The Needle Drop

b4-da-$$

Joey Bada$$ – “No. 99″ (prod. Statik Selektah)

New TracksContributor JonesComment

What makes Joey Bada$$ such an interesting MC at the moment is, not surprisingly, his combination of youth and talent. This combination leaves us with a technically gifted rapper who is currently at the most crucial moment in his career. While he certainly deserves to succeed, there is always a chance that that simply doesn't happen--if you think he isn't smart enough to know this, diagram his internal rhymes and ask yourself that question again. The result? Joey is a with a highly skilled artist earnestly putting over 100 percent effort into everything that he does. On "No. 99," Bada$$ doesn't make it sound easy. He's consciously making what he's doing sound as difficult as possible. At the midway point, he swaps 90's style New York delivery for off the wall Jah inspired rapping akin to Kendrick Lamar's recent style. All the while, he treats the beat as merely a suggestion for the ways his words should play with the time signature. Similarly, the 90's Boom bap intertwines with the more modern bassline lurching behind it. We end up with a microcosm of Joey Bada$$ himself: reverent and irreverent at once. Yet all the while, he's unbelievably entertaining while he's making his statements.

- Garrett Cottingham

Joey Bada$$ - "Big Dusty" (prod. Kirk Knight)

New TracksadminComment

New York MC Joey Bada$$ brings the first single from his highly-anticipated commercial debut, B4DA$$. A lot like a song or two from his last tape, Joey is coming off aggressive on this new single, "Big Dusty." Very aggressive! I'd go as far as to say there are moments where his flow reminds me of the late Capital STEEZ.

Aside from that, I'm not finding anything too exciting about the single. Joey's bars are sharp as usual, but the hook is pretty underwhelming, and I can't say that Kirk Knight's ethereal production matches the tone of Joey's delivery that well.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing how big Joey does it on this new LP. I guess my biggest fear is that he'll spend too much time in his comfort zone, which I think he does to a degree on this track. The biggest surprise this track offered was a beat change on the bridge, which was paired with a pretty ominous mantra: "Cause bitches lie, niggas lie, numbers, too."

At this point, it's pretty clear Joey has no intention of giving this album a commercial sound, which is fine, but he seems hesitant to take the kind of adventurous or experimental plunge his underground status allows him to.