By Ben Varughese
The Badmon himself has managed to further the Pro Era vibe he has worked so hard to build up with the drop of his album B4.DA.$$. Dropped January 20th, he manages to combine his thoughts and his story with a good number of hard-hitting tracks. Some argue that Joey gets repetitive, saying his style never changes. But personally I believe his consistency is what makes his game so solid. Tracks like Belly of the Beast (feat. Chronixx) go into depth about life in Brooklyn, and just his point of view in general, as exemplified in Hazeus View. He also upholds the 95 till Infinity hustle in tracks like Big Dusty and Christ Conscious, stating he won’t stop spitting hot until he reaches Christ Conscious. He also
outlines some of his more personal aches and pains in tracks like O.C.B., where he expresses the loneliness of being an only child, hence Only Child Blues. Arguments have been made that the Beast Coast rapper’s most recent project fails to reach the same heights as his former mixtapes. I will not lie, tracks like #LongLiveSteelo off of Summer Knights will always make me feel a type of way. However, I personally believe that Joey Bada$$ continues to make solid growth, and being only 20 years old, not even in his prime, he is no doubt destined to continue to be successful and identify with Classic hard-hitting vibe New York rap has always personified.
