two New Zealand live appearances, Joey Bada$$ has proved an incendiary talent.
The Brooklyn native crosses a tricky divide between the laid-back flow of Q-Tip and the gruff gangsterisms of The Notorious B.I.G, and his long-delayed studio debut faces the tough task of capturing his rawtalent and charisma.
There are lightning-in-a-bottle moments on B4.DA.$$, like the Wu-Tang wheeze of Big Dusty, the criminal caper No. 99, and the pure battle rap track, Christ Conscious. And it's full of the throwback summer jams Bada$$ is known for - but it's a mixed bag: Paper Trail$ is a money-obsessed stunner with a beat provided by DJ Premier, but On & On is something Lupe Fiasco would have dismissed for being too cheesy. Like Me is a mission statement that comes with a simple J. Dilla beat, while Save the Children is a slack start to the album.
Watch the music video for Christ Conscious by Joey Bada$$:
Black Beetles is much better, with Bada$$ riffing on his own mortality in a post-Ferguson world, dropping lines like, "How many lives will they take today? / We ain't equal; Another world where it's sequel is a doomsday prequel." Morbid, yes, but mature moments like that show this 20-year-old has plenty of time to fix some minor complaints.
